Tag Archives: England

“Outlander” season one review

06 Monday Jul 2015

Posted by in College, Literature, Television, Uncategorized

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4874_900Warning: spoilers ahead.

With it being summer, I’ve found time to play catch-up on “new” shows and if one thing is for certain it’s I am drawn to shows that take place at least 100 years ago.

Earlier this summer, I finished season one of Showtime’s “Penny Dreadful” and now I’m watching season two. I loved the show but seeing as I’m now at the point where I have to wait for the new episode each week (or until the new season starts), I had to find a new show to binge.

This is where Starz’s “Outlander” comes into play.

I searched different Starz and Showtime series and I was drawn to “Outlander” for a few reasons. The first was the time period, or least the time period most of the show takes place in. The second was the time traveling aspect of going from 1945 to 1743. The third was the beauty of the Scottish Highlands.

I started watching not realizing the show was based on a book series by Diana Gabaldon and honestly it didn’t effect my viewing. You know how sometimes when either a show or a movie is adapted from a book you are left feeling like you’re missing something? “Outlander” hasn’t made me feel like I need to read the books in order to understand what’s going on so there’s a huge plus.

The show starts off in 1945 post WWII Scotland as an English woman, Claire Randall, and her husband, Frank Randall, are taking a second honeymoon in the Scottish Highlands. Unfortunately for Claire, she visits some old standing stones named Craigh na Dun and is transported to 1743. She encounters her husband’s ancestor, Jonathan “Black Jack” Randall, who turns out to be the season’s villain. She is rescued from Black Jack by a group of Scots, taken to Castle Leoch and kept under the orders of Colum MacKenzie to stay as the castle healer. Eventually, Claire is forced to marry Jaime Fraser, nephew of Colum and Dougal MacKenzie, in order to protect her from Black Jack under Scottish law. Through many ups, downs and extreme downs, the season ends with Claire, Jamie and Murtagh Fraser sailing to France in order to seek safety.

Claire Randell, "Outlander"

Claire Randell, “Outlander”

That’s the extreme short version of the story. Here are some details about the characters and why I’ve come to love this show.

Claire is one of the strongest female characters in a show I have ever seen. She was a nurse during WWII and seen plenty of gruesome war injuries. Being a woman of the 20th century, she is not used to being “put in her place” by her husband. When she’s thrown into the 18th century, she acts and speaks differently than the women of the time. One of the funniest parts of the show is watching the men react to some of the things she says and does. Because she is from the future, she also knows what is going to happen and where they will take place.

Jamie Fraser, "Outlander"

Jamie Fraser, “Outlander”

Jamie is a bit of a mystery that slowly reveals his past. You know his back is severely scarred and know it was Black Jack who did it but you don’t get the whole story until later. Claire has tended to Jamie since she first landed in 1743 due to an injury from a battle with the “Redcoats” and we see the connection early on between the two characters. Jamie is considered an outlaw because he escaped from prison and anytime the British army comes into contact Jamie is forced to hide. Though Jamie’s uncle Dougal MacKenzie forces Jamie and Claire to marry in order for Claire to be protected under Scottish law, Jamie isn’t exactly angry about the situation they’ve been put into.

Black Jack, "Outlander"

Black Jack, “Outlander”

Black Jack is nothing short of a villain. He is the first person Claire runs into in 1743 and he attempts to rape her before the Scots take her. Your opinion of him just continues to drop from there. He takes pleasure in the pain he inflicts on others and views Jamie’s scarred back as a “masterpiece.” The truly messed up part? He mentally injures Jamie far worse toward the end of the season due to his sexual obsession with breaking Jamie.

Which is where the controversy surrounding the season finale of “Outlander” comes up.

There is an intense, physically and mentally, rape scene between Jamie and Black Jack. It’s made know earlier in the season that Black Jack gave Jamie a choice: take the lashings or give me your body. Jamie chose the lashings and he eventually escaped Black Jack’s clutches. The Redcoats catch Jamie again and Black Jack saves him from execution moments before he was to be hanged. After a terrible round of torture and a threat to Claire, who had tried to free him, Jamie surrenders himself to Black Jack and the rape scene is shown in flashback after Jamie is rescued.

