As I look back over Outlander Season 1, I’m reminded of the moments involving Claire that I love the most. Here’s a look at why Claire from the first season is today’s #WomanCrushWednesday.
It’s time for a #WCW moment. #WomanCrushWednesday is more than just a chance to look at the best looking women in Hollywood or on TV. After all, beauty is only skin deep (and subjective). For me, it’s a chance to look at female characters and actresses to point out why I love them so much. Today, it’s all about Claire from Outlander Season 1.
Each week, I watch a new episode of the first season, following the anniversary dates of the first time the episodes aired on TV. I’m four episodes into the season already and onto Episode 5 this week. And I’ve gained a new appreciation for Claire Beachamp Randall in this time.
Here’s a look at why I fell in love with Claire in Outlander Season 1 and why so many others did too. Note that this is just about the show version of the character, as there are some slight twists from the novel.
She’s a smart and independent woman
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Claire makes no apology for the type of character she has. She’s smart, independent, and stubborn. While she’s willing to back down if she knows that it will help her, she is also willing to fight against the expectations of the time.
Sometimes this can get annoying, but there are other times that her 1940s attitude works to her and others’ advantages. She’s able to save a young boy from poisoning, which is something Father Bain would never be able to do. Claire can heal ailments and help people pass into the afterlife happier and calmer.
Claire is listening in when nobody thinks she is, which she’s able to use to her advantage. She’s smart enough to plan ahead, even if those plans don’t always work out.
She heals even her enemies
The MacKenzie clan is pretty much keeping her imprisoned. They use the team guest, but she’s not allowed to leave. In a way, the clan is her enemy.
However, from the first hostile moments, she’s never treated them unfairly. At no point has she let them suffer, despite them letting her suffer or making her feel small. We just have to look at the way she ensured Jamie was looked after with the dislocated shoulder in the very first episode.
Claire is a caring woman. She is a nurse before anything else and doesn’t people to suffer, even if they are her enemy. This is something that connects to Outlander Season 3 when Claire attempts to save the exciseman who attacked her.
It takes a lot for someone to want to save their enemies. Claire has a heart that others could only hope to have.
She is a faithful woman
Four episodes into Outlander Season 1 and Claire only has one thing on her mind. She needs to get back to Craig na Dun and back to her own time. Everything gets in her way to prevent this, but it’s the only thought on her mind.
Throughout this time, she refuses to even consider a relationship with another man. Others bring up the idea of another husband, but she refuses to have an affair. Even though Frank isn’t alive in this time, she still considers it cheating, showing the type of moral person that she is.
Of course, we know what happens in Outlander Season 1 and beyond. We know that she eventually chooses Jamie, but up to this point she only has Frank on her mind. They may not have the chemistry that Claire and Jamie have in the future, but her heart is for him until her heart starts to belong to another.
What makes Claire your #WCW? Do you love the Outlander Season 1 version of her character? Share your thoughts in the comments below.
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