When Gaelic has been used on Outlander in the past, we haven’t had subtitles. That’s made sense before, but it’s time to show the subtitles in Season 5.
In the past, we’ve never seen subtitles for the Gaelic in Outlander. This has always made sense considering the point of view of the season. With Gaelic coming in Season 5, it’s time to start showing us what everyone is saying.
When the show began, we didn’t get to know what the Highlanders were saying. This was done on purpose, because we were supposed to experience the events like Claire. She was an outsider looking in, just like the rest of us. So, because she didn’t understand, we didn’t get to understand either. We relied on Jamie translating for her.
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This is clear because when we were in Paris, we had all the French in English subtitles for us. Claire understood the language, so we got to know everything that was being said. In Season 4, when it came to the Native Americans, we didn’t get the translations because Claire was an outsider again. As Claire understood, the subtitles started to be shown.
That’s changing now. Claire has started to understand Gaelic. She’s no longer the outsider looking in. Claire has become part of this world, and we’re part of it with her. Jamie no longer has to translate as much. Even around Brianna and Roger, there’s going to be less need to translate a lot. The two will learn Gaelic over time, and this could be why Àdhamh Ó Broin is coming back to the series.
Adding the subtitles when the characters are speaking Gaelic will mark this change for us. Even if we have scenes without Claire, we should get the subtitles. After all, these scenes would be told from other characters’ viewpoints in a way that is supposed to be our viewpoint. For example, fit he show decides to have Murtagh and his Regulators communicate in Gaelic, we should get to understand this as we’ll be seeing it from Murtagh’s, or even Jamie’s, point of view.
Do you think it’s time for the Gaelic to be subtitled? Would you like to feel part of it after five seasons? Share your thoughts in the comments below.
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