Outlander season 3: Did Caitriona Balfe secure Golden Globe nomination in ‘Heaven & Earth’?

With today’s Outlander season 3 – awards watch feature, we want to plant the focus on Caitriona Balfe after what we would consider to be yet another amazing performance. This time around, we’re talking about one that put her into another echelon for “Heaven & Earth.”

We’re right in the thick of Golden Globe campaign season, and one of the reasons we write about this performance now is for a very simple reason: Was this what was needed in order for her to secure a place as a nominee? While we don’t know for sure until next month (you can vote in our CarterMatt Golden Globes series here), we do think that this episode may have helped her move up from a likely nominee to as sure of a sure thing as you can get.

Let’s face it — the Hollywood Foreign Press does have a history of being rather unpredictable when it comes to some of the nominations, but even with that, it’s rather hard to envision many scenarios in which we don’t end up seeing a nomination come Caitriona’s way for this show. They’ve nominated her twice already, and “Heaven & Earth” showcased almost every dimension of what she can do as an actress. We saw her bravery, her vulnerability, her determination, and her assertiveness. She never made Claire feel inauthentic or though she was reaching for something not within her character. We say that with the utmost praise given that there were so many things that she did within this episode that are difficult for almost any character. Think in terms of her having the guts to go into Captain Leonard’s quarters, her making the decision to jump overboard at the end of the episode, and her trying to make her escape on the island before that.

Before any of this, you also have to remember that she rightfully challenged many aboard the Porpoise when it comes to their horrible conditions and refused to let any of them intimidate her. She did all of this, while still expressing her love for Jamie and the love and care needed in order to help the patients.

As for Sam Heughan and the show itself…

They are both absolutely deserving! However, Outlander as a series was snubbed last year while Heughan has been, unfortunately, snubbed from the very beginning. For the time being she is the easiest to feel confident about, given the Globes’ previous nomination, that Caitriona will get the nod. We hope that this in turn leads to her taking home a victory for the first time.

Do you consider Caitriona Balfe a lock for a nomination?

Be sure to share in the comments below! Meanwhile, be sure to visit the link here in the event you do want to get some more news when it comes to the show, including our review for tonight’s episode and a look ahead at what is coming up next.

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