Trigger warning: This post discusses domestic violence and sexual abuse. If reading about those things makes you uncomfortable in any way, you might want to give today’s post a pass.
In keeping with my lifelong tradition of being well behind the times, I finally decided to see what all the fuss was about regarding the series Outlander, a show that is well into its seventh season. I’ve heard people practically gush over this series, and maybe that’s why I resisted watching it for so long. I never want to be perceived as a gusher.
I do love period pieces, though, as a general rule. Bridgerton? Downton Abbey? Yes, please! And the first several episodes of Outlander were fun, in a swashbuckling sort of way. I’m even willing to admit that Jamie Fraser is hot AF. So, I really thought I had seven seasons to look forward to.
But then I watched Season 1, Episode 9.
After using the first 8 episodes to establish that Claire is a strong, independent survivor, and Jamie is a brave man of integrity, episode 9 rendered both of them all but unrecognizable. I felt like I had fallen through the looking glass. It was as if E.L. James, the author of Fifty Shades of Grey, had entered Outlander’s writing room and sent the script writers scurrying into the underbrush.
I’ve blogged about Fifty Shades of Grey before. Suffice it to say that this is the most poorly written, amateurish book I’ve ever had the misfortune of reading. It’s a rare book that I’m willing to write off entirely, but this one sits firmly in this category.
No, I’m not a prude. In fact, I do love erotica if it doesn’t insult my intelligence and cram kink into the mix solely for kink’s sake. That book does that, and so does Episode 9 of Outlander.
I get it. It’s streaming TV. Soft porn is to be expected. But gratuitous sex that doesn’t enhance the story arc at all, and is only placed there simply to increase viewership, doesn’t turn me on. Give me something that makes me think, “I wish that were me”, or don’t waste my time.
Watching that show had me moving quickly from disappointment to disgust to outrage. That had a lot to do with the fact that I was looking at it through 4 lenses at once. 1) The modern times in which we live. 2) A feminist point of view. 3) A writer’s point of view, considering the messages Netflix was sending. 4) The fact that it was set in the 1700’s.
Let me give you a brief description of the episode. (This is a spoiler alert, if you haven’t already figured that out.) The episode begins with Jamie rescuing Claire from what was about to be an extremely brutal rape. Any woman would have come away from that experience with a lifelong case of PTSD, but this, after all, is Hollywood. Not only did she manage to keep her make-up intact, but the trauma itself was not acknowledged in any way for the rest of the episode.
Oh, but it gets worse. After he and his cohorts admittedly risk a lot to save Claire, Jamie is furious with her and starts a fight. (Yes, she wandered off at an inopportune time, but she had her reasons.) Instead of comforting her, and expressing relief that she had been delivered from that nightmare, Jamie basically tells her that this is all her fault. Great message, Netflix. As if women haven’t already been blamed for being raped from that century to this.
At least, at this point in the episode, you can see that Claire is infuriated by his reaction, and they get into an epic fight, in which she becomes so enraged that the veins pop out on her neck. If I had been there, I’d have been afraid of her.
When they get back to their lodgings, Claire retreats to the sleeping chamber, while Jamie stays in the tavern, and gets convinced by the other men that she needs to be taught a lesson. She has to understand that she’s his property, basically, and that he is the master in the relationship, and must be obeyed without question. Come on, guys. Honestly. Hasn’t she been through enough?
So Jamie goes upstairs, planning to put Claire in her place. He tells her to lie down with her dress raised so that he can beat her with a belt. At some point he claims he didn’t really want to do it, but he had to. It’s just how things work. Isn’t that the excuse wife-beaters use the world over? This episode was rapidly leaving the realm of streaming TV soft porn and going to a wildly inappropriate, sexist, violent place.
Naturally, Claire resists this beating with all that she has available to her. Downstairs, the men hear a lot of shouting and breaking of crockery and overturned furniture. They find this quite amusing. All the while, I’m thinking of the millions of 13-year-olds who watch this show, who haven’t figured out what relationships are supposed to look like yet. Is this acceptable? Apparently so.