The funny, and not funny as in humor, part is not much media coverage was given to the scene. I am a huge “Game of Thrones” fan and with the latest rape in the show, so many people were outraged and many media outlets took stands against the scene and asked “has ‘Game of Thrones’ gone too far?” That particular rape scene was not visible but you could hear the actions and the camera zoomed in on Theon Greyjoy who was forced to watch it happen. The “Outlander” scene was much more graphic and the exploited psychological damage done to Jamie was much more intense yet not many stories popped up. Is this because the show isn’t as popular as “Game of Thrones” or is it because it was a male raped and not a female?

I know it seems like I absolutely love the show and can see no wrong with it but that would be false. I have one problem; the Gaelic. I’m not saying it’s aggravating that the Scottish characters will speak Gaelic at length or just a few words here or there because I think that adds to the authenticity of the characters. I hate not knowing what they are saying though. Usually when you’re watching a movie or show where a different language is used there are subtitles telling you what they are saying so you, as the viewer, can be in on the secret. There are no subtitles in “Outlander.” It drives me crazy that I don’t know what the characters are saying back and forth but I think I know why they’ve been left out. Claire doesn’t know Gaelic and as the narrator of the show, she brings up how those around her will speak in Gaelic in order to keep something from her or to exclude her. I feel like the audience is supposed to get the same feeling in order to sympathize with Claire’s plight.

I’m excited for season two! I haven’t read the books and I don’t know that I will get around to it therefore I’m not sure what’s ahead for Jamie and Claire but I’m looking forward to seeing what happens with the two in France.

30-day writing challenge: Day 25

26 Friday Jun 2015

Posted by in Challenge, Family, History, Travel, Uncategorized

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Day 25: Think of any word, search it on Google Images. Write something inspired by the 11th image.

I wrote a cliffhanger and it turned into the longest challenge post I’ve written. The word was “mystic” and here is the 11th image off Google Images:Mystic-foggy-evening

I’d spent most of my life avoiding this place.

Death had a funny way of tricking you into taking the wrong turn and summoning you at the time it deems fit. As I rowed closer to the secluded island cabin I’d been running from since my early teens I realized no matter how many routes I took to hide from this place, the monster in the maze always finds you.

I’d received a letter from my grandmother’s attorney three weeks ago alerting me of her death and the time and place where her will would be read. I held strong to the hope she had forgotten about me and left this eerie nightmare to one of the cousins I’d been warned to stay away from.

But it seemed her mind had been set on me becoming the eighth generation of Fallos women to own the little wood cabin only accessible by boat.

“I need a motor on this thing.” I groaned as I continued through the fog. Every once in a while the moon would peak through the clouds to give me a clear view of my surroundings but I was mostly relying on my iPhone’s GPS. The moon shone through once more and I turned to see the shore in front of the cabin a few yards away. I blew the strand of hair out of my face to stop it from further tickling my nose and flexed my hands around the oars.

My grandmother was eccentric to put it mildly. She hated technology and anything remotely mechanical. She never upgraded from a row boat because she believed the rowing helped keep her young and in shape. She never wired the cabin because she feared the government would use the electricity to spy on her.

I really wouldn’t doubt that though. We were never a normal family.

Our ancestors were burned at the stake hundreds of years ago in England. Surviving family members would move all around what is now known as the United Kingdom and Ireland but each time we always lost one to a torch’s kiss. It wasn’t until the 1770s when the Fallos finally moved to the United States that we stopped burning. But it came at a price.

Some say the price was cheap but I say it was steep.

We were witches; at least the females were. Though I prefer the term wiccan because it sounds much nicer and people don’t question it as much.

As unbelievable as it sounds, my great-great-great-great-great-great-grandmother made a deal with George Washington; assistance of an otherworldly nature that cannot be combated for free passage and living in seclusion in the US. To this day, my family is called on during wartime to “fix” the war. Except that one time my great grandmother over-chanted a curse meant to squash the Civil War in its’ early days. She was reprimanded by being forced to serve as a healer during the Battle of Gettysburg so she would see what she had done. From that point forward each of the women in our family tried running from fate but always ended up plunked right back on this fog-infested body of water rowing toward this antique of a home.

And I was no different.

