Why it remains important to separate the Outlander books and show
Try not to expect the Outlander books to be ‘perfectly’ transformed
With Outlander Season 5 over, there’s one thing that remains clear. We need to separate the books from the show. They are certainly not the same, and that’s not a bad thing.
While I read a lot of “the books are better than the show,” I don’t feel it fair to compare. They’re two different formats, requiring something different in the way a story develops. It’s like comparing apples to oranges. Both are great in their own rights.
But I guess that’s only the case when you separate them. Those who found Season 5 disappointing seemed to mostly be the book-first fans, those who were waiting for specific scenes or a story to be told in the way it played out in their heads.
We all take something different from the books
The beauty of all forms of art is that it’s subjective. We can see that in the Outlander Season 5 finale with the abstract painting of the house. Some see flames, others don’t. There weren’t supposedly any flames in the painting, according to the EPs, but we can still see them there anyway. That doesn’t make those of us who saw flames wrong.
We all look at art in different ways. We take something away from a passage in a books that others may not. We all have different favorite characters, favorite scenes, and moments that we love the most. There’s nothing wrong with some people preferring Brianna and Roger’s story over Claire and Jamie’s. There something in the younger couple that connects to fans more than the main couple. That’s fine!
And this is why we need to start separating the two. You can have the opinion that the writers of the show have never read the books, but some have; some have read all of them and others only read the books that they’re transforming to script. They’ll all take something different away from the books for the show, just like you do. Those opinions may not match our own, but that doesn’t make them wrong; just different.
Nothing can be “perfectly” transformed. What’s perfect for one person doesn’t capture the moments that mean the most to others.
TV shows require different storytelling
I know there’s some disappointment in moving Stephen Bonnet’s storyline fully to the fifth season, condensing and ending it early. That’s because of the way TV storytelling works differently to novel storytelling.
There’s no need to keep specific characters at the front of the mind throughout a book. Storylines can be woven in well, with just the odd mention here and there. We can get a character pop up in a book that we haven’t thought about in a while, but there’s enough time in the storytelling to remind us quickly of the events that had previously happened.
On a TV show, that can’t happen. There isn’t the time to dedicate to it. So storylines have to be condensed to keep particular ones fresh in the mind.
There’s also the problem of guest stars getting other projects. Look at Laura Donnelly and Steven Cree. There were plans to bring them back for storylines on both Seasons 4 and 5 of the show. That couldn’t happen as they both eventually moved onto other projects. There’s now a chance that Jenny and Ian’s storylines won’t be fulfilled the way they are in the books. That’s a limitation of the TV shows, and we need to accept that. The show’s writers will need to invent storylines or just completely skip over them.
We could have had that with Ed Speleers. He may have gotten another role that meant he couldn’t return to Outlander to finish Stephen Bonnet’s storyline. Instead of taking that risk, the EPs decided to move the storyline forward and wrap it up sooner. It allows for a focus on a new villain from Season 6 onward.
It’s time to fully separate the shows and the books. No, the show storyline isn’t the same as the book storyline. That’s been the case from very early on in parts. Instead of focusing on what’s not in the show, why not celebrate what is and look at the positivity in the changes. There is something good to take away from the inventions if you’re willing to look at it from that way.
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