Fun
Frisky
Nostalgic
Intense
Adventurous
Choked Up
Curious
Romantic
Weird
“Swept away.”
It’s a phrase that’s tossed around a lot to describe how we fall in love with fantastic stories of romance, adventure, and derring-do. In fact, it’s used so much that it’s just about a cliché at this point. Still, season one of Outlander literally swept its heroine, Claire Beauchamp Randall Fraser (Caitriona Balfe), back in time, and we were swept away with her. We gasped when she was thrust headlong into frightening confrontations, cheered when she stood up for herself, and swooned anytime her highland hottie, Jamie (Sam Heughan), came onscreen.
It was a blast.
As bold as season one of Outlander was, the next season is even braver. Last year, Outlander wooed its rabid fanbase with a steamy romance set in the comforting green of Scotland’s rain-soaked highlands. This year, we find ourselves in new times, new nations, and a wholly new narrative. In dual storylines, Jamie and Claire must conquer the court of Versailles in a bid to stop the Jacobite Rebellion while events occurring in the 20th century threaten to reveal how futile their efforts really are. So long, Scotland! Farewell to all casual fans of the show knew! Outlander is not going to lean on what’s familiar.
For other shows, this kind of tectonic shift in storytelling would spell disaster. What showrunner in their right mind would take everything that made their drama so likable and take it away? Outlander is a show that thrives on risk and its audience loves it for it.
Outlander is pure unadulterated escapism. I find that the people who enjoy it the most are either hardcore fans of the books or people who just let the experience wash over them like a stunning tsunami. People in fall in the former category have lived with these characters in their head for years. They can quote the books from memory and get a rush seeing their heroes — locked for decades only in their imagination — brought to life in fleshed out form.
The other group, though, doesn’t need to understand that Reverend Wakefield’s little nephew Roger is part of a bigger puzzle or to know how to parse out Jamie’s family tree, nor do they care where on the timeline we are at any given time. Ask them to explain the show and they are stymied. How do the time travel-y stones work? They don’t know. What makes Claire think she and Jamie can change the future? No clue. Is all the sexual assault (and threats of sexual assault) really necessary for the story? They have absolutely no defense for it. So what’s the allure? Well, I can only speak for myself. I know that watching Claire overcome everything thrown at her makes me feel better about tackling the small, mundane stresses in my life. Seeing a man as perfect as Jamie Fraser woo this spunky woman renews my hopes for romance in the real world. And gosh darn it — Outlander is a pretty show to look at! I like the costumes, I like the scenery, and I love that dreamy theme song.
Outlander‘s second season is committed to sweeping its audience away. It wasn’t enough to just take us to 18th century Scotland. It’s going to pull us further into fantasy. Now Claire is wowing Versailles with low-plunging necklines and Jamie is squaring off against famous monarchs. The stakes are only getting higher, the drama more dangerous, and Outlander is only veering further off the course of all that is “normal.” Let it sweep you away.
You can catch the season two premiere of Outlander tomorrow, April 7, a full two days before the official network premiere on April 9, by using the new Starz app. For more on the new Starz app, click here.
[Photos: STARZ]
