Outlander: Castle Leoch

I felt this was definitely an improvement on the first episode, which was achingly slow and filled with too many meaningless voiceovers. But this managed to create suspense out of its unhurried pacing. On arriving at Castle Leoch with Jamie and the other Scots, Claire attempts to get her bearings, blend in as much as possible, and find transport back to the standing stones (her only chance of returning to the 20^th century).

I’m only an amateur historian, but I’d like to think that the minds behind Outlander made a supreme effort to keep everything on-screen as accurate as possible, whilst not sacrificing the natural beauty of the world around them. Too many historical films/shows skew too heavily in one direction or the other: everything is either dirty and miserable looking, or too pristine and pretty.

But Outlander hits that perfect note of realism and splendour that lets you enjoy the scenery without getting pulled out of the time period. More than that, the director actually brings the audience up close and personal with some of the details: the books, the food, the carvings, and the clothing. A “getting dressed up in contemporary garb” montage was always going to be inevitable, but I like that the show takes its time with these sorts of things. If you’re watching a time-travelling adventure, then it should be a given that exploring the past is where a viewer’s interest lies.

And maybe it was just my imagination, but I liked that Claire’s entire posture and appearance changes once she’s in period clothing. It indicates that she not only suits these clothes, but the lifestyle as well (or so I’m assuming – this is all going to end with her staying in Scotland, right?)

Caitriona Balfe as Claire is still the bedrock of the show, depicting Claire as a sensible woman in an out-of-control situation. As it happens, I’m also watching Orange is the New Black, and I can’t help but compare Piper’s gobsmacked terror at being in prison to Claire’s forcible attempts at composure and refusal to be cowed as she flounders to acclimatize. (Not that Piper’s behaviour is any less valid).

Claire is a woman in over her head, but one that rises to the occasion. Sometimes we need women who respond exactly as we would in any given situation; sometimes we need women like Claire who can cope better than we could ever dream. I love how she clings to her medical training to ground herself (though this works a little too well considering Colum opts to keep her on at the castle as its healer) and that you never lose the sense that this is a legitimate fight for her survival in a potentially hostile environment.

With that said, I felt that her anger at being followed and watched by Colum’s spies was a little over-the-top. Surely she’s intelligent enough to realize that her best option was to simply go with it and provide them with nothing to report back rather than getting stroppy and opening up questions as to why she doesn’t want to be followed. I suppose she looks more “spirited” this way, though up until this point she appeared much too smart to get aggravated over this.

Like I said earlier, I’m glad there were fewer voiceovers, for the show managed to convey an important fact perfectly well without one: at the dinner table with Colum where Claire is concocting her backstory, we briefly segue into a scene with Frank discussing the best way to design a cover story, and then back to Claire doing precisely that. This is how information should be conveyed – we know what she’s doing and why, and we didn’t need her to explain it to us.

(Yet having pulled this off smoothly, the script falls straight back into the same technique when Claire leaves the room and informs us that the Scots were deliberately plying her with food and drink to bring down her guard. Yes Claire, we had that figured out for ourselves based on the glances Colum and Dougal were casting each other right over your head).

Which brings me to the other thing I appreciate about the show: those living in the past aren’t idiots. It’s always too easy for time-travellers to end up in the past and find themselves surrounded by uncouth morons who are easily dazzled by future ingenuity, but here it’s obvious that the Scots are intelligent enough to realize something’s up with Claire, to poke holes in her story, to provide a watch over her, to act with common sense on their own turf – all of which leads to Claire being forced to remain among them.

But on that note, Randall does not make for a particularly interesting villain – not yet anyway. I’m afraid I can’t quite grasp the meaning behind having the same actor play both Randall and Frank. Is it like how Captain Hook and Mr Darling are usually played by the same person? Is it to subconsciously tell Claire that she shouldn’t return to her own time? Haven’t quite figured that one out.

We do however, get ourselves the beginnings of a female friendship! Geillis Duncan introduces herself to Claire, providing wisdom on herb-craft and quiet translation in the meeting hall. Herself an enigmatic presence who provides healing (or at least abortions) to the girls in the village, you get the sense that it’s not just her abilities but her attitude that has rumours of “witch” going around.

And I can’t believe I’ve gotten to the end of this review without mentioning Jamie. This is decidedly odd considering he’s no doubt the draw-card for a lot of female viewers. I like him well enough, but he seems just as out of step in this time period as Claire does, coming across as more of a romantic ideal than an actual person. Hopefully the show will let him have a bit of character that goes beyond “dangerous but chivalrous outlaw”.

Miscellaneous Observations:

Bear McCreary is a gift. Can he score every TV show ever? The song for the opening credits in particular is beautifully done, with images from the 18^th and 20^th century interspersed.

There were a couple of familiar faces here, namely Gary Lewis as Colum MacKenzie and Laura Donnelly as Jenny Fraser. The former was solid as usual, (would it have even been possible to make a show set in 18^th century Scotland without him?) but this is the third time I’ve seen the latter playing a character who seemingly only exists to be brutalized and/or killed. And on a show that otherwise caters to the female gaze, the ripping of her clothing felt utterly gratuitous.

Perhaps it was just my imagination, but I was sure at times there were trickles of modern (relatively speaking) music in the score, quietly invading the Scottish setting. If so, it’s a subtle way to remind the audience of Claire’s displacement.

The great hall has got to be the best set in the show, giving ample opportunity to explore the quiet politics of the court: all those glances and words between brothers, servants, spouses and strangers. What is it about court intrigues that are always so fascinating? Maybe it’s because our predilection for gossip is put into a setting where it doesn’t have to feel like a guilty pleasure.