Outlander is a television series that is currently in its fifth season on Starz and is a television adaptation of the popular book series written by Diana Gabaldon that was first published in the 1980s.
The Outlander series focuses on 20th-century British nurse Claire Randall, who time travels to 18th-century Scotland and finds adventure and romance with the dashing Highland warrior Jamie Fraser.
Many people love this show – and often attribute it’s success to the fact that the main characters of the show, Jamie (Sam Heughan) and Claire (Caitríona Balfe) are often sharing intimate moments onscreen. The steamy kind of intimacy. The type of intimacy that would make your grandma blush.
They’re having a lot of sex on screen – like, a lot.
And when I first heard about the show, the steamy moments were the thing that everyone spoke about first, and quite frankly, it didn’t pique my interest as much. Steamy, sexy scenes in entertainment isn’t a new idea – and I figured other shows were a better use of my time.
But then I went to Scotland and saw posters about Outlander every five feet, and my interested was finally peaked. What was the deal with this show? Why was everyone so obsessed? Have people never seen lovemaking scenes on television before?
I had to see for myself.
Seasons later, I now get the obsession with the show, the series, and the story. While there are plenty of steamy scenes – the story is more than that. There’s a reason why, decades after initially bringing these characters to life, audiences were still eager to learn about the Frasers, Scotland, and the world that Gabaldon created.
At the heart of it all, it’s a love story.
Is there sex? Yes. Is there war and fighting and adventure? Absolutely. Is there mystery and magic and science fiction? You bet – and all of these things contribute to the world that is Outlander.
But, and the end of the day – it’s about love.
It’s about a love that quite literally transcends time and space.
It’s about the kind of love that starts from lust and genuine attractions and then blossoms and forms into the sort of bond that is unbreakable.
It’s about a kind of love that asks you to be a better person. The type of love that gives new meaning to the words in sickness and health, in good times and in bad, for richer or for poorer.
The love that Gabaldon penned between Jamie and Claire is something that you want to root for – and the portrayals of Heughan and Balfe only amplify it. When you watch them on screen, you can’t help but think about your own forever human – and what you’d do for them, and how you show up for them, and how you love them.
That’s the thing about Outlander – it transports you to another world – and yet, it makes you want to take the one you love with you, too.
In a world that feels crazier by the minute, stories with love at the center resonate – because no matter what century you’re in, love is always worth it.
