Outlander season 5 debate: How do you feature Scotland?

When looking at the Outlander question in the title above, we understand immediately that there is an air of hypocrisy to it. After all, Scotland is always featured! The big change with the show the past year is that for the most part, it’s being featured as North Carolina. You get little glimpses of the show’s signature Scottish beauty, but the rest is meant to frame the region as Fraser’s Ridge, Wilmington, and beyond. It’s a unique production challenge, but one that the writers have found a way to consistently pull off.

Yet, we’re always going to miss some of the show’s presentation of Scotland, and it does leave us wondering whether or not the area could be featured once more moving into season 5. Is it possible that we could see areas like Lallybroch or a major Scottish city in the upcoming episodes? Do we get to venture back into a world that, both literally and figuratively, has existed mostly within the past? There is absolutely value in some of these discussions, and for the sake of showing off Scotland as an idyllic land, it’s something that production should always embrace.

Is there a reason to show Scotland? That is where things get a tad difficult, just because of the simple fact that Jamie, Claire, Roger, and Brianna are all in North Carolina now and they are the real focal points of the show. In order to feature the region, you effectively have to find a way to alter the point of view and focus on a character we don’t often see — think along the lines of Ian Murray, Jenny, or Laoghaire. The only real reason to focus on them is if something happens back in Scotland that actually impacts one of the characters in America, such as a ghost from the past turning up or someone deciding that they want to head to America. Maybe you could show a little more of the “present” in Scotland, but that could only be to demonstrate if there are any changes being made to history as a result of Claire, Roger, and Bree being in the past.

How otherwise to feature it – If you want to showcase some of your favorite Scottish locations this season, there are always two great ways to do it — dream sequences or flashbacks. There’s certainly a lot of time in Scotland, especially for Jamie, that we did not see, and we have to think that there are also some deep memories of the place that could conjure themselves back up in interesting ways. Remember, Scotland is still an enormous part of some of these characters’ lives; they won’t forget about it being in a new place.

Also, production-wise it’s not all that much an inconvenience to go back to these old locations. Because they are not actually in North Carolina, they still have the greater Scottish world at their finger-tips. They should consider that an asset and a strength.

Check out the latest on Outlander in video form… Below, you can hear our take on the recent season 5 table read! After checking that out, remember to subscribe to CarterMatt on YouTube for more, and to check out our official series playlist.

For some more Outlander discussion…

Check out our piece from last night about characters who could consider residing at Fraser’s Ridge!

What do you want to see in terms of Scotland on Outlander season 5? Be sure to share right now in the comments. (Photo: Starz.)