And then Jamie, who is quite obviously the stronger of the two, manages to beat her so brutally with the belt that she can’t sit down the next day without pain. And while the deed was done, jaunty violin music plays in the background, making it seem more like a party than a beating. It’s obvious that this scene is supposed to be funny. Domestic violence as comic relief.
This is the man with the unwavering moral compass from episodes past? Our hero? The decent, swoon-worthy protector? I was disgusted. I really liked him in episodes 1-8. Now I wouldn’t give him a bucket of water if he were on fire. I don’t even find him attractive anymore.
Meanwhile, back at the castle, there’s a little scene where Jamie is seduced by another girl, but he manages to resist, after a few very close caresses, and a view of more of her body than a married man ought to see. Of course, he never discusses this with Claire. In contrast, if Jamie ever found out that Claire had been in a similar situation, she’d surely get a beating again.
Post-seduction, Jamie rushes back to Claire and apologizes for becoming a violent pig (my words, not his) the day before. He basically says it won’t happen again, as all abusers are wont to do. He hands her a knife, and tells her if it does happen again, she should stab him in the heart. I’m quite sure he wouldn’t have made that offer if he thought for even one second that she’d take him up on it.
And here’s where the episode becomes truly gag-worthy. All is forgiven. And she’s actually so turned on that she has her way with him. But, while she vigorously humps him like an out of control dog in heat, she puts the dagger to his throat, and without even slowing her rhythm, threatens his life if he ever hurts her again.
In the real world, that would kind of destroy the mood for most of us. But for some sick reason, it turns Jamie on. He takes over and says to her that she will call him master. And later, the last straw for me, she actually does.
Next, as they lay lovingly in each other’s arms by the glow of the fire, Jamie asks her what sadist means, as she called him one earlier. She explains that it’s someone who gets turned on by inflicting pain. He admits it, and they both kiss passionately. So, more of the same in the future? What could possibly go wrong?
Maybe those people who love the episode are looking at it solely through an historical lens. Maybe they can justify that women were uniformly treated badly back then. And lord knows that for centuries, Western culture has been set up to create an unequal power dynamic between men and women. But this episode glorified it to such a degree that it actually sickened me. What else will be served up for our viewing pleasure? Snuff films? Is there even a line that shouldn’t be crossed anymore?
Even worse, the friend that I watched that episode with, upon seeing my strong negative reaction to it, actually tried to defend Jamie to me, and dismissed my reaction as just a part of my black and white autistic thinking. I interpreted this as my feelings and my opinions being invalidated. So it’s no big deal? Locker room talk?
Historical context, my butt. We were watching it in the here and now, the messages about acceptable behavior were being sent in the here and now, and I don’t care who you are, there’s plenty of justification for black and white thinking in this instance. There is no excuse for Netflix to eroticize abuse that way. And for god’s sake, there’s no defense for it.
I’m just saddened by my friend’s lack of understanding, and his blindness to the things women go through every single day. It must be nice not to live with that knowledge, in blissful reverie because you can be fairly certain that it will never happen to you. Nice, but not realistic or inclusive.
Rest assured, I won’t be watching episode 10, or any other Outlander episode, for that matter. It will be a challenge, because the show gets a lot of hype and it seems like it’s going in an interesting direction. But episode 9 is burned into my brain, and I would constantly be braced for future outrages, whether they happen again or not.
What a disappointment. The show had such potential. I’m not saying good episodes after this one are out of the realm of possibility, because neither Jamie nor Claire seem to think that any of this was a game changer, and the writers will make sure they don’t even give it a second thought.
But I’d never be able to get past it. I don’t like the messages that both characters sent, and therefore I don’t really care to hear anything else they may have to say moving forward. I don’t watch TV to be traumatized, ye ken?
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