The beloved romantic fantasy Outlander (based on the novels by Diana Gabaldon) is going through one of its longest droughts at the moment, as various shows have suffered setbacks due to the current global crisis.
From problematic husband-wife dynamics to bloopers and plot holes, the show has got away with certain flaws and issues because of the passion and commitment of it's fanbase. As fans crave another season of the charismatic Jamie and brilliant Claire Fraser, it's fair to take a look at a few flaws in the series that seem to have been ignored over the years.
The Forgotten Druids
The Druids appeared in the first episode, "Sassenach", at the stone circle in Craig Na Dun where Frank and Claire watched their magical dance at the break of dawn. The Druids were something akin to witches, though not exactly, who continued to observe rituals at the stone circle.
The Druids were mentioned once more, right after Claire had landed up in the past, and was rescued by Murtagh from the advances of Jack Randall. However, since then these mystical healers haven't really been mentioned at all, although it was suggested at the beginning that they were somehow connected to the entire saga of spirits and time travel. There might still be occasion to tie up that loose end, but as of now, fans are choosing to ignore them altogether.
The Controversial Hiding
One of the most controversial moments in Claire and Jamie's epic love story has been the one where Jamie gave his wife a good hiding for disobeying his orders and endangering the lives of the entire band of Highlanders.
Jamie Fraser is a broad-minded man, able to accept the fact that his wife is from another time and almost always supporting her as she fights against the systemic injustices of the 19th century. For this man to suddenly take off his belt and start inflicting punishment on his wife was not just shocking, but also atrocious. However, highly debatable though the scene was, fans seem to have accepted it in time as part of the journey of their favorite romantic pair.
Inconsistent Characters
Towards the end of season 2, when Jamie and Claire realized that the Battle of Culloden would happen after all despite their best efforts, Claire sprung the idea that they do away with the Bonnie Prince himself so that the battle wouldn't be fought anyway.
This was a shocking twist coming from someone like Claire, who later took the oath never to harm a human being and became well-known in both historical periods that she lived in as someone who healed and saved people. True, she was desperate to save the Highlanders and especially Jamie, but plotting the murder of Charles Stuart was nevertheless very inconsistent with her character.
Bizarre Plot Points
Similar to plotting Charles Stuart's murder, Claire and Jamie were both complicit in murdering Dougal McKenzie. The latter wasn't the most ethical of men and had, time and again, proved himself to be somewhat dubious, but he was still a loyal Scot and believed in the cause of the Highlanders.
Yet, Jamie and Claire killed Dougal in the spur of the moment, even though they didn't go through the plan of murdering the Prince after all. Since neither Jamie nor Claire was by nature capable of such cold-blooded murder, the whole plot point seemed bizarre and flawed.
Laoghaire's Abandonment
Jamie Fraser married the much-hated Laoghaire years after Claire had left him, a piece of news that came as a nasty shock to Claire after she had returned to Jamie some twenty years later.
However, Jamie's marriage to Laoghaire didn't make much sense at all, except to throw a spanner in the works for Claire. Jamie didn't seem fond of her, nor did he live with her. And at the end of the day, he simply abandoned her, as their marriage became null and void, making Laoghaire something of a victim.
Claire's Unrealistic Attitude
Claire Fraser is an empowered woman and one of the most beloved heroines on modern television. However, what makes Claire so strong is in essence also the reason she gets into scrapes all the time.
While Claire is always justified in her protests-- after all, social and cultural norms were much more regressive in the 18th century than they were in the mid-twentieth--her bull-in-a-china-shop behavior lands her, as well as those with her, in trouble almost as soon as she gets somewhere new. In fact, there are times when her decisions are positively absurd, like the time in season 3 when she jumped into the ocean with nothing but prayers to back her up. For someone as intelligent as Claire Fraser, her unthinking ways do feel a tad unrealistic.
The Various Faux Pas
Unfortunately, there are many faux pas or bloopers in the series which fans either ignored or simply haven't noticed. The pilot itself had small faux pas which only very alert eyes might notice. Claire is shown in her army nurse attire during World War II, but the state of her apron changes in every shot as she tends to a wounded soldier.
Then, in the beloved wedding episode, Dougal took a knife and slashed both Jamie and Claire's wrists as part of the ritual. However, throughout the wedding night, their wrists seemed perfectly fine.
The Bizarre Explanations & Plot Holes
Geillis Duncan might have been a fascinating character, but her return from the dead in season 3 was hard to believe. She was literally being manhandled on her way to the stake when Claire last saw her, and there was hardly any way she could have survived the witch burning. However, when she meets Claire in season 3, she tells her how Dougal had found another corpse, and she managed to get away after all. The writers had to make up something to explain Geillis being alive, but maybe it could have been something more believable.
The series also has plot holes that are often ignored. For instance, when Frank saw the apparition outside Claire's window in the pilot, he had only just about seen a silhouette of a Scot dressed in traditional attire. However, when he gives the description of the man he saw to the police when assuming Claire had been abducted, it is detailed down to the color of his eyes and complexion.
Historical Inaccuracies
Blunders in historical accuracy aren't expected from a show that revolves around history. The intense witch trial for one, couldn't have happened at all at the time since witch burning had long been outlawed by the 1740s. The outrageous custom of witch trials and burning innocent women on the stake came to an end sometime in 1727, close to two decades before the show's timeline.
Then again, when Claire and Jamie arrived in Georgia in season 3 after having saved Young Ian from Geillis' clutches, they decided to make a life in America. However, America as such didn't even exist at the time, as the American Revolution hadn't come to pass. So when Claire declared they would live in America, Jamie should have asked for some clarification.
The Whole Time Travel Jazz
Time travel is, of course, at the heart of the Outlander universe. However, it seems as though fans continually overlook the vagueness in the rules of time travel and the fact that things happen all the time that might be extremely hard to explain in terms of physics.
Roger McKenzie actually came face to face with several of his ancestors on more than one occasion, which must have taken some quirky imagination. Moreover, other aspects of time travel remained unexplained. For instance, gemstones are necessary to pass through time. But the show never revealed what gemstone Claire was carrying when she first passed through the stones at Craig Na Dun; her wedding ring with Frank was a simple band of gold. Further, when Roger and Bree landed back in 18th century America with their son, they had both been thinking of 'home'. So did the stones just know their thoughts and knew exactly where home was?