{"id":11789,"date":"2022-03-06T13:01:07","date_gmt":"2022-03-06T12:01:07","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.radiotimes.com\/?p=1596845"},"modified":"2022-03-06T13:31:20","modified_gmt":"2022-03-06T12:31:20","slug":"outlander-season-6s-decision-to-revisit-controversial-storyline-is-essential","status":"publish","type":"rss_feed","link":"https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/radiotimes\/rss_feed\/outlander-season-6s-decision-to-revisit-controversial-storyline-is-essential\/","title":{"rendered":"Outlander season 6\u2019s decision to revisit controversial storyline is essential"},"content":{"rendered":"

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By Marianka Swain\n \t\t<\/p>

Published: Sunday, 06 March 2022 at 12:00 am<\/p>

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Note: this article contains discussion of themes including sexual assault that some readers may find upsetting.<\/strong><\/p>\n

In the finale of Outlander<\/a>\u2018s fifth season, Claire Fraser (Caitr\u00edona Balfe) was abducted from her North Carolina home by a gang of men, led by Lionel Brown (Ned Dennehy), before being beaten and raped.<\/p>\n

The harrowing storyline, which was drawn from Diana Gabaldon\u2019s sixth Outlander novel, A Breath of Snow and Ashes, proved divisive, with a number of viewers arguing that its inclusion was unjustified, and yet more evidence of Outlander\u2019s unhealthy relationship with sexual assault.<\/p>\n

But while other TV shows such as Game of Thrones<\/a> have rightly come under fire for using rape gratuitously, focusing on a man\u2019s response to a woman\u2019s rape or creating blurred lines around consent, Outlander is generally much more thoughtful about how it tackles assault.<\/p>\n

In particular, as Balfe explained to RadioTimes.com<\/a> during a Big RT Interview<\/a>, season 6 takes the time to explore the aftermath of Claire\u2019s ordeal.<\/p>\n

Had the plot line wrapped up with the season 5 finale, in which Jamie Fraser (Sam Heughan) and his men rescued Claire and killed most of her abductors, he would have been placed front and centre. But that narrative rumbles on in the latest chapter, in turn illustrating that just because Claire\u2019s bruises have healed, recovery is a non-linear process.<\/p>

Although it initially seems like life has returned to normal on Fraser\u2019s Ridge in the opening episode of season 6 \u2013 which features several new developments, such as the introduction of the Christies \u2013 Claire remains haunted by her assault.<\/p>\n

Towards the end of the episode, following an unsettling visit from Lionel Brown\u2019s brother Richard (Chris Larkin) and his men, she wakes from a nightmare in which Lionel\u2019s taunts during her kidnapping are interspersed with other traumatic moments from her past. She goes to make a cup of tea, but finds herself tempted by something else entirely.<\/p>\n

Claire, who remains an enterprising 18th<\/sup>-century doctor, has been experimenting with ether \u2013 essentially a form of general anaesthetic \u2013 which will enable her to operate on her patients without them suffering. But she\u2019s tempted by its properties herself, which offer her an escape from her own emotional wounds.<\/p>\n

Alone in her surgery, she places the ether mask over her mouth and nose, breathes deeply and collapses onto the bed.<\/p>\n

\""Outlander\"<\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/picture><\/div>\n

It\u2019s a heartbreaking scene \u2013 and a major departure from what happens in the books. While Gabaldon does depict her struggling to cope in her writing, with Claire startled by sudden arrivals and reacting with instinctive terror when someone reaches out to touch her, she doesn\u2019t self-medicate as she does in the drama.<\/p>\n

Sadly, that is a reality for many survivors who have PTSD, as Balfe explained to us.<\/p>\n

It also feels apt for the self-sufficient Claire to try to handle this on her own. As a doctor, war veteran and an independent woman, she is used to dealing with whatever life throws at her and often resists asking for help. From nursing soldiers at the Front during the Second World War through to the failed Rising in the Highlands to nearly dying following a miscarriage, she has previously managed to deal with whatever distress or grief she has encountered. But now, as Balfe movingly depicts, she can\u2019t find a way past it.<\/p>\n

\""Outlander"\"<\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/picture><\/div>
Starz<\/i> <\/span>\n<\/div>\n

It\u2019s also unusual for Claire to keep secrets from Jamie \u2013 he knows nothing of her self-medication \u2013 which should test their bond in interesting ways in season 6 and explore how mental health disorders not only impact those suffering from them, but their loved ones also. Given that Jamie was subjected to a similarly horrifying experience when he was beaten and raped by Black Jack Randall (Tobias Menzies) in season 1, he is able to empathise with Claire more than most.<\/p>\n

But that shared ground doesn\u2019t promise a less difficult path to recovery for Claire. What\u00a0Outlander is vividly demonstrating here is that every trauma manifests differently, and every survivor reacts differently. Claire using ether clearly isn\u2019t a wise choice, but we\u2019re not invited to judge her. Instead, it\u2019s about extending compassion, even when her methods of survival are visibly risky, and understanding that an outwardly strong person might be suffering in silence.<\/p>\n

\""Outlander\"<\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/picture><\/div>
Starz<\/i> <\/span>\n<\/div>\n

The gang\u2019s attack also had a major impact on Jamie and Claire\u2019s adopted son Fergus (C\u00e9sar Domboy) and his wife Marsali (Lauren Lyle).<\/p>\n

As well as being devastated by what had happened to Claire, a pregnant Marsali was also personally injured by Lionel and his men, which prompted her to poison him when he was brought back to Fraser\u2019s Ridge for interrogation. In the original source material, it\u2019s housekeeper Mrs Bug who carries out the deed, but the decision to have Marsali murder Lionel allows the series to further tap into the corrosiveness of trauma \u2013 and that continues for both her and her husband in season 6.<\/p>\n

As we see in the first episode, Fergus is now drinking heavily, ashamed and angry that he wasn\u2019t able to protect his family. Rather than have the attack bring the pair together, their marriage is currently in a precarious place as they continue to lash out at one another.<\/p>\n

There is also growing hostility between the Fraser clan and the Browns. Although Richard begrudgingly accepted his brother Lionel\u2019s death, he still thirsts for revenge, and his presence will continue to stoke the flames of trauma for everyone.<\/p>\n

It\u2019s exactly the type of plot line that Outlander does best: nail-biting conflict combined with deep character studies set in a rich, historical setting.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s the payoff that I\u2019ve been waiting for,\u201d Heughan said of season 6 when speaking to RadioTimes.com<\/strong>. Judging from the initial episodes, his promise rings true.<\/p>\n

Read More:<\/strong><\/p>\n