Roger's voiceover brings comedy to a stressful situation in Outlander

I’ll admit that I don’t usually like voiceovers being used to tell the story. I’m not a fan of Claire or Jamie’s voiceovers throughout Outlander. However, there are times that voiceovers can work great.

In Outlander season 7, episode 9, we immediately got Roger’s voiceover. At first, it seemed like something similar to Claire’s voiceovers, narrating a few things that couldn’t be shown on the screen or just offering a little backstory for the character. It was quickly clear that wasn’t the case. Roger’s voiceovers helped to add some much-needed comedic relief to an otherwise stressful storyline.

Roger is thinking everything we’re thinking in Outlander season 7B

It doesn’t take long to realize that we’re hearing Roger’s thoughts in real time. This isn’t to add to the story, but to offer us something that the books do well and the show simply can’t. We get the inner monologue that can’t be shown through just expressions.

Look at the way Roger worries about not being born if Buck dies in the past, or his thoughts about how Brian Fraser should be dead. We get to hear what he’s really thinking, and then we get to see how he’s covering up his thoughts.

Voiceovers can be used in place of bad acting, but we know Richard Rankin isn’t a bad actor. If he wanted, he could portray his thoughts through his facial expressions, but the voiceovers add a layer of his personality that we would overwise miss. We get everything that we’re thinking played out on the screen for us. After all, didn’t we think “but Brian’s dead?” and weren’t there a few choice words coming out of our mouths when Geillis was on the other side of the door?

Outlander does well with mixing comedy and tension

The show has always added some comedic relief to the most stressful parts of the story. This is partly thanks to the book writing. I say partly because with what’s shown on screen, it’s also about timing, facial expressions, and everything else that is going on around the characters. One small thing out of balance can lead to the comedy not quite hitting write even with well-written words.

The show has always been able to balance to two. It usually comes from a few well-timed comments.

Of course, while Roger can talk to Buck about some things, it’s not always possible. He has to wait until he has privacy, and there were moments when he wasn’t even with Buck to be able to share anything. He had to think things through on his own.

Overall, I’m enjoying the Roger voiceovers so far. They may get a little too much if they’re overused, so we’ll see as the season goes on.

Outlander airs Fridays on STARZ.

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