The Frasers have said au revoir to the Scottish highlands and overcast weather and bonjour to the opulent and colorful life of 18th century Paris filled with wine, brothels, and dinner parties that would raise my cholesterol intake to what my doctor calls “warning levels.” But most importantly, the season brings us back to the passionate and complex relationship between Claire and Jamie.
Show creator and fellow California Central Valleyite (shout out!) Ron D. Moore has said repeatedly that this season will be more of an adaptation of the forty-nine chaptered book much to either the dismay/despair/horror or thrill of diehard fans. In my opinion, I fall into the latter category. I loved Outlander and have the dogeared copy to prove it. (Don’t judge me, but there might be a scene or two where “Claire” is scratched out replaced by “Julie.” It fits, trust me.) So when I started the sequel Dragonfly in Amber, I was warned by my friend Megan, “It starts off slow but stay with it.” It took some time diving in – regardless of how many times I called Megan and begged/pleaded/threatened her to just tell me what happened in the first few chapters, she resisted – but I listened and stayed with it. The end result paid off; but for me, life in Paris moved a little slow for my taste and I was glad to see Claire exchange the silk dresses for the knitted cowl and wool skirts when the Frasers returned back to where it all started: Scotland.
So to hear “adaptation” isn’t the kiss of death for me.
But that doesn’t mean I don’t have a few moments I would like to see make the leap from the page to my high definition television screen. Last year, I made my Outlander wish list for the second half of the previous season. Some of my wishes came true while others went the way of my childhood wish for a pony. (I’m in my 30s and I’m still waiting, Dad.) But with a new season comes new opportunities to make even more wishes that may or may not come true, making me a glutton for punishment.
So while you brace yourself for the premiere episode and Sam Heughan speaking French, here’s just some of my new page to screen wishes for this next season. Be forewarned: the following contain spoilers from Dragonfly in Amber. Side effects include shock, dismay, and possible horniness. See your doctor if it lasts over four hours.
Wish #1: The Duel
When first adapting Outlander for the small screen, Ron Moore said during countless interviews that the one scene he could clearly picture making a seamless transition was Jamie busting through the window at Fort William to rescue his wife from the villainous hands of Black Jack Randall.
For me, the duel scene between Jamie and Black Jack from DIA carries that same weight.
We, as readers, are there emotionally and physically with both main characters. Jamie’s overpowering thirst for revenge against the man who once wrecked both his body and spirit matches our own need to see Black Jack Randall destroyed.
And we are with Claire, whose eyes become our eyes, and we feel her shock and despair to see her husband breaking his vow to not seek immediate retribution.
“Through a blackening mist, I saw Jamie’s sword come down, graceful and deadly, cold as death. The point touched the waist of the doeskin breeches, pierced and cut down in a twisting wrench that darkened the fawn with a sudden flood of black-red blood.”
This moment serves as a turning-point in Claire and Jamie’s relationship and tests the strength of their bond to one another – a bond that proves to hold strong even against the most challenging and raw moments.
Wish #2: Jamie’s Mourning
This moment may not make your top ten list and that’s okay. Hell, you may have even forgotten about it. There wasn’t any monumental revelations, passionate sex, or plot twists. It was a simple half page entry. But this particular scene spoke volumes about the fictional man we have all fallen in love with:
“Jamie sat leaning against the side of the window seat, wearing only his shirt. His bare legs were raised, forming a back against which small Katherine Mary rested as she sat facing him in his lap….
He spoke in Gaelic, and so low that I could not have told what he said, even had I known the words. But the whispering voice was thick, and the moonlight from the casement behind him showed the tracks of the tears that slid unregarded down his own cheeks.”
For me, this simple, innocent moment where a man both cherishes in the new life of his niece as well as mourns the premature life and death of his first daughter, is one of the reasons why we love Jamie Fraser. He goes far beyond a typical fictional hero, a man who is only supposed to be strong and show no fear or sadness, and becomes a substantial man we either recognize or what in our own lives. His tears remind us that Claire is not the only person affected by Faith’s death and it deepens our own empathy for the Frasers’ situation and our love for James Alexander Malcolm McKenzie Fraser.
Wish #3: Red Jamie
One of Jamie’s promises to Claire is that he would kill a hundred men just to get to her. He made good on that promise. He also promised the protection of his body, and he did that in multiple positions that made me almost lick my television screen. I resisted…sorta.
What’s captivating and enthralling about Jamie’s love for Claire is that it manifests in so many different ways: from comforting the grieving and scared Sassenach in Castle Leoch to marrying the reluctant English woman to save her from a sadistic British captain to sacrificing his own soul and life to ensure Claire’s safety. But some of the most heated moments are when Jamie becomes Claire’s protector.
Case in point: After coming face to face with a man who attacked Claire in Paris, Red Jamie emerged.
“You call her ‘Dame Blanche,’” Jamie said, between his teeth. “I call her wife! Let her face be the last that ye see, then!”
The knife ripped across the man’s throat with a violence that made Jamie grunt with the effort, and a dark sheet of blood sprayed over his shirt.
This scene reminds us that this man is first and foremost a warrior, and although he pledged his allegiance to a clan, his loyalty along with his heart lies with Claire Fraser. He reminds us that when it comes to Claire, the life of the woman he loves comes above all others no matter the cost – consequences be damned.
What’s on your Outlander season 2 wish list? What do you hope to see this season? Don’t forget to watch along with That’s Normal on Twitter when Outlander premieres this Saturday (like you would forget) and tune in Monday, April 11th at 10 pm EST here for the return of HangOutlander!
