‘Outlander’ Author Diana Gabaldon Criticizes Latest Series Love Scene
Spoiler Alert
[Warning: The below contains MAJOR spoilers for Season 5, Episode 6 of Outlander, “Better to Marry Than Burn.”]
While many tune in for Starz’s Outlander each week, many of those viewers are also fans of Diana Gabaldon‘s books which serve as the show’s source material. As with most adaptations, there are things die-hard fans will absolutely love about the series, while often there are moments that don’t go over as well.
And in the show’s latest installment, “Better to Marry Than Burn,” Gabaldon herself took issue with one of the episode’s brief scenes — a scene that many fans seemed bothered by, as well.
The moment in question occurred in the stables at River Run after Jamie (Sam Heughan) had risked Claire’s (Caitriona Balfe) wedding rings in a card game against the shady Mr. Wylie (Chris Donald). As he presented Claire with the rings, she was still upset with her husband, even if he won her jewelry back in the end. But eventually their spat turned into a literal roll in the hay.
Needless to say, some viewers weren’t loving this moment as much as Outlander‘s many previous Jamie-Claire love scenes. “The stables scene was such a disappointment… what has happened to their chemistry? Everything looked so forced and unnatural,” one fan tweeted.
(Credit: Starz)
Gabaldon followed up this tweet with her own disappointment, tweeting, “Bad dialogue, bad direction, bad lighting, awkward set. Actors did their level best with what they were given to work with.”
But don’t take that as an admonishment for the entire episode, as Gabaldon made it clear that she wasn’t displeased with Balfe or Heughan’s efforts, nor the installment as a whole.
When one viewer chimed in to say they loved the episode, Gabaldon defended her initial statement, writing, “I was referring explicitly to one 45-second scene.” She then defended the episode on a whole when one fan criticized the entire installment, responding, “Most of it was pretty good.”
Outlander, Sundays, 8/7c, Starz
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G
it was ok.......not enough passion as before.......i thought cait said they were really going to turn up the heat this season???
5
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R
They seem to have lost their chemistry. It was strange.
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P
My friend sent me this article because it is exactly what I said when I watched this episode. Chemistry got lost . It was like they had to mark it off the list and go on.
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B
It was a bit of a disappointment from the book.
2
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C
It reminded me of a scene from the old John Wayne movie, “A Quiet Man”. He throws Maureen O’Hara on the bed and has his way. While both women give in to passion, I don’t like the control the men take over them.
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C
I could 'hear' the writing. It was sitcom writing.
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P
I thought the barn scene was great...and in line with the love story of J and C.
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R
I thought it was fantastic. Claire lets him know he can’t belittle her or women, but their strong attraction and love conquers all. This was great passion and it was on fire.
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O
You - Are - TOTALLY - Delusional !!?!!
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G
I enjoyed it. Didn't see anything wrong with how it was done. Didn't they have that kind of a scene when she found out about Leery (sp)? To me it is part of their relationship.
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R
The scene from season 3, when Claire found out about Jamie’s marriage to Leoghaire, was so much more passionate! Lots of great kissing, little clothing, and lots of chemistry. This scene is so iconic in the book- and SO HOT. I can see why Diana is disappointed.
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