Outlander Cast: Season Four Wrap Up w/ Chief TV Critic/Editor of COLLIDER.COM – Allison Keene

Posted by Blake Larsen

Outlander Podcast Hosts Mary & Blake are once again joined by Allison Keene – chief TV critic/editor of Collider.com – to wrap up Outlander season four and discuss the national perspective of our favorite show.

In this episode, we chat with Allison about her favorite parts of season 4, opinions on the finale, where the show stands on a national perspective, and whether or not Outlander is hurt by having too many cooks in the kitchen…

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Janet McQueen
· Reply

February 7, 2019 at 9:42 AM

I love your article about this season of Outlander. It pretty much summed it up for me. I, too, have noticed the change in the series and am sadden by it. The series never came me what the books did but it was close and never disappointing. This season I am starting to become a “nit picker” which I do not want to be!! I’ve even forgotten to watch on Sunday nights. How can that be?! Our belived Outlander is fading before my eyes. I am losing interest and was strangely delighted to see I wasnt the only one. I hope articles like yours will reach the attention of the producers and they will see the need to get back to what has been lost in this series.
Meredith
· Reply

February 7, 2019 at 12:47 PM

Dear Mary & Blake,
I have to say that I don’t get all the anger toward Roger this season. I really don’t. He’s a good character and I think a very brave man. He did try to tell Brianna about the death notice. He knew what it could mean to tell her, but he didn’t hold onto the secret. He also threw caution to the wind by going through the stones, because he could’ve ended up in the wrong time. He also did what he could for that mother and her baby on the ship.

I do wish he hadn’t acted with any aggression upon seeing Brianna. Maybe Lizzy wouldn’t have gotten the wrong idea. But he felt abandoned by Bree because she left him by going through the stones. Yes, she did it for a good cause, but she was still risking her life by doing it. Roger was there when Claire told them all she’d been through. So Roger knew from her account, what Brianna was in for. Suppose she’d boarded Bonnet’s ship while leaving Scotland? So Roger was angry that she went through the stones, without asking him to go with her. Why is it cowardly for Roger to leave her, but brave for Brianna to risk her life going without him?

Let me put it another way. A man abandons a baby, knowing they’ll likely grow up without a father. A woman decides she wants to have artificial insemination, and plans to raise a child alone. Why is it bad for a man to leave a baby fatherless, but brave for a woman to create a child she knows will be? Brianna risked her life doing what she did. So she was the careless one, not Roger. As for his leaving her that night, Roger thought Brianna was telling him to leave. All he was doing was respecting her wishes. It’s bad that Brianna was raped just afterwards, but he hadn’t seen Bonnet rape anyone on the ship. He saw him do a lot of other bad things, but not that. And let’s not forget that it was probably 2:00am when they parted ways. Roger had no way of knowing they’d be there at the inn, still awake. Unlike Jamie, Roger doesn’t expect the worst thing to happen the moment his back is turned. And surrounded by that crew with their weapons, what could Roger have done to stop it? Jamie had a gun to his head in “Both Sides Now,” when the two deserters decided to assault Claire. Jamie’s a trained warrior and he couldn’t stop them. So how could Roger have stopped Bonnet with all those men there?! And please take note of the fact that Brianna doesn’t blame Roger for the rape. If she doesn’t blame him, why should we?

And I really hate that Jamie called Roger a coward. He’d escaped but he went back to save that priest from the most agonizing death that would’ve taken three days! He came back knowing that just expediting the death, that he’d probably be next, knowing that no one would help him to die quickly. That is absolutely brave. Jamie has two sore spots in his life; rape and losing children. He’s been raped, so he took this thing that happened to Bree more personally, than he should have. And Jamie has lost Faith, Brianna, Willie and Joan. Ian was his replacement child. And now he lost him too. But that is hardly Roger’s fault. It wasn’t Roger’s idea to sell him to the Mohawk, and let’s not forget that the Indians were open to trading for Roger up until they noticed Claire’s necklace. That’s what cost him ‘a lad he loved,’ not Roger! And I don’t like that Roger did leave when he was finally told about this, but he did show up apparently the next day, after Jamie and Claire returned. And considering the fact they gave him no provisions or directions to River Run, that’s rather impressive. And of course he had to think about leaving first. He has no friends or relatives here. Other than Jamie and Claire, ironically. He can’t even visit the Reverend Wakefield’s grave. He could die from some horrible disease here. Yes, it helps that his mother-in-law is a doctor, but if he didn’t stop to consider every factor, I would think he wasn’t taking the choice seriously. And I know that it looked like Ian was able to change his life without blinking an eye. But I think that he was thinking about trading himself during the months to get there. We just didn’t see it. So I don’t think that Roger should lose any points for doing what Brianna and Claire already did; think a bit before making a commitment to staying. They both thought long and hard first. In the end, he could leave Bree and his child behind, so he came back. That’s enough for Brianna, so why shouldn’t it be enough for us?

