Outlander season 3 reaction: The presentation of Jamie’s second wife

Why is Outlander season 3 presenting the story of Jamie’s second wife the way that they are? As many of you know CarterMatt doesn’t talk about the show with the books in mind, but since watching the last episode we’ve learned of some significant departures involving what we saw and the source material. One of the biggest ones is tied to the way that we’re learning about Jamie’s other marriage in the time in which he and Claire were apart.

So why are we learning about it earlier, and seeing more of what Jamie thinks and how he wants to wash this marriage away? It’s not an intention to divert so much from the source as it just seems to be a change brought about mostly by the new medium in which the show is being presented.

In speaking more about this in a new piece with The Hollywood Reporter, executive producer Matthew B. Roberts had the following to say about why the story is presented in the way that it is:

“Because we’re watching it in a different medium, when you read about it Claire is taking you through it, it’s easy to not delve into Jamie’s inner thoughts … But when you visibly see Jamie on the screen, you have to play that something is bothering him, something he’s holding in. When you do that enough, you have to give the audience a little bread crumb to know what this is.”

Roberts’ explanation to us makes perfect sense — since we’re seeing things more from the perspective of Jamie on the show, it makes sense that he would be wrestling with some sort of guilt over this. Otherwise, it would be strange for this to come out of the blue later on down the road.

From here, what will be interesting is when viewers actually meet Jamie’s second wife … provided that they haven’t met her already. Yes, we know that we’re being super-vague about this, but we’re aware there are a select few viewers out there who may not know and want to be surprised by this. The great thing that seems to be coming out of this episode is that you’re going to get a chance for a Caitriona Balfe performance like no other. Outlander is at its best when it is intense and the actors are getting meaty material; this episode should bring us that in abundance…

What do you think about the way in which Outlander presented the story of Jamie’s second wife? Share some of your thoughts on that subject in the comments section below!

Meanwhile, be sure to click here if you did miss our review of “Creme de Menthe” from last night. Also, like us on Facebook to get more insight on Outlander and some other shows we cover. (Photo: Starz.)