‘Outlander’ season 1 finale: Author warns to expect deviations
The first season of “Outlander” is going to come to a close on Saturday night, and as we get closer and closer to the end of this series’ run for the year on Starz, what we do potentially run into here is a similar situation that “Game of Thrones” has been forced into dealing with. Once you do start to change one little thing here or there, you start to run the risk of a butterfly effect. There are more and more other changes that come into play, and before you know it, those changes start to lead to other changes. It’s inevitable, and certain changes have to be made to convince a story into a TV show … even one that gives you a generous first season of 16 episodes.
In leading up to the finale, the author of the book series in Diana Gabaldon presented a warning herself to fans of the books on Facebook, making it clear that while there are great reasons to enjoy the finale, it will not be a literal retelling of her work:
“Put. The. Book. Down. Really, I mean it. If you watch this part with the book in your hand, expecting this, that, and the other thing…you _will_ be disappointed, I guarantee it.
“Among the anticipatory oh-it-will-be-awful commentary, I’ve seen a fair number of people worrying aloud about, “But HOW are they going to get everything from the book into just one more episode?”
“Well, look, guys, be logical. You _know_ the answer to that. They can’t. Ergo, it’s _not_ going to be just like the book. Abandon the notion that it should be, is my advice.
The positive thing we can say right now for book purists is that even with changes, “Outlander” probably will still most likely be more faithful than “Game of Thrones” at the moment.
One quick thing we’ll commend book readers for: Being for the most part kind to show viewers in not spoiling too many events that take place that are fairly literally expressed onscreen. We know so often there is a tendency to spill everything, and we have seen a great deal of restraint exercised by many readers.