Roger has a hard life ahead of him. He has to recover from his own trauma while helping Brianna through hers. He has to help hide Murtaugh who he hasn’t even met yet. He has to become part of the militia that Jamie is going to be forming. He’ll have to worry that Stephen Bonnet might just steal the baby because he thinks it’s his and because he’d make for a good ransom demand for River Run. Roger has to learn how to use a gun and a sword. And most daunting of all, he has to be glared at by Jamie across the dinner table, being treated like a leper. At least for a little while. So let’s all give Roger a break. He’s had the worst year of his life, and things aren’t looking good for him, but he’ll face it head on. And a little consideration from Jamie and us, wouldn’t hurt.
Beverly
· Reply

February 7, 2019 at 12:54 PM

Let’s not forget what brought them there in the first place; the fire! Now that Roger Bree and the baby are there, they could die too. Or instead of them even. By the way, when do you think the fire will happen? Book #5 is called “The Fiery Cross.” Book #6 is titled “A Breath of Snow and Ashes.” The fire is supposed to happen in January, so of course there would be snow. So during which book or season do you think the fire will take place?
Kimber
· Reply

February 8, 2019 at 12:42 PM

What I am woefully thinking is that the recent show runner(s?) of the tv series are just perhaps finding it more and more difficult to do the books justice with such a very limited screen time allowed each season, and unbeknownst to them, or them not willing to acknowledge. Maybe if the books were 400 pages long it would be different, but 800-1000 told in from now on twelve, 1 hour, episodes? Really? I do hear the EP’s pat themselves on the back for their decisions (especially watch Starz’s sometimes cringe-worthy, “Outlander, Inside the World” after each episode), often, but it’s just possible that producing the brilliance of Season 1 (where they set the bar) and onward, may prove to be too difficult for them any more, despite their self-congratulatory attitudes. Not stating that as fact, only my humble opinion, but I am troubled about what I see happening to the show. As many mention, the writing was inconsistent in S4. With the writer turn-over (and some just plain bad ones), how could it be consistent? A couple of wasted episodes in the last of what I now consider “luxurious” 13-episode seasons! I’ve been encouraged by reading in an interview with Sam Heughan that he and Caitriona Balfe hope to have a greater say in their characters’ development caretaking them!

And here’s something I learned about myself after Season 4. It used to be so unsettling for me when an episode wasn’t as well written, and didn’t come across with the continuity of other episodes. While that fact is still true, I learned that if an episode completely excluded J&C, it didn’t matter as much if it was well written or not. That episode was unsatisfying, for me, and that felt way, way worse. On both fronts, I absolutely struggled with S4…

Outlander EP’s have made it perfectly clear that the books are a guideline. No more, no less. That much I’m good with. But then there is no excuse for not keeping J&C at the forefront, regardless of whether or not they were missing in parts of DG’s books (I often skimmed through the endless pages with less or no J&C after a time… Sorry, DG…). They are in large part what sold this series (books and tv), people! It’s why THEY are on the program season artwork. With wonderful actors/characters supporting them, not instead of them. You can not remove them from their own story! TPTB can stop using what is or isn’t in a book as excuses for producing the series they do, because they have stated too often, “We had to make a choice.” Yes, they do, so I am asking them to please make it the right one.

Outlander = Sassenach = Claire = Jamie and Claire = OUTLANDER!

I have read the books, although most of them ages ago, and my 65 year old/chemo-brain memory isn’t always the best. I am not a book purist (and hello, Murtagh!). I went back and forth with myself, in the first half of S4, as to whether or not I would re-read the next books. I had been enjoying the series so much! But after what happened to this last season, I see that if it is any indication of what’s to come, if I want any Jamie & Claire satisfaction, I have to read the books again!

