Outlander: Turning the tables on the Laoghaire hate

Many people hate Laoghaire for her treatment against Claire. I’m about to turn the Outlander argument around to show why Laoghaire is a victim of her time.

I’ve strongly believed that Laoghaire is a victim of the time. Outlander Season 4, Episode 7 proved that point for me, as she shared her side of the story. Part of me believes that there’s one reason Laoghaire is hated so much: people want Claire and Jamie to be happy together.

I get that. I love the Frasers together, but that doesn’t mean I’m going to hate on Laoghaire. And that’s where this post comes into play. I’m going to turn the turns on the Laoghaire/Claire argument.

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If the story was about Laoghaire and Jamie’s love story, Claire would be seen as the villain. Just imagine for now that Laoghaire was the main character in the tale. Claire has just turned up and suddenly, the man she believed was in love with her has fallen for this new woman.

If we were introduced to Laoghaire as the protagonist and Claire as the witch, we’d likely be on Laoghaire’s side. We’d support her turning Claire in for witchcraft and want to see Laoghaire win.

This is how Laoghaire views it all. We are all the heroes of our stories. That’s something Joel de la Fuente from The Man in the High Castle recently said to me and it’s struck me for this story. Everyone believes that they’re doing the right thing and the other person has wronged them.

Photo credit: Outlander/Starz Image acquired via Starz Media Room

As unreasonable as Laoghaire is to us watching Claire as the protagonist, there is another side to the story. It’s a side that has never been told until this point and it’s why I actually dislike all the hate for Laoghaire — all the name calling. I know that this is just a character, but it’s mean and at times there’s a bullying nature against a character that started off as a teenager.

Laoghaire starts the series as a teenager, who is madly in love with Jamie and believes that he likes her too. She can’t believe that Jamie likes this stranger all of a sudden and, with her 18th-century views, believes that Jamie must have been bewitched. We’d be with her if Laoghaire was the protagonist and Claire the antagonist in the series.

It’s funny how perception affects our views of and feelings for characters, right?

Have you thought of Laoghaire’s tale from her side? Did Outlander Season 4, Episode 7 open up your view of her side of the tale? Share your thoughts in the comments below.

Outlander Season 4 continues on Sundays at 8/7c on STARZ.