vendredi 15 septembre 2017
Why Outlander's Writers Are Leaving This Important Book Element Out of the Show
There's a moment in the Outlander season three premiere, just before Claire goes into labor with Brianna, when Frank gets up in the middle of the night to write to Reverend Wakefield. He asks the reverend to look into Claire's story, specifically the identity of this "Jamie" from hundreds of years ago. Frank writes:
I find myself in need of your assistance once more. I hope that you'll indulge me in undertaking some research regarding an 18th-century Highlander who fought in the Battle of Culloden. His name was James Fraser.
That's as far as Frank gets in composing his letter before Claire interrupts him to tell him that her water has broken, which means it's time to go to the hospital. In the next scene, Claire is in the throes of labor, the letter all but forgotten. If you're a fan of Diana Gabaldon's book series, however, this scene may have rung some bells.
I asked executive producer Maril Davis about this letter and the infamous headstone, so read on to find out how the show intends to deal with that aspect of the book . . . but be warned of light book spoilers!
In the book Drums of Autumn, Roger reveals that he has found a letter written from Frank to the reverend, referencing another, long-ago letter in which Frank asks Reverend Wakefield to place a gravestone with Jamie's name on it near Black Jack Randall's gravestone in St. Kilda's churchyard, which the reverend does. Frank's reasoning for this is that he thinks Claire will someday take Brianna to Scotland and Brianna might go looking for the grave of her ancestor Black Jack Randall. Jamie's gravestone would perhaps spur Claire to tell Brianna about Jamie (which it does, in Dragonfly in Amber). Unfortunately, the gravestone also leads Claire to believe she knows Jamie dies in Scotland, so she is fearful of his return there until she knows the truth.
This letter Roger tells Jamie about also reveals that Frank has researched Jamie and discovered the Highlander survives the Battle of Culloden, but Frank doesn't tell Claire that out of fear she will leave him to try to return to Jamie.
In all honesty, it's one of the more convoluted plot points - one that many readers have been confused by as well.
According to Davis, the Outlander writers feel the same way.
"I agree that we all find that confusing," she said. "I love [author Diana Gabaldon] and I hope she won't be mad at me - but it seemed really crazy that Frank would lay that headstone, and what does that mean? So, honestly, right now we probably won't play that."
She continued, saying, "But we did still feel like, though, Frank would have been looking for Jamie and would have wondered what happened to him and tried to figure that out, so that is something we want to play, but the headstone is something we had a really hard time figuring out how that would work. It seemed a little wonky."
So if any readers were hoping perhaps the TV series would clear up the headstone matter, think again. But there are still plenty of other juicy future things invading the past that are left for the show to explore.
Related Posts:
I've Got 99 Problems, and Ant-Man and the Wasp's Midcredits Scene Caused All of Them Editor's note: The following contains MAJOR, INSANELY SPOILER-Y spoilers for the scenes following Ant-Man and the Wasp. Next time you go to therapy, don't be surprised if the counselor ditches the age-old "tell me about your… Read More
Greta Gerwig's Little Women Remake Is Already Shaping Up to Have the Best Cast Greta Gerwig is picking up steam on her next project, which will see her dusting off a true classic: the Oscar nominee has signed on to direct a new adaptation of Louisa May Alcott's Little Women. If you missed it in high sc… Read More
Ready to Meet the Young Avengers? Marvel Might Be Headed That Way With Ant-Man and the Wasp now upon us, fans may be turning toward Captain Marvel, Avengers 4, and whatever Marvel has up its sleeve next. Based on a few recent quotes from Marvel Studios president Kevin Feige, we could poten… Read More
Sacha Baron Cohen Has a New Show on the Way, and the Teaser Already Has Us Cackling Sacha Baron Cohen is back with a brand new character and series, and we're honestly pretty excited about what to except. The Brothers Grimsby actor has teamed up with Showtime for a comedy reportedly called Who Is America?, … Read More
A Spoiler-Free Summary of What Sharp Objects Is All About The July 8th premiere of HBO's Sharp Objects, the latest Gillian Flynn book adaptation, has finally arrived. If you still have yet to read Gillian Flynn's 2006 bestselling debut of the same name, we're here to give you a bri… Read More
0 comments:
Enregistrer un commentaire