Your mileage will vary, but I found the casting choices to be spot on. If you've read the book of the same name by Diana Gabaldon, you probably went into the show with certain images of the characters in your head. On the surface, meeting new faces all the time seems like a disadvantage but fostering attachment to the characters and story despite that hurdle meant it was one of the show's strengths.Ĭaitriona Balfe in OutlanderAnother of Outlander's assets is its cast. The jumps around Scotland meant the supporting cast rotated regularly. Claire and Jamie's connection was the constant in a plot that moved from location to location without ever settling for long. Besides the obvious transition from the 1940s to the 1740s, the story kept moving. The series continually evolved and changed. And while we're on the subject of romance, Outlander took a different and welcome approach to sex and the female gaze. While their love for each other dictated where the plot went, it didn't crowd everything else out if that makes sense. It wasn't really introduced in a big way until the seventh episode, "The Wedding", though and then the bond between Claire Randall (Caitriona Balfe) and Jamie Fraser (Sam Heughan) was at the heart of the story. I can't say whether the 16 episodes of Season 1 changed any minds, but I can say the series successfully wove together various arcs, tones, and development to address those concerns and to show Outlander has a wide range. Some groups wrote the time-traveling, historical fiction tale off as romance and nothing more, while others were concerned about a plot centering on a woman torn between two marriages. Starz's Outlander had some preconceptions to overcome before the first episode aired.
Warning: Full spoilers for Season 1 of Outlander follow.