u/ponyo_007

i made a post a few weeks ago talking about how i really disliked roger for his entire talk about virginity with bri and the way he acted after they first sleep together. my distaste for the character only grew bigger during S4 & S5. him having trouble with associating (while still doing very good), then him not talking to bri anymore for 3 months after his hanging accident, wanting to go back home etc...

(btw, i'm not judging his character as what he lived was highly traumatic and i could not judge a coping and defense mechanism. also, him being in another time when that's not what he really chose either. it was just hard for me to see growth in his character as he is put in difficult situations.)

all that said, everything changed when he started talking again and the end of S5 when he says he was thinking about "home" while going through the stones. i'm on S6 now and i really love his character. seeing the growth in relationship with brianna, stepping up as a real family member etc...

therefore, I am leaving the roger hate club from now on.

I’m only on episode 8 so everything is to take with a grain of salt as my opinion might change with the next episodes unfurling.

I really dislike Roger so far because in a few episodes everything tumbled down very fast. I liked the sympathetic and helpful one at the beginning but as time goes by… it’s not it. Maybe it’s because their story were only glimpses in the few seasons.

1. brianna being a virgin

the part where he asks to wed her and the whole virgin discussion really irked me. i do understand that this mentality still very much existed in the 70s and that roger is “old fashioned” as he says. however it felt like such an odd choice to make for his character knowing that Brianna is such a strong and independent woman with a fierce mother (at least in the 18th century)

2. him asking again in the us

that part irks me less as this man has literally left everything behind him for love. however, I felt like Brianna had made it clear that it wasn’t about him but about her not being ready as she’s seen Frank and Claire’s wedding not working out. I felt like it was a bit “Look at what I’ve done for you, now you can’t refuse me”. even during their fight, Brianna tells him she didn’t ask for anything.

3. their first time

i feel like throughout the show the sex scenes have been more female centered, as jamie is completely infatuated with claire and worships her. when comes the time with brianna and roger, she has to ask him if she did good because this man just almost passed out and she then was the one to give him head. i don’t care much for sex scenes in general as i believe it is very overused in nowadays society but i felt like with jamie and claire it showed more than just sex but Jamie’s complete surrender to Claire. With Brianna and Roger, I expected the same level of depth for their first time as Roger was intentional about her being a virgin and not having sex with her, which would’ve made my first point feel better.

sorry for the rant !! i’ve just been used to Claire and Jamie rocky and bumpy yet amazing and so far I haven’t gotten that from Brianna and Roger when it’s been a while. I do hope their story will grow on me as time goes by. I’ve also heard Roger in the books is better so I shall see :)

I just don't understand why Claire had to tell Geillis about her and Jamie's baby. She could've easily convinced Geillis by telling her about that night she went through the stones, how she saw the husband, how she knew about her pamphlets etc...

I understand that it is needed for the plot and for Geillis to try and kill Brianna in order to get a Scot on the throne but it just infuriated me so much that she waited until the last minute to even mention that she saw her back at Inverness. Of course Claire had no knowledge about how bad it was to reveal Brianna's dad and the act that she is a "200 years old baby" but still.

Also, why didn't Geillis try and give Claire her truth tea ? It clearly did wonders on young Ian when she just wanted to know about the stones. Why not use it for Claire when she wanted to learn about something of greater importance ?

Jamie gets his life saved because of John Grey's brother who does not want to kill him for his family has a life debt.

I tried looking on the internet why it was so important but I fear it does not answer all my questions. Why are life debts SO important for them ? Does it have to do with religion ?

No one knows that the Grey family owes something to Jamie, Harold could've simply not brought it up to the other redcoat and go about with his day. Or, he could've gone with the idea of using an alias and kill Jamie under another name.

Why is the life debt so important that Harold would go against the crown and save a Jacobite but also a murderer ?

I'm a big believer that the book is almost always better than the movie or tv show. however, i've seen that the outlander books are quite long and there are a lot of them. Because I'm currently watching the show, I feel like it wouldn't be as fun reading the books as I know what will happen. For those who have read and seen outlander, do the books change ? i've heard the ending was different (no spoilers pls). Overall, what are your thoughts on the books ?