I’d gone to university and become a small business owner all without the help of magic. I held to the hope of “if you don’t use it, you lose it” being applied to my magic. Instead it would spark if not used regularly. Once, I hadn’t used it in eight months and all it took was slight frustration over our Wi-Fi connection at my store. Next thing I know, feds are crawling all over my town posing as members of the United States Geological Survey and telling everyone the sudden bursting of every window in town was due to an abrupt earthquake. They even passed out pamphlets on what to do when earthquakes strike.

I jolted forward and floated forward a few feet. I flicked on one of my flashlights and turned to see the rickety dock right behind me. I had gone right into one of the posts while lost in my thoughts.

After getting the boat into position and tied to a post I grabbed the bag full of lanterns and insect killers and thudded along the dock to the muddy bank. The flashlight guided me along a mismatched stone pathway leading to the front door and I spied the different plants lining the way. Angelica root, lavender, thyme and silverweed to name a few were overgrown. I can’t imagine what the garden behind the cabin looks like.

I stopped when I reached the half-rotted porch. It seems my grandmother had stopped caring about safety at her tender age of 98. I toed the first step and was relieved when I felt the buzz of magic shoot up my foot and fizzle in my calf. So she hadn’t lost her mind after all. She must have reinforced every board holding this place together. I bet even the thinnest of boards could hold a bulldozer.

I stepped onto the first step, stopped and eyed my surroundings. This seems too easy.

I took another step and smiled. There it was.

My family didn’t believe in keys to lock your house; they believed in curses. I had figured my grandmother would have placed it at the first step but instead she put it on the fourth and final step. The power of it felt like standing in front of an open oven from the second step.

The third? I imagine this is what the interior of an active volcano feels like.

I slipped a Swiss Army knife out of my pocket and pricked my finger. Curses like these only stood down if a blood relation was there to pacify it and this was the quickest way to prove it. I fought the urge to curl my hand into my body away from the heat and placed my bloodied forefinger to the fourth step. The result was nearly instantaneous and I felt a refreshing cool wash over me with an after taste of eucalyptus.

I pocket the knife and wiped my hand on my jeans and continued up onto the porch. Various chimes, wilted flowers and talismans decorated most of the space except a clear path to the solid wood front door. I walked forward and stopped myself before opening the door.

After 30 years of running, I was finally walking back into my personal hell of seclusion and magic.

I took a deep breath, twisted the handle and opened the door. I closed my eyes even though I knew I wouldn’t be able to see inside the dark cabin. The smell of dried herbs and spoiled potions assaulted my nose and I shuddered.

I took a deep breath, opened my eyes and looked straight into the abyss. Slowly, I rose my flashlight and gasped…

30-day writing challenge: Day 5

06 Saturday Jun 2015

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Day 5: List five places you want to visit

As stated in a previous blog, I love to travel and the desire is never pacified. There are many places I would like to visit but seeing as I need to exercise self control and abide by the title of this day asking for five places, I’ve listed my top five places.

London
I’ve always wanted to visit London and I don’t know if I can pinpoint the origin of that desire. Most of the television shows I love are British, I obsess over the history of the United Kingdom because it’s fascinating and I love the architecture. London in particular has so much to offer for a tourist that I feel if I were to spend a week there I still wouldn’t see everything I wanted.

Paris
The draw here is mostly architecture and history. I spent two full years in high school and three semesters in college in a French language course and a huge part of it is learning about the culture and history. As with many old European cities, I think this is one of those places that would never have a dull moment and I could fill seven 32 GB memory cards within a week.

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The Cliffs of Moher in Ireland taken in July 2013 by my mother.

Ireland
Ireland is not only beautiful but also a huge part of my ancestry. My parents took a tour a couple of years ago and the pictures and stories they came back with made me want to get up and go so I could see and experience the Emerald Isle for myself. I even looked into studying abroad at Trinity College Dublin.

New England
I think the draw to New England stems from history, again, and how it seems like the ideal place to live in the United States. I love the look of many of the old New England homes and how green it is, especially seeing as it was part of the original 13 colonies yet it doesn’t have the feel of a place that has been populated since the dawn of the country.

Italy
No surprise this is based in architecture and history but also food. I love Italian food and I don’t just mean American Italian but actual old-country style Italian. Another big draw to Italy is the beautiful countryside and the beautiful language.

I know these seem stereotypical but when you’re a young college student who has already seen a good portion of the country she lives in you’d want to branch into the stereotypical tree for some fun and great experiences abroad.