Category: Outlander

Outlander "Wentworth Prison" Review

7/3/2015

by Cookie N Screen

There is something so sinisterly enthralling about villainous characters that, if done well, gift excellence to a television show. Like the romping Hannibal that illuminates his television show, evil characters are pivotal if they are fleshed out with realism. This is where Outlander and Game of Thrones separates. For example, with Ramsey Bolton, you can loathe him but he is a cartoon character of depravity and rage, set to exert the power shock towards the audience. With Captain Jack Randall, whose similar modus operandi causes alarm for fans, there is a sickening reason and poetic rhyme and reason to his work that fleshes him out as the beast he is - and not merely a device for us to loathe.

As we enter in to the darker elements of Outlander with the penultimate episode, we know exactly the lengths Randall will go to catch and break his prey.

Outlander "The Search" Review

6/26/2015

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by Cookie N Screen

Another week goes by and yet another filler episode has descended on Outlander. As we move further into red coat territory again, it becomes apparent that either the television show has no idea where it is heading or it is blighted by trying to adapt everything from the book. Stringing the plot and fleshing it out to fit twenty plus episodes means that, rather than focus on the drama, we get a pained and strained second half of a series that should have sprung into some sort of action. It’s disappointing that we’ve galloped back to dullness once more.

Outlander "The Watch" Review

6/18/2015

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by Cookie N Screen

I’ve thrown a lot of praise at Outlander recently. None of it is unwarranted, mind, but I am very aware of how much I’ve given to Outlander in term of performances, storyline and evocative themes. Similarly to series such as Hannibal and Orange is the New Black, nothing is perfect and the episodes are certainly going to have wavering levels of excellence as they plod along. For some reason, the return to Lallybroch has squandered a lot of the tension in this episode and the whole hour is placated - sleepy even - which is surprising because it kicks off with someone waving a gun in Jamie’s face...

Outlander "Lallybroch" Review

6/11/2015

by Cookie N Screen

Before I begin, let’s talk about Jamie Fraser. It feels as though Outlander has been very clever to use last week’s episode as a halfway point between the two characters. The focus on Claire, up until her decision to stay with Jamie, left her newly appointed husband in a bit of a cliché quandary. Apart from his belt beating, Jamie was a Knight in Shining Armour who could do no wrong. He took lashings for women, protected Claire from everyone and defended his family’s honour. So the focus away from the time travelling heroine and filling Jamie with a more in depth look at this character in episode twelve - Lallybroch

Outlander - A Theory!

6/8/2015

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by Cookie N Screen

Outlander very quickly became one of the best shows on TV. Well, Video on Demand anyway. Amazon Prime did something courageous in adapting Diana Gabaldon’s work that rivalled Game of Thrones and Vikings so well. The writing is splendid and gifted us a full fleshed “modern” woman, bringing her into the 1700s and exploring the tensions between Scotland and England. The story of Claire Randall magically being whisked back in time from 1945 to a war torn Scotland and scooped up in the arms of Highlander Jamie Fraser whilst trying to get back to her husband Frank. All the while the pair are pursued by the ruthless and sadistic Black Jack Randall, a distant ancestor to her husband…

Outlander "The Devil's Mark" Review (Spoilers!)

6/4/2015

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by Cookie N Screen

Despite a few middling episodes, Outlander has quickly become a popular and well-written show, perhaps one of the best on television now. If you, like me, are following it weekly since its UK premiere on Prime, then you’ll have heard rumours of story lines to come. And articles that solidify the fact that Outlander continues to defy and has transcended into a smart, emotional and riveting television series. This episode sees it fully unhinge the middling episodes that were weighing it down at the belt. With ferocity, it leads off into a second half of the series much stronger than the first.

Outlander "By the Pricking of my Thumbs" Review

5/29/2015

by Cookie N Screen

It’s a fair to say that television shows are allowed a few weeks off. Unlike film, the objective to continuously provide excellence week in and week out is a tricky task to muster. The writing has to be fully fleshed out, the acting needs to be spot on and the storyline must lift off from the week before and delicately in to the week that proceeds it. That element of impeccable continuation is never achieved in a television series and you’ll find that the show is often blighted but one or two “bad egg” episodes. This week’s Outlander - By the Pricking of My Thumbs - is one of those middling to poor episodes that is trying to continue with the change of dynamics of its predecessors.

Outlander "The Reckoning" Review

5/21/2015

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by Cookie N Screen

Outlander's mid season finale was certainly a shocker - especially considering that Claire is gradually assimilating to life in 1700s Scotland where her resolve is tested repeatedly. Though her running departure to the stones (which, talking about it now took her a stupidly long time) helped snap her out of the real life hunky Highlander fantasy to find her way back to Frank, with every day she spends in the past, the more she wants to stay there. Who could blame her really? But as Outlander continues to romp over the moors and heaths, will it hold this kinetic energy it has acquired? Or will it start to tumble down? This week's episode, The Reckoning, is a little bit of an overstated title for what the episode actually is.

Outlander "Both Sides Now" Review

5/14/2015

by Cookie N Screen

The interesting thing that hasn’t been quite addressed is the time travel aspect of Claire’s journey. Sure, we’ve dealt with the clash of personalities as she struggles to come to terms with the layout of Scotland in the 1700s. But we’ve never really sat down and thought, “Oh yeah, she’s gone back in time. Erm, how?” And more importantly, we’ve completely forgotten about Frank. The reason this is interesting is that, back in her post-war life, Frank is looking for his wife. Does this mean they are going sideways in time, just hundreds of years between them? Why? Couldn’t the stones just take her back to the day she left? Then Frank needn’t look for her at all.

Outlander "The Wedding" Review

5/7/2015

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by Cookie N Screen

The tension between Jamie and Claire has been palpable since she first climbed his steed and tended to his wounds. Whilst the married woman struggled with the obvious tension, Jamie was clearly smitten with the British Sassenach. It seems as though we’ve been waiting for them to launch off into illicitness and place Claire in turmoil due to her past life colliding with that of her future, adding a new intriguing level to the story. In essence, if she found her way back to the stones, she could get back home and recant the wild tale to her husband Frank, sleeping it off in as a bad dream.

Well, she cannot do that anymore.

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