Outlander: 5 Key Differences Between the Books and the TV Series

Starz's hit show Outlander has been praised by viewers for staying mostly true to its source material — Diana Gabaldon's book series of the same name.

But an adaptation can never completely avoid making changes to the narrative and details of the original story, so here are Outlander's five major book-to-show differences.

Main Characters' Appearance

First, the protagonists' physical appearance in the books seems to be very different from what viewers see on screen.

Jamie is described as a tall, hulking 22-year-old man with broad cheekbones, a long, straight nose, thick red hair, and dark blue eyes. Although Sam Heughan has reddish hair, book fans could not see the slim actor as Jamie at first — but they changed their minds after seeing his brilliant performance.

As for Claire, she is said to have golden-brown eyes and wild hair. The actress who plays her, Caitríona Balfe, looks different and is also seven years older than her character, which initially made fans doubt she was suitable for the role. But now, after six seasons of the show, there seems to be no way anyone other than Balfe could portray Claire better.

Murtagh's Arc

Murtagh is one of Outlander's most beloved characters, and that's why his death in Season 5 devastated many fans. But in fact, the series character lasted much longer than his book counterpart — 25 years longer to be exact.

Gabaldon's Murtagh dies in Scotland in the first book and never returns to the story. It is unclear why the show's creators decided to keep the character alive, but fans are certainly glad they did.

Frank Randall

In contrast to his on-screen counterpart, Gabaldon's Frank is a much more unlikable character. Claire's first husband is cold, chauvinistic, and has many affairs in the books, which makes it easy for readers to see why the protagonist is so smitten with Jamie. Frank is much more likable in the show, allowing the writers to dig into the love triangle trope.

Love Scars

Jamie and Claire are obviously meant for one another, and in Gabaldon's version of the story, their love has physical evidence. In the second book, just before Claire travels back to the future, the characters carve each other's initials into their hands as a reminder of their love. This scene was actually filmed for the show but ended up on the cutting room floor because, according to the creators, it was not good enough.

The Perspective

Claire is the protagonist of the Starz series, but the events are not shown from her perspective exclusively.

Viewers get to see what happened to the other characters and even hear Jamie narrate the story from time to time. The books are told from Claire's point of view, so the reader only knows and sees what she knows and sees, which can lead to narrative bias.