*Warning – This article contains spoilers for the Outlander television series and book series.*
Outlander fans have been arguing over one key scene from season 5, with some saying it “glosses over” the trauma of Roger Wakefield’s (Richard Rankin) experience.
Ahead of the Starz show’s return, fans have been discussing previous episodes in depth, with some criticising the choice to film scenes from episode 8 in a “silent movie” style.
With season 7, part 2 fast approaching, one fan took to Reddit to hit out at the show over its treatment of the character and his wife Brianna Randall Fraser (Sophie Skelton), who is the daughter of protagonist Claire Fraser (Caitriona Balfe) and Jamie Fraser (Sam Heughan).
The Reddit user with the handle @Curious_Doctor_848 wrote: “Geez, does Roger never catch a break?!
“Watching season 5, episode 8… I also did not like the “silent movie” way they did that. Seemed to gloss over a (yet another) traumatic and important event in Brianna and Roger’s life/relationship.” (sic)
Fans quickly flooded the comments section with similar responses, with one agreeing: “I didn’t like the Silent movie scenes as well. It was just odd…”
A second wrote: “I agree. I think Roger gets the shaft. And that silent movie thing was such a stretch. It took away from the terror of what happened to him. Substance sacrificed for style points.”
A third fumed: “Yeah the whole silent movie thing was really stupid. Like when Bonnet was robbing them and there was no sound, just that song playing. Dumb.” (sic)
Yet another penned: “I found the silent movie imagery just…wrong. It’s not like Roger lived through the silent era. In the book, he is a fan of the silents but that connection wasn’t made in the series. For me, it distracted from the horror of his experience.”
One more wrote: “I have to agree… I get the artistic part of it but I feel like something so important for his and Brianna’s story (and honestly it contributes to other character plot lines too)… I just feel like it diminished the actual event quite a bit.
“Not sure if you’ve seen the whole series yet so I won’t be specific to avoid spoilers but there’s another event coming that they use similar technique… it was definitely a traumatic thing but I just feel like it was a little confusing.” (sic)
However, some fans were more complimentary, with one writing: “I understand why they did the silent movie style. Roger lost his voice and it plays very loosely into the time traveler aspect of things. But I did not enjoy it. I feel if they wanted to go that route, they should have done his recovery in a silent movie style but only when we switch to his POV.” (sic)
Another argued: “I guess I’m the outlier here, which is okay. I appreciated the silent movie style. I personally found it very eerie and chilling, it gave me goosebumps. It’s something from the series that has stuck with me.” (sic)
“I really liked it too. I’m surprised by the opinions in here,” a third agreed, while one more pointed out: “In a traumatic situation, it is common for people to disassociate from the brutality. I thought it was handled in a sensitive manner.”
Following the closure of Lionsgate+ in the UK, new episodes of Outlander will be available on Starz and to stream on Prime Video channel MGM+ from Sunday, November 22. You must be an Amazon Prime member before you can sign up for MGM+.