‘Outlander’ season 2, episode 10 reaction: On the Angus surprise
Anytime that you have an episode of a show like “Outlander” that is themed in some way around a major battle, of course you are going to expect a character to go. When that character is someone beloved, that makes it even harder.
Ultimately, the end of this episode brought us the departure of someone in Angus who we did not expect to go, and based on the reaction online, neither did readers of the Diana Gabaldon books given that he is someone who survives a little bit longer in the source material than he does here. So why make the change? It’s hard sometimes to get inside of the head of the show’s writers, but it hard to deny that making this move here had a deep emotional impact. In getting rid of someone like this you create the unsettling “no one is safe” feeling that showrunners often go for, and you even put book readers more in a state of unease.
So what it like for Stephen Walters playing this goodbye? Speaking to TVLine in a postmortem, he explained that in one way, there was one thing he really enjoyed in particular about the way in which his character said goodbye:
“… It’s kind of fitting that it should be with the character of Claire, given that for most of the time I was on screen, I was either goading her or picking on her. And in the end, she kind of came around to him, or he came around to her. It’s fitting that it should be that he died in her arms. It’s a nice touch, an ironic touch.”
These two in some ways went full-circle, and for Claire, she’s now going to have to remember this, compartmentalize, and prepare for what could be coming next in Culloden. That is what is often so distressing about war: Often, you have to just push beyond the pain and try your best to move forward, thinking there will be some time to mourn later.
If you do want some further “Outlander” news, be sure to head over here for our review of tonight’s installment. Also, sign up over here to have some other TV news sent right over to you via our official CarterMatt Newsletter. (Photo: Starz.)