What did Diana Gabaldon think of Outlander’s decision to keep Murtagh alive?
One of the biggest changes in Outlander Season 3 was keeping Murtagh alive. Diana Gabaldon shares what she thought of that change and how it could affect the future of the series.
Diana Gabaldon is vocal when it comes to the Outlander adaptation, especially when the showrunners decide to twist some of the events. It’s no surprise that she’s been vocal about decisions to change Laoghaire’s storyline slightly, but what about that major change to Murtagh? In the books, he was killed at Culloden but he’s been kept alive in the series.
Gabaldon hasn’t said anything negative. She’s seen how it’s worked for Outlander Season 4 and says “it’ll be alright.” While she can’t give away spoilers, Murtagh fits in with the storyline. However, she doesn’t seem to regret her decision to kill the character off in the books. The Express reports that Gabaldon says that Murtagh is dead, as far as she’s concerned. She’s not going to bring him back with some surprise twist just because the show has.
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"As far as I’m concerned, this character is dead. But the show is the show, and the book is the book, so they have latitude. They can do things, and by and large, I enjoy the novel things that they do.–Diana Gabaldon"
Executive producer, Toni Graphia, commented on the decision to keep Murtagh alive in Outlander Season 3. The character had changed so much in the series and so many people feel in love with him (and the actor Duncan Lacroix). It seemed like the right thing to do to save him from his fate at Culloden.
"Once they told him [the truth], they became a little bit of a trio in that they knew this big thing, so their relationship evolved slightly different than the book, but we loved him so we kept him around.–Toni Graphia"
That does make sense. In the books, the storyline is told from Claire’s point of view. We only get Murtagh’s personality in the way that Claire views him. In the series, everything is told from third person (with Claire’s voice over). This allowed for more character adaptation with the side characters, fleshing them into bigger roles. Murtagh got that chance with the traveling performance in the search for Jamie, with fans falling deeply in love with him.
Once Murtagh learned of the future and Claire’s secrets, he became more connected to Claire and Jamie. They were almost like the Three Musketeers of Culloden, attempting to change history and fate. Changing what happened to him made complete sense for so many fans.
It will be interesting to see how his character is used in Outlander Season 4. Hopefully, the writers didn’t bring him back just to kill him off (something that Supernatural does a lot!).
Next: How could it possibly be Jamie in the Outlander pilot?
What did you think about keeping Murtagh alive? Do you wish the series had stuck more closely to the books? Share your thoughts in the comments below.
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