What Happened to Outlander's Signature Vibe? It Doesn't Feel Right Anymore

Television in general has gotten much less prudish than it was when the time-traveling romance premiered on Starz back in 2014. (Remember 2014? I sure don’t!)

But even if you watch them today, the steamy scenes between Jamie and Claire were gritty, erotic, and real as the Scottish highlands. The first season of Outlander was critically acclaimed and won fans around the world.

While there are still many core fans who enjoy the show, the last couple of years have been disappointing. For some, the disappointment comes from missing Scotland itself as a central character in the show – Claire and family have relocated to America, where everything seems to be cleaner and less authentic-feeling.

The Frasers now live in a big, surprisingly unblemished house (maybe Claire brought back some Mr. Clean on one of her time-travel journeys?) that feels a bit jarring, even given their higher status. T

he clothes look much fresher off the rack. Even Claire’s signature corkscrew curls seem to have been tamed down.

Others say that where Outlander used to be driven by a clear plot, it now feels like the events of the story have slowed down considerably. What plot points there are feel distinctly soapy, without the grit and emotion that was a trademark of the first three seasons. There’s a lot of filler and a large ensemble cast that sometimes holds our attention and sometimes doesn’t.

Season 5 of Outlander began with a number of callbacks to the first season. It’s never a good sign when you have to point back to when you once delighted viewers in order to delight them again.

Claire and Jamie, who have surely set the world record for “best looking and most sexually active grandparents in history”, are no longer battling the difficulties of a cross-century romance. Claire once struggled to find her place as a modern woman in a dangerously patriarchal society.

She had to betray her 20th-century marriage vows in order to survive in 18th-century Scotland, and braved daily dangers while negotiating life during a time period when husbands were encouraged to spank their wives when they misbehaved. Now Jamie and Claire have settled into their relationship, and the show needs to find other ways of continuously stoking conflict – but it just isn’t the same.

Not many shows can keep viewers entranced for 7 seasons, especially when the show is as niche as Outlander. So we have to give credit where it’s due – clearly, it’s working for a lot of people! But with the 8th season reportedly the last in the series, we hope Outlander can find its way back to what once made it so special.