Simple Reason Grossest Outlander Scene Ever Was Allowed to Be Aired

Since its premiere in 2014, Starz's Outlander has enamored its fans with a compelling tale of love, following Scottish Highlander Jamie and 20th-century time-traveling nurse Claire as they try to build a happy life for themselves and their family while getting caught up in the turmoil of history.

As the main love story unfolds against the backdrop of 18th-century events, the Starz series doesn't shy away from showing plenty of blood and violence, pertinent to the time period depicted. And for many fans, the last episode of Season 1 proved to be the most gruesome in the show's history, making viewers want to close their eyes in disgust. How did the Starz producers even allow the gut-wrenching scenes to be aired?

Many of you probably remember Ramsay Bolton as the most heinous Game of Thrones character, who raped and skinned his victims alive in the show. Jonathan Randall, known as Black Jack, is an equally terrifying character in Outlander.

'I watched the whole of Game of Thrones twice and never did I feel the way I do now. I've been covering my eyes for most scenes,' a fan shared their experience of watching Black Jack in Outlander's Season 1 finale.

Season 1's final episode, 'To Ransom a Man's Soul,' shocked the audience with its explicitly graphic content. Without going into triggering details, we'll just say that the episode is built around flashbacks of a mentally broken Jamie after Claire and his relatives rescue him from Wentworth Prison, where he was held captive by Randall.

In the flashbacks, it is revealed to viewers that Black Jack nailed Jamie's hand to the table and raped him, taking pleasure in watching the tough Scots' spirit weaken before his eyes.

Such horrible scenes were never shown in Game of Thrones, rather notorious for its graphic content, let alone other TV series. But, as one fan pointed out, it is the network's format that allowed the producers to air the torture scenes.

'They're not bound by traditional cable rules. It's also not their first series in which male-on-male [sexual assault] has been depicted. Spartacus is another series that has scenes involving it,' the fan explained.

Spartacus, another historical series by Starz revolving around the famous slave revolt in ancient Rome, also featured a number of horrendous assault scenes in which rich masters raped their slaves, both women and men. Being a premium cable channel like HBO, Starz has the right to air that sort of content, going beyond family-friendly TV norms.

While that Season 1 episode was certainly powerful, most fans would rather not see it ever again, and it's everyone's hope that the beloved Outlander characters won't ever suffer as much as they did in the early seasons.

Outlander Season 7 Episode 5 will air on July 14, 2023.

Source: Reddit.