Outlander (TV Series) A Practical Guide for Time-Travelers (2023) User Reviews

More time travel than history lesson

[Rob-O-Cop · 8/10 · 1 August 2023]

Which is good. I like the time travel aspects of this story although I also do credit they they don't try to explain it in depth because you can't really, so keeping it vague is good.

Even so we got to have a think about it, with Buck, and for degrimstead-1 - Buck was the husband of the woman and child Roger helped when he crossed from Scotland to America to find Brianna. That woman was his great great great xxx Grandmother Making Buck his Great xxx Grandfather, but Buck took exception to Roger hugging her when he re-met her in America considering him a threat, not a relative, consequently picked a fight with him and got him hung, back in season 5 episode 7 'the ballad of roger mac'.

The season is still slow but new director Joss Agnew manages to take it up a bit from the lull the previous 3 directors of season seven have set. Hopefully it'll keep getting the life breathed back into it.

The battle was decent, the Jamie cliff hanger a bit pointless as we all know he's not going to be dead, cos it's not the end of the series, and let's face it this series is dead without him.

It can get better, but it's still watchable and interesting even if there are missteps.

Can someone please tell me

[degrimstead-1 · 8/10 · 31 July 2023]

Who Buck McKenzie is? How did he fit into the original time in Scotland? I know he must be part of Jamie's family but I just don't remember him. What happened between him and Bree/Roger when they went back? I just don't recall the name "Buck." It gets hard when there's so much time between seasons to keep track of people and events in the different times. Kinda cool that he came forward tho. I love the time travel aspect of the show and glad they're really getting into it! I look forward to seeing Roger back in time next week. Creepy how that neighbor stole Jem and I hope he punishes him appropriately.

Naysayers be gone

[dalgeomurt · 10/10 · 28 July 2023]

Nothing bad to say here. Another great episode. Starts my weekend off right! Outlander just keeps bringing it as far as I'm concerned. So many story lines going on at one time. Rob, Buck, Jaime oh my! I just knew that Rob Cameron was gonna be bad news. This episode left me worrying about so many people and next week is the mid season finale. Again I say Oh my!

Thankfully we will have Men in Kilts to fill in some of the time. 😉

***Outlander fans should check out the outlander cast podcast with Mary and Blake. True outlander fans will really enjoy it. You get all the good, bad and great along with a few laughs.***

Godspeed, Walter

[rich-fouts · 10/10 · 13 September 2023]

For Claire, losing a patient is never easy, but this one was special. Walter (wonderfully played by the great Tobi Bakare) was more than stoic when his injury results in an amputation. A natural storyteller, he recalls how and when he met his wife, a story Claire asks him to think about when it's clear he's not going to make it. The interaction with him and Claire is touching and terrific. But then, anyone who does an emotional scene with Caitriona Balfe knows they must bring their A-game. Bakare however, is so subtle and nuanced, never overacts and just broke my heart (as this series does all the time).

Not sure if Richard Rankin ever taught school in real life, but boy oh boy can this guy engage a group of students. Eager to get out of the house, he does a masterful job using song to teach the ancient language of the Highlanders.

What was really interesting was the obvious attraction one of his students (Cameron, played by the handsome Chris Fulton). That was unexpected and really fun to watch, since Roger is so unprepared for it (who wouldn't be). When they make a dinner date, it's one of the cliffhangers of the episode. What's this attraction all about?

William Ransom and Young Ian meet again in this scene, and I was waiting for Ian to screw up and say something like, "Ay, Cousin!" But, we can only imagine that the day will come when William learns Jamie is his biological father (the resemblance is a bit uncanny, but the casting in this show is amazing when putting family members together).

Jamie, always the hero performs another Lancelot rescue of his wife with some unexpected tactics that are shades of Viking culture. It's difficult seeing William so firmly committed to the Brits and we also can only imagine that he and Jamie will come to a reckoning. As an American, we did not learn the nuances of the American revolution quite like this series helps us understand. It's fascinating watching the gray lines between the rebels and the loyalists.

A final scene with Jamie and Claire underscores just how well these two actors have a chemistry we rarely see in film or television. They are extraordinary, so much, that other couples often (unfairly) appear dull. Finally, what a treat to see Barry O'Connor (Game of Thrones, The Tudors) come onto the screen as Colonel Daniel Morgan. Hope we see more of this terrific actor.

I really like the Balfe 's narration which reminds us that this whole series is, after all, Claire's story.

Some good moments

[adriana2312 · 3/10 · 29 July 2023]

The whole season 7, so far, has been a very bad performance.

Very flat acting. Where is the spirit of Claire?

Too many repetitions of similar events.

It looks like the actors are worn out by the length of it all.

Ian still looks fresh! And acting well with a bit of enthousiasme.

Hollow endless and pointless conversations with lot's of tears and fake drama. It feels very cheap with long tear filled gazes, lot's of not well caried out emotions.

A horrible attack ends within second!

Brianna doesn't even appear scared when trapped and she quickly finds a solution!

The whole season seems nothing more than a time filling performance and I am surprised how they can stretch it over so many episodes! It's unbelievable!

It is completely losing it's credibility.

Seaon 6 was already iffy but this tops it all. Fast forward through the episodes and you still haven't missed anything.

A few seconds of Jamie and Jemm's fate do not make a show

[Ziggy1965 · 4/10 · 1 August 2023]

This is really bad! I feel like I am going through what I did with the last 2 seasons of Game of Thrones. It all started out great and then at the end, it just flopped!

And wasn't that "love" scene with Brie and Roger just creepy! I had to fast forward through it. They have zero chemistry and the writers and directors are trying to make them be the second coming of Jamie and Claire.

Talking about Jamie and Claire, they are now just secondary characters. There is very little spark left there. Also, tell me, what are the chances that a woman can sit on a man's lap out in the open and kiss while there are other men around and no one says anything? This is 1777!!

Maybe with Roger and Bree going into the past, the story won't feel so disjointed anymore. It needs something.

My wife did say that these books were very long and boring. Looks like this spirit of the books has made it into the TV show as well.

Episode 707

[bobcobb301 · 21 August 2023]

I can't watch love scenes, mild or extreme, but the idea of two characters doing the deed to "In the Air Tonight" is so on the nose that it is kind of funny. Outlander has something special with its younger couple and I am sad we only have one more season left.

The episode was solid, but the battle scenes were a little weird. I do like them not revealing Jamie was a part of it until the very end. That was a smart move and a refreshing change from how so many other TV shows book this kind of thing where they would show him in the battle or show him getting shot so there is no suspense when we get that final image.

Getting lazy

[niveaemercado-70935 · 4/10 · 3 January 2024]

As a whole, I love the show, but this season is very disappointing so far. I know that it's impossible to recreate EVERYTHING from the books, but it feels like everyone involved in the production is bored with it.

Substantive, heated conversations from the books are reduced to one person simply sighing to themselves.

Brianna and Roger show none of the fire that their counterparts in the books demonstrate in their first encounter with Buck MacKenzie.

Jamie and Claire are entirely too passive and resigned to the loss of their home and conscription into the military.

In the books, when Brianna first met William, she was stunned. Yes, the show had Jamie tell her about William in an earlier season, so she knew of his existence. But seeing him in person should have made more of an impact.

The earlier seasons succeeded in conveying the intensity and passion of Scottish Highlanders (and the occasional English noble with highlander blood). This season is devoid of any such passion.

Guys, please: Put in the effort or shut the whole thing down.