Outlander notes: Season 5 challenges; Sam Heughan in the mud
In a post on his Instagram Stories today, Sam confirmed that he is back to work filming (and apparently now in the daytime after wrapping a week of night shoots). His challenge? Trying to sift his way through the muck. Given the sort of rain that there’s been in Scotland as of late, we’re starting to think that the unsung heroes of the crew are whoever cleans these costumes. Just imagine what the mudroom looks like after a long day of work…
On the flip side, this muddy mess probably looks incredible onscreen, since you’re getting all of these different textures. Best of all, you’re not even having to spend money to make it happen! For Sam and the rest of the cast, it’s all for the sake of the craft, right? (Here’s your customary reminder that Outlander is somewhere between 20-25% through filming right now; hopefully, production will be done before the holidays.)
The challenge of adapting The Fiery Cross
We don’t have to spell out the reasons why the writers have a tough challenge for season 5 — it should really be obvious. We’re talking about a long book with a lot of different twists and characters; it’s been discussed for some time in the book world that this one would be a challenge. That’s even more so because you have a full Murtagh story that isn’t even in the book, though elements of it exist in some other forms.
Matthew B. Roberts is one of the noble shepherds trying to steer the words in the right direction, and he told Parade recently all about the task he, Toni Graphia, and the rest of the team have:
It’s a very thick book. There’s a lot going on in Fiery Cross. There’s a lot of really fantastic moments that we’re trying to find space for. Once again, when you have a very thick book and Murtaugh’s not even in it, when that story takes up space, then obviously other things have to move to the side. But we’re committed to it, we can’t just go away from it, so we’ll do the best we can.
We do only have 12 episodes this year. Making it all fit is always a challenge. You want to think they get easier as we go, but they actually get thicker as they go and there’s more to them, so it just seems to get more and more challenging every year.
With only a dozen episodes, some stuff’s going to be dropped. Maybe some will make it into Outlander Untold, and maybe some will be cut out altogether. The most important thing is that season 5 has a narrative flow that makes sense for the show. It’d be nice for readers if it goes in line with the books, but it’s hard to fit that much material into 12 episodes.
Photo: Starz