These 5 Outlander Episodes Too Hard to Stomach for Even the Toughest Fans

Starz's time-traveling drama Outlander strives for gritty realism, and this means that the show contains plenty of scenes of violence and gore. Fans simply have to accept this, as the events are set in 17th-century Scotland, and violence was way more commonplace back in the day. However, sometimes things just get over the top, and even the toughest fans feel the need to skip a scene because it's simply unbearable to watch.

Here are five Outlander episodes that are particularly hard to stomach, listed in release order.

Wentworth Prison (Season 1, Episode 15)

This was the first time Outlander really tried to one-up Game of Thrones in terms of on-screen violence and squick. From the protracted execution scene to graphic torture to sexual abuse, this episode has lots of difficult-to-watch moments. But actually, it's nothing compared to what comes next.

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

The first season's finale is the one episode where Outlander actually does one-up Game of Thrones. For one, the episode shows Jaime getting assaulted and tortured at the hands of Black Jack — those parts, mostly shown in flashbacks, take up a good portion of the runtime. There is also a gruesome scene of Claire attempting surgery on Jaime's mangled hand.

All in all, even dedicated fans had enough of this episode on the first viewing and prefer to skip those graphic scenes.

La Dame Blanche (Season 2, Episode 4)

This episode shows another assault that is more explicit and violent but, fortunately, doesn't take as much screen time. But this time, the victim is a teenage character, Mary Hawkins, which makes this on-screen abuse all the more horrible.

Do No Harm (Season 4, Episode 2)

Season 4's episode contains some more graphic violence and gruesome realities of chatter slavery, and its ending is truly heartbreaking and unbearable to watch, as Claire employs poison to euthanize an injured slave who would otherwise have been painfully executed.

The episode's title, 'Do No Harm,' is an obvious reference to the Hippocratic Oath, which Claire violates through her controversial act.

Never My Love (Season 5, Episode 12)

Yes, Outlander characters do get assaulted fairly often compared to other series. In this episode of Season 5, the victim is Claire, who gets abducted and assaulted by a group of men on screen. While the scene is still nowhere as graphic as the first season's finale, it's still disturbingly brutal and hard to stomach.