Really enjoyed the last episode. It really redeemed itself after (I felt) the series lost its way a bit and has been rather inconsistent. I felt they spent rather too long in France (Prague?) and the politics rather dominated and became a little confusing. It also didn't seem to feature the main protagonist Mad Jack Black McMad Randall very much, though presumably Tobias had lots of other commitments what with being in Game of Thrones and several other things. When it gets back onto the time travel theme it jumps up a gear for me. The young kid Fergus irritated me too! It's a strange series which really veers between light and rather fluffy to quite brutal. I agree about Catriona and Sam - I don't think the series would even work without them.
I didn't find the France stuff confusing, but it did jar a little when compared with the Scotland narrative. I enjoyed the political intrigue overall, though some scenes felt rather rushed and the repeated emphasis on Claire's alter ego, La Dame Blanche/white witch angle was overdone (especially given Claire's travails in season 1). But there were still so many excellent scenes in there, that I could live with the less brilliant ones (like the French farce scenes at the Duke of Sandringham's house). I don't think the reason for that is due to the actor's unavailability. I've read that the plot from the books is generally followed quite closely, so if Randal didn't appear that much in the second book, he wouldn't be seen much in the show (I'm guessing as I haven't read the books). It's funny because as much as I love scifi in general, the time travel stuff in Outlander is the least interesting to me (other than as a device). I'm much more interested in the characters.
Just got DVD box. Sort of thing you'd buy a family member for xmas. It's not bad, watchable in fact. Historical romantic drama wrapped in time travel shenanigans.
Never read the books, however I have this suspicious feeling Frank is Captain Jack Randall in some way or another. I figure that shadowy figure we see in pilot episode is Jamie, so if Jamie can find a way to time travel, Jack can probably time travel to the future and/or Frank to the past to replace the presumed to be at one time dead Captain Jack.
I remember the second Dr Who's Jamie ...( 1965/66)..Which was the inspiration for the book. Fraser Hines ( Jamie/Dr Who star ) features in Highlander.
I think that's because the story is from Claire's point of view and she doesn't understand it, at least not at first.
Don't worry because if no translation at all is provided, it means that what is said isn't important to understanding what's going on. Sometimes the way something is said can tell you a lot about the meaning.
A bit late to the party but my wife and I have just started watching this on Netflix. Up to episode 8 season 1. Enjoying so far, but it seems a bit dumbed down to me. Maybe its the voice overs telling you what is patently obvious perhaps? There is an actor in this show who looks just like a short version of Billy Duffy from The Cult. His name is Stephen Walters, and plays Angus.
This is the last show I would accuse of being dumbed down. It's seems to have become a meme that a voiceover equals lack imagination/dumbing down.
This is a really, really good show, I was expecting far less ......... didn't read the books, but never had the feeling that there was "dumbing down" My only very minor gripe is that I find the lead actress not THAT attractive she is made out to be by everyone on the show - ;-) Helen of Troy she ain't, but who knows what she looked like ... if she ever existed in the first place
Wow, really?! You don't think Caitriona Balfe is especially attractive? She worked as a model with the Ford Medels agency doing countless gigs in Paris for all the top brands (Chanel, Moschino, Givenchy, Dolce & Gabbana, Alberta Ferretti, and Louis Vuitto, et al). I think she is absolutely lovely and an extremely talented, charismatic actor.
Sorry, no. Not in the "irresistible" way she is sold. But naturally this is as always totally subjective. She is a great actress of course. I find that Emilia Clarke as Daenerys Stormborn from "Game Of Thrones" totally fits her role as irresistible "Queen" ..... she has that erotic thing going, Caitriona not so much for me.
Funny, I don't recall that she was being sold as 'irresistible' so much. Sure, the odd comment about being a bonnie lassie and with a 20th century grooming regimen her skin/hair/etc would probably look better than many a Highlander. But it never struck me that they were overplaying that particular angle. Emilia has that innocent, Bambi-like quality which makes her extremely cute and sexy, but ironically, those attributes do not work well for a 'queen'-like character (most of her choices as queen have been questionable at best). For the same reason, I think she was miscast to play Sarah Conner in the last Terminator movie. She just doesn't project power and toughness. Caitriona has a more classical, elegant, understated type of beauty which I appreciate. Mind you I agree Emilia is very cute too, just in a very different way. I could do worse to be saddled by either of them!
Emilia projects more that "psycho" or "near psycho" ruler/queen thing ..... Caitriona is more the "good samaritan" ........ guess I like the "Bambi Psycho Queens" more That was total badass - watching her evil brother die and showing no emotion ....
Must admit, after begrudgingly watching 2 seasons of this with my wife, I'm actually enjoying it. Sure it's a lot of historical romance fluff, but whatever. SPOILERS AHEAD I actually found last night's episode interesting as Claire really didn't come across as a very empathetic character. Her treatment of her husband has really been quite poor and it really came across in that episode. The episode did feel quite rushed however, jumping through time quite quickly. My wife indicated that the books cover her schooling and experiences as a surgeon a lot more. She feels, and I agree, that the show is plowing ahead quickly to get to the two main characters back together again much faster than in the books. Also, that ending last night was a bit quick for my liking. I assume the actor will show up again as another character?
I'm enjoying the new season well enough, but it does feel a little dissatisfying having Claire and Jamie living separate lives. It feels like the show is just treading water, ticking events from a list until the two reunite. I know that's how this book is written, but I don't blame the show for trying to hurry things up a bit. Maybe, maybe not. I read that Tobias' contract was now up and that there's no immediate plan to have him reappear. Of course that may change at some point down the line...
That's a shame as he's a fantastic actor with a rare charisma when he's on screen. I thought the Lord John Grey character brought an interesting dynamic to the episode as well. For a show so steeped in romance tropes, the queer sub themes are nice to see. Again, according to my wife, Lord Grey is an important character in the books and has a spin off series all to himself.