Season 4, my least favorite of all, and leaving me concerned for ensuing seasons… These are my thoughts (not right or wrong, just mine), disappointments and appreciations, and not even remotely an attempt to make me the arbiter to sway others. All in all, while not a book purist, I AM a Jamie and Claire-centric enthusiast, as promised by Ron Moore, NOT on the periphery. The S4 finale was a prime example of what I’m talking about, how it can be done. THAT it can be done. I hope the writers and TPTB have that in mind for upcoming seasons! I continue to be such a devout fan of Outlander, despite what were the personal drawbacks for me in S4, and like all others only wish there was more of it! Never cared enough to voice an opinion on a program before it. I critique because I LOVE!

Droughtlander, the deepest cut of all!
Charlotte Marks
· Reply

February 8, 2019 at 5:35 PM

I’m sad to say I had to stop listening. Wah wah wah wah wah.
Dawn
· Reply

February 16, 2019 at 2:43 PM

Hi Mary and Blake:

I completely agree: The writing of Outlander is completely different than Seasons 1,2, and 3.
I have just recently rewatched Seasons 1 and 2, and I can see the glaring differences even more.

To me, Jamie Claire (and Frank) were the focus of the show, and Jamie and Claire were almost regulated to the background! It’s the kiss of death when the main characters are sexless characters talking about the children!

So much of the show seemed to be unfocused filler while Seasons 1 and 2 were riveting .

Take for example the differences between Wentworth Prison and Season 4’s penultimate finale, there’s no comparison.

There has to be focus, and character development. To me, Season 4 was almost like a completely different show.

I miss Ron Moore and the Season 1 writers
Kimber
· Reply

February 16, 2019 at 4:19 PM

Hello all!

You may have already heard, but if not, it’s being announced that both Sam Heughan and Caitriona Balfe will be new producers of OUTLANDER, starting with Season 5! Verrra happy to hear this and feel it will only make the show better, with their voices even more prominent.

• “Caitriona Balfe: Ireland’s Secret A-Lister” – irishtimes.com

• “Outlander Season 5: Caitriona Balfe & Sam Heughan gain producer credits” – claireandjamie.com

Kimber
- Moe C
  · Reply
  
  February 19, 2019 at 10:08 AM
  
  Kimber…thanks for sharing this great news!!
Casey
· Reply

February 19, 2019 at 1:20 PM

Nice to read that I wasn’t the only one so disappointed in Season 4. It started for me in Season 3. They had such a great opportunity to do some of the great events in the books in 4, like Claire delivering the baby and Jamie there during the birth!. Roger coming back to the Ridge…Way too much with the slave being worked on by Claire.

OMG the priest the Roger, way way too much going on there!!! Plus it was so turned around how things happened. The book was so much better during that time.

Not as interested in the series as I had been Way too bad!
Judith Sargent
· Reply

June 1, 2019 at 1:24 PM

I think J. McQueen and Dawn (first and last letters above) have pretty much nailed it for me. I still cared just enough by Season IV (not having much liked Season 3) – to be terribly distressed by the wasted time with the completely non-book fantasizing of writers who did not have a solid grasp of the overall series (ie Brianna and the snow, Brianna visits Leoghaire). And by poor choices (Early on they kill off Duncan who is supposed to marry Jocaster; Bonnet takes the wrong ring, Claire does not come to the injured slave in the woods, and make the choice of allowing him die there (5 min of film time instead of 15 min. on Jocaster’s tablecloth); Claire does not remain neutral – torn between her daughter and Jamie; Jamie and Claire do not arrive at River Run to assist Brianna’s birthing, an important healing scene for the family.

Outlander Cast: Season Four Wrap Up w/ Chief TV Critic/Editor of COLLIDER.COM – Allison Keene

This episode of Outlander Cast is brought to you by:

A huge thank you to all of our patrons for helping to make this podcast possible.

If you would like to join these patrons, CLICK HERE

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Outlander Cast: Season Four Wrap Up w/ Chief TV Critic/Editor of COLLIDER.COM – Allison Keene

This episode of Outlander Cast is brought to you by:

A huge thank you to all of our patrons for helping to make this podcast possible.

If you would like to join these patrons, CLICK HERE

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