SummaryMarried World War II nurse Claire Randall (Caitriona Balfe) time travels to 1743 century Scotland, where she meets Jamie Fraser (Sam Heughan) in this adaption of Outlander series by Diana Gabaldon.
SummaryMarried World War II nurse Claire Randall (Caitriona Balfe) time travels to 1743 century Scotland, where she meets Jamie Fraser (Sam Heughan) in this adaption of Outlander series by Diana Gabaldon.
The story ages Jamie and Claire, so when they reunite after a deliciously agonizing buildup (marked by some inspired humor), the rapture is both emotional and spiritual. In season 3, Outlander, TV’s best romance, soars by making you fall in love with it all over again.
Of the two parallel narratives that unfold in the first five episodes, Jamie’s is the more eventful and, because of when and where it unfolds, the one that feels more in keeping with the Outlander sensibility. ... Both of their [Balfe and Heughan's] performances feel deeper and more emotionally resonant than they have before.
For all of the despair the narrative visits upon its characters, Outlander remains as seductive as ever, in part due to the dangled promise of the second season finale that its lovers would one day be reunited. Because of this, the story never sinks under any ballast of hopelessness, choosing instead to spend time allowing viewers to perceive the pangs of loss in order to sweeten the arrival of any uplift fate, or the show’s writers, deem fit to dispense.
There are many other things about the Boston experience--the story is overly heavy-handed with misogyny, American accents are stagey, and dialogue can be stilted and awkward--that are not as successful. The truth is that Outlander is at its best, so far, when the story is in Scotland. There’s more energy and emotional intensity, the storytelling tends to be shaper, and there’s more humor and personality to the vignettes. ... When Outlander is at its best, there is not a more beautiful show on television.