Outlander Season Finale (spoliers)

I'm not sure how I liked it last night. As a book reader, I can't help but get kind of pissy about how they cut out so many important things in the finale. I know that condensing how ever many pages into one hour was going to be impossible, but I can't help but think that they should have given more time to Jamie and Claire and how she was able to help him heal. To me, the writers didn't give the Claire/Jamie scene when she "confronted" (is that the right word?) enough weight. I missed the relationship between Father Anslem and Claire.  I guess I'm sorta irritated that the writers spent as much time on The Search as they did on the season finale.

That at being said, the acting was fantastic. The terrible rapes scenes were awful and uncomfortable but so, so good. I liked how they ended the season, too. Nice way to transition to France.  Maybe a non book reader can weigh in?  

Kymberlee I agree somewhat. I think they did a good job with the time they had. I suppose the angus and Rupert scenes weren't that necessary to moving the storyline forward, However they were absolutely necessary to lighten the story immensely and it was a such a wonderful transitional moment. I also had a problem with the father Anselem scene where Claire confesses and that's it. She's told to pray about it. In the context of last night's story, either elaborate a bit more or cut that out. I wish that could have been a 90 minutes episode. I'm sure so much was filmed it's not like it would have been more in production costs.

And this line from the episode-“If you take away the one last thing that makes sense to me, then I will die, with you, right here and now”-gutted me. Hands down best line of the season.

My husband is a non book reader and after watching Wentworth and me giving him an idea of what was to come, he decided not too watch last night. That doesn't mean he will not continue to watch, but knowing that what he was about to see was likely not going to be just referenced, but brutally real, that was just not something he wanted to watch.

I'm a Game of Thrones watcher as well and I think comparing the shows in all aspects is comparing apples to oranges. The mental anguish expressed by Jamie never would have been dealt with on GoT. Outlander didn't just show a rape. It showed the after effects as well.

I've now watched this episode twice and I don't think I'll watch it again (unless I do a marathon watch before season 2). It was excellent, no doubt, but I don't feel the need to see the scenes between jamie and BJR again. Now episodes like Rent and the Wedding? You can bet I'll watch those over and over.

When Jamie responded to Claire saying she was pregnant "are you happy", he did say that he didn't think he would ever say that word again.

In a Ron Moore interview, he said that they would not be coming back to the rape scene. I think he said it would be referenced, but unlike the flogging scenes that were shown throughout the season, they would not be flashing back to that moment. They were moving on with a new storyline.

Did you read this post by Diana? (not sure if this fb link will work directly)


A Few words from the author

She said we need to put the book down.....she says a lot more - it is worth the read. And it has me knowing I just can't "but that isn't how it goes" for the episode....I haven't watched yet, it airs tonight here in Canada.

That is exactly what I mean about taking some more time with the aftermath of the prison.  I don't think Jamie's road back to Claire was portrayed very well in the show.  I *know* the production crew is dealing with a very short time period, but I think this was a really, really important piece of the story that was sorta glossed over.  Since I know how the story unfolds, I can live with it but I am concerned that the non book reader will be like...meh, that was kinda lame.  Sam Heughan was so spectacular and portrayed such great emotion in the episode, and I thought it was just very flat at the end.  Does that make sense?   

cakediva, I did read the post by DG, but I can't unread the book, KWIM?  I can live without a lot of the things from the book that were too difficult or time consuming to put on screen, but there are some things that I just feel needed to be given some more time.  I still love the show, and will rewatch every single episode probably a dozen times before the next season starts.  

     Totally agree with what's written above. I thought the first 3/4 of the episode was brilliant. Superb acting by the actors playing both Jamie and BJR, everything was done exceedingly well to show us the anguish of the torture and not only the physical pain Jamie was suffering, but also the emotional pain. Where I think I felt very shortchanged as a viewer was the part where Jamie gets to the abbey and after Claire sets his hand. Yes, it should have been at least a 90 minute episode. Rushing through that (I don't even mind missing the hot springs, I can see how that would have been difficult to find) made it seem like it only took Claire 10 minutes to convince Jamie that Yes, she loved him no matter what and Jamie was healed. Then they were on the ship and oh, yeah by the way I'm pregnant.

Much, much too rushed and it just didn't work for me. I know it's an adaptation, and I know it's not going to be the same as the book. Okay, I get that. But to me, (the healing of Jamie) was an incredibly crucial part of the story line and to rush it like that-it just didn't ring true. I also hated the way Claire told Jamie she was pregnant. Why not tell him when he was lying there ready to die? He needed something to live for. She could have said, "You do need to live, because I'm carrying your child, and your child needs a father". I bet that would have turned him around real fast. Why wait and tell him on the ship-since they were leaving out the hot springs part anyway? It's been awhile since I read the book. When does she tell him in the book?

Debbie in MD.

The violence on this show is getting to be a bit much for me. And this is coming from a rabid Game of Thrones fan.

Just finished watching. IDK. I'm torn. While I think they spent WAY too much time, and a whole episode on The Search, I think they could have used some of that time here. I agree that they went to Jamie being better too fast. BUT I am glad they didn't spend the whole show on the flashbacks to the abuse, that would have been too much. Overall I like what they did.

I'm new to Outlander and binge watched everything in the last 2.5 weeks or so. I have to say, last night's episode left me a little empty. I feel like everything was on fast forward and I just needed more. It just didn't feel as tho it was in keeping with prior episodes.

I have downloaded the first book in the series so I can catch up on everything I have been missing!

I am a huge Outlander book fan and I have been pretty happy with the series but felt incredibly disappointed with this episode. This should have been about Jamie and Claire and showing how deeply connected they are and to what extent they will both go to save each other. We could have had less of the graphic BJR scenes and more of, what I feel at least, the story is about - which is Jamie and Claire.

From some of the things I've read from Ron Moore and Diana G. that they will still show Jaimie struggling with what happened to him. Maybe I'm a simpleton, but I thought they did it just right. My husband never read the books but watched the show. I told him I was going to re-watch the episode (because I watched it the first time on my ipad which kept blacking out the picture but still had the audio the first time around) and he said he will not be able to watch that episode again. He loved the whole series though and now wants to read the books. Another friend of mine also watched the show but never read the books and she was just as impressed with the show too.