Outlander is the kind of TV show that was never shy about surprising the audience. That's probably one of its biggest strengths, alongside all of the feelings and emotions this epic love story brings to the table. And the thing about Outlander is that it knows exactly how to work with the source material. Diana Gabaldon's books are filled with tales of love, betrayal, and pain. Many would find it extremely complex to bring these scenes to life without something getting lost in translation, and coming up short.
Thankfully, the showrunners managed to do it perfectly, and Outlander has been renewed for two more seasons. Fans can very well expect more twists and turns to come about the rocky world of Claire and Jaime, the real star-crossed lovers (that's right Shakespeare). While we anxiously wait for season five, let's take a walk down memory lane and revisit the 10 most talked about scenes is Outlander. Warning: you might be hit with some serious emotions.
Faith's Death
Like any show that dares to try and tap into real life (you know, minus the whole time-traveling thing), Outlander never tried to play the good guy, and give everyone a happy ending at all times. Life is what it is, and as heart-wrenching as some moments might be, that doesn't make them any less real. It's a very sad reality that people die and experience loss, but a reality nonetheless.
Undoubtedly one of the most tragic deaths in the history of the show was that of Jamie and Claire's daughter, Faith, who didn't get a chance at life at all. She was stillborn, and Claire nearly lost her life giving birth to her. The flashbacks we get from a mother holding her dead child are some of the most powerful and unforgettable, not only on the show but on television in general.
Jamie & Willie's Goodbye
Keeping up with the trend of mercilessly stabbing fans through the heart, Outlander gave Jamie yet another tear-jerking, gut-wrenching moment. This man had been through so much, it's hard to understand how he's still standing. After losing his daughter Faith (see above), and sending Claire through the stones when she's carrying their daughter Brianna, he is again forced to say goodbye to another one of his children.
When William's resemblance to him begins to be very much perceivable, Jamie knows it's time to say goodbye. It serves as somewhat of solace that William will stay with Lord John Gray and Isobel. Jamie knows his son will be loved and want for nothing. However, it still doesn't make the scene when they say goodbye any less sad.
Laoghaire Shoots Jamie
A good story always needs a good villain. From the very beginning, Laoghaire was the one fans knew was only there to cause trouble and drive a wedge between Claire and Jamie, anyway she possibly could. She doesn't have many redeeming qualities, and even the allusions to her previously getting hurt at the hands of one of her husbands make her worthy of sympathy.
Everyone was shocked when they found out Jamie wed her. Out of all the women he could go for, he chose the one who tried to get Claire burned at the stake? Jesus. Of course, it's a little more complicated than that, but things really do take a turn for the worst when Laoghaire shoots him in the arm - hell really hath no furry. Luckily, Claire is the nurse we all know and love and manages to patch him up with some help from the future.
"The Battle Joined" Executions
There are many testaments to Sam Heughan's phenomenal abilities as an actor throughout the show. One of them has to be during the season premiere of the third season, when, after we got so used to seeing Claire and Jamie going through life, adventures, and misadventures together, we have Jamie all by himself, fighting.
In the aftermath of the battle, Jamie survives, but barely. It was awful and bloody, and to ensure his survival, he must simply lay there as if he is also dead. The entire scene is absolutely fantastic, and the culmination of the Culloden who survived being lined up and slaughtered really is the icing on top of a horrific cake. Jamie being impotent in the face of his own all being executed is terrible - and makes for one heck of a scene.
Claire & Jamie's Goodbye
The more this list goes on, the more it becomes clear just how much emotional pain Jamie has had to withstand throughout the four seasons of the show. The thirteenth episode of the second season shows us one of the most emotional and talked-about scenes of Outlander - Jamie and Claire saying goodbye.
Jamie knows the only way he can ensure the safety of his wife and their unborn child is to send Claire back to her own time, no matter how much that breaks their hearts. It's heartbreaking and incredibly romantic all at once, and shows that true love is, in fact selfless. Queue the tears, because this moment is an excruciating double loss for Jamie.
The Turtle Soup
On a much lighter note, if there's another thing Outlander is very well known for, is its steamy sex scenes. They're not raunchy, or predictable, and they're always beautifully executed. Major props to the producers and the actors for being able to turn what must be an incredibly awkward situation into such a masterpiece, translated into television.
This particular scene from season 3 marks a slight departure of the usual intensity that characterizes the sex scenes on the show. After becoming slightly altered with turtle soup, a drunk Claire initiates what is one of the most fun and delicious to watch moments in Outlander. And she deserved every minute of it! Maybe we should make turtle soup a thing.
Brianna's Flashbacks
Frank never had many fans. Even though the show actually made the character much more likable than he was on the books (giving us an episode of him looking for Claire, giving him only one mistress that he was actually in love with, and so on), he was still disliked in general. After his demise, the show brought him back in the form of flashbacks, as Brianna ventures into meeting her biological father.
It was very important for the audience to get a sense of Frank's side of the story, and to show Brianna's feelings towards the entire situation. This was, after all, the man who raised her - and the guilt she carried because of his death was an immense weight. Through these flashbacks, we get to know Frank had Jamie and Claire's obituary. This was a surprise for everyone, that enlightened us about his sudden request for a divorce, and want to move away with Brianna.
The Wedding Night
It's already quite a feat that this list isn't entirely made up of sex scenes. And there are more than enough to fill it, each and every one of them with its own singularities that make it special. However, if there is one lovemaking scene that sparked some serious reactions from the audience was the one where Jamie and Claire get together for a second time.
When they first get intimate, it's rushed and messy, but the second time around, it's slow, soft, and even more intense. The couples take their time savoring each other's bodies, and there's not a soul on this planet that didn't feel hot and bothered during the whole scene. It's yet to be topped, and we can't wait to see how it happens.
Young Ian's Assault
A very intense and controversial topic Outlander chose to deal with was assault. And it was a bold, and yet necessary decision, that both instances dealt with male assault, something that happens but isn't represented or talked about nearly enough in mainstream media. The fact that the show dealt with it so well, deserves praise.
Ian, Jamie's 16-year-old nephew, is taken by the Bruja pirates. When he's taken to the Braka, Geillis Duncan, she is bathing in goat's blood. The 40 something-year-old woman drugs Ian, and once she gets the information she wanted, she begins rubbing his leg and removes her robe. While the show doesn't show it, it's made clear the Braka assaulted the young boy, in an unexpected turn of events, that had fans talking for a while.
Jamie's Assault And Torture
The first time Outlander took on the challenge of depicting assault and torture on television was on the first season of the show, and the victim was none other than Jamie himself. These were some of the most difficult scenes to watch, not just in Outlander, but on any form of film or television. The brutality and the sadistic nature of Jack Randall are shown without mercy, leaving the viewer to feel everything from Jamie's perspective.
As opposed to what happens in the book, the audience got everything shown in first hand, which makes it all the more emotionally violent and scarring. The vivid scenes of Jamie's torture are still looming over some of the fans and will remain forever as the most talked about moments of the show, for everything it represents both in fiction and real life.