Building the best Outlander episode — what’s in it?
With that, we feel like this article is an interest little thought experiment as to the question referenced in the title. What makes the best Outlander episode and, beyond just that, what would the best one look like if it was to come up at some point down the road? It’s an interesting question to ponder over since this is a show that really delivers on a variety of different fronts!
For the sake of this article, we believe that we’re singling out the five most-important attributes to a good episode of the series, and how, if these powers all combine Captain Planet style, we could be left with an installment that feels like it’s right up there with “A. Malcolm,” “Faith,” “To Ransom a Man’s Soul,” “First Wife,” and some of the other greats. Hopefully, some of these episodes are going to be featured throughout season 4.
Excellent material – That’s always going to topple anything else as a priority, largely because you need an episode to have some significant content related to the story. Ultimately, some episodes are mostly designed to bridge the gap between big events — often these episodes don’t make many “best of” lists, but there are still ways to do that if you balance out the building tension with some memorable little moments along the way.
A couple moments of humor – Outlander is a drama, but there are many funny lines across the series that remind you that these characters are human. We think having these lines, especially between Jamie and Claire, show you the full range of the relationship and are a reminder of the characters’ natural connection.
Some sort of test of Jamie and Claire’s love – We don’t think that they have to be together to make a great episode, but there does still need to be an emotional link between the two that is present in almost every scene. That’s what makes “Of Lost Things” so magnificent — you see the suffering and longing for Claire that Jamie has within his eyes and his actions.
High stakes – Take, for example, when Laoghaire pulls out a gun in “First Wife,” or when both Jamie and Claire are in danger in “Eye of the Storm.” In order to experience characters at their best, you also need to see them at their worst. Seeing our heroes in danger is what makes us want to root for them so much.
A sense of scale – A big part of the appeal of Outlander is visual, from the beautiful locations to the perfectly-designed sets of Jon Gary Steele and his team. You want to become immersed within this world and some of the best episodes are the ones that really showcase a specific part of life in this time — this is what aided episodes “Uncharted” and “Of Lost Things,” which showed us a different part of the world than what we had seen before.
Related – Check out more news on season 4 filming!
What do you think makes a great episode of Outlander? Be sure to share right now in the attached comments below!
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