Boom! Proof
How super wrong we all are … season 5 is an actual thing that is in actual production and the proof is in this promotional pudding.
When the very first images of a season come out, it is always exciting and a little bit overwrought. Fans are understandably happy to have the promotional machine ramping up, to know that Caitriona Balfe and Sam Heughan are still gorgeous, and that their costumes aren’t suddenly something out of a high school rendition of Oklahoma! Check out our #TotallyNormal reaction to the very first picture that was ever released of Jamie Fraser. Caveat: This was back when we total fangirls, and our tone has slightly changed since then.
Season Five is HAIR
But the real news regarding this picture is that finely woven, fairly wavy, fringe withholding, fineass wig on top of Jamie Fraser’s head. Fans and Sam alike have been bemoaning the disparate and desperate-looking wigs that Jamie has been sporting from year to year. The fringe has done its best over the seasons to beat back Jamie’s hotness factor from episode to episode.
Further Reading: The Highlights and Lowlights of Jamie Fraser’s Hair and Part 2: The Curl Awakens
BUT THIS. This is Fraser Fringe we can get behind. I can safely imagine Claire pulling this back into a plait, clubbing it or whatever it’s called. I can imagine this whipping across his forehead as he stares down enemies across the Ridge. I can even imagine it bloody and sweaty and deeply sexy in scenes of violence. Perhaps getting producer’s credits let Caitriona and Sam have more of say in how their characters were ultimately styled. We KNOW Sam has never liked his Jamie hair. I would not be surprised if it was one of the first things he put his fringe down about.
Wigs have always been a bone of contention; I mentioned them in the VERY FIRST POST I ever made about Sam’s casting. And we’ve been burnt before. A still picture, perfectly coifed and styled does not a good wig make. We’ve seen Jamie’s promotional hair look amazing in the past – in the recent past – only to be oh so disappointed when the tricorn comes off and the real wig intrudes.
Wigs have to move (unless you’re Daenerys Targaryen) with the character’s head and the wind. And whether or not they look real and well-suited to the character largely depends on how they behave in real time. Will this one stand up to fight scenes and nature sets and sex scenes and THE ENDLESS GATHERING? Manage your expectations, friends.
But the Story!
True fans will tell you that The Fiery Cross can be a bit of a slog; a gathering that seemingly goes nowhere, plenty of lamenting from Roger about whether or not he’s his son’s father, and more Ridge-building. Fans weren’t happy with much of narrative direction of season 4, especially the last couple of episodes, the insensitivity of how enslaved and indigenous peoples were written, and with Roger and Bree’s story – both how it overshadowed Jamie and Claire and how it portrayed Roger as a misogynist.
Could the through-line of season five be trying to bring disgruntled fans back to the Outlander fold?
Establishing a home in the New World is by no means an easy task — and protecting it proves even more difficult — particularly in the wild backcountry of North Carolina, during a period of dramatic sociopolitical upheaval. As Claire knows all too well, friends, neighbors and countrymen are unwittingly marching towards Revolution, with members of the elite ruling classes struggling to stifle the alarming undercurrent of unrest triggered by the Regulator Movement. Against this backdrop, which soon heralds the birth of the new American nation, Claire and Jamie are forced to ask themselves just how far they are willing to go to protect their home, and praying there will be no reason to light the fiery cross, an ancient Scottish call to arms.
Points in this summary that sparked my twitchy eye:
- It doesn’t sound that different from season 4. You could tell me that is IS the promotional summary for season 4, and minus Bree and Roger, I would believe it
- There is no Bree and Roger mentioned. It doesn’t even mention “family,” which is surely not a portent of things to come, but a poorly written statement. “Friends, [neighbors], countrymen, lend me your ears … ” could have easily said family as well. If you’re going to steal from Shakespeare at least have it say what you mean to say.
- There is going to be SO MUCH Revolutionary War/Boston/Back to the Future talk in this season; we are going to be WEARY.
- THERE IS NO ROGER MENTIONED. Maybe this heralds a bit of awareness as to how his salty ass was unappreciated in s4. YAY.
Who is in charge?
We mentioned Sam and Caitriona having newly minted producers’ positions, but after all the hoopla that was “WHO IS IN CHARGE” during season 4, it has us wondering where the buck stops this time around. I mean, I thought this was appropriate:
This is a S5 ain’t my problem LEWK https://t.co/8IuU1QJb0c
— Beth (@bethorne) April 17, 2019
But maybe I was mistaken:
But S5 is absolutely his problem, as is S6.
— terryd (@terrydresbach2) April 17, 2019
Let’s just set straight whose fault the wigs are, mmmkay?
