These 5 Outlander Episodes Are Nauseating Enough You Won't Rewatch Them

Based on Diana Gabaldon's period romance novels of the same name, Starz's Outlander is an amazing love story that manages to transcend time and space. But neither the books nor the TV adaptation is a whimsical fairy tale: the protagonist, Claire, caught in the middle of the 18th century, is confronted with the harsh, gritty realities of the time.

Poverty, war, slavery, widespread robbery, violence, and murder — that's what the 18th century was like, and both Diana Gabaldon and the series' writers never shied away from portraying these atrocities with extreme candor and detail.

In the Outlander show, such scenes are incredibly disturbing, especially when the powerful acting adds to their realism. Here's a list of five episodes that few people will want to watch again because of their graphic content.

5. Surrender (Season 3, Episode 2)

In this episode, Jamie's cousin Fergus, then a teenager, is captured by Red Coats who were trying to steal from him. For a good half a minute, the viewers watch as the soldiers chop off the young boy's hand.

Notably, their atrocious act seems rather unjustified in the show, while in Gabaldon's book Voyager, they choose to cut Fergus' hand off because he holds a flask of ale that he wouldn't give to the Red Coats.

4. Do No Harm (Season 4, Episode 2)

The 18th century was a time of rampant racism in North America that established the system of so-called chattel slavery. The title 'Do No Harm' refers to the Hippocratic Oath that Claire had undoubtedly taken to become a nurse. Breaking the oath, she is forced to give a Black man poison to end his torment after he had been badly abused and mutilated.

3. La Dame Blanche (Season 2, Episode 4)

One of Outlander's most horrifying moments is a scene from 'La Dame Blanche.' Mary Hawkins, still a teenager, and Claire were on their way to a party when a group of bandits attacked them and raped the young girl.

2. Never My Love (Season 5, Episode 12)

The violent world of the 18th century was built on male superiority, and it's somewhat unsurprising that Outlander's protagonist has been assaulted more than once during the course of the show. The most gut-wrenching attack came in Season 5 when Claire was brutally beaten and gang-raped by her kidnappers.

1. To Ransom a Man's Soul (Season 1, Episode 16)

But perhaps most shocking and nauseating was the final episode of Season 1, which showed viewers flashbacks from Jamie's time in prison with Jonathan Randall. The British officer known as Black Jack tortured and raped the protagonist with perverse brutality.