Period dramas often have an uncomfortable relationship with consent; whether the setting is fantasy or historical, creators have always used the subjugation of women as a way to emphasize the danger of the time or the irredeemable villainy of an antagonist (exhibit A: Game of Thrones).
But, as Variety's Mo Ryan points out in this searing essay on how TV treats rape, it has also become a narrative shortcut to provide drama and character development across genres, regardless of the setting.
Outlanderisn't immune to this -- Claire Fraser can barely enter a building without some leering fiend trying to assault her – but in addition to being refreshingly sex-positive, the show has always tried to show the physical and emotional cost of sexual violence while also emphasizing the systemic inequality that created rape culture in the first place. It spends a lot of narrative real estate exploring the difficulties that women have always faced because they're treated as objects instead of equals, and the anxiety that some men feel (regardless of the time period), when women express opinions that conflict with their own, whether that's the Porpoise's crewmen side-eying Claire over her superior medical knowledge or Frank's colleagues scoffing at her political views.
Episode 11 explores that tension in fascinating ways; the (coco)nutty Father Fogden objectifies Claire in a manner that's not overtly threatening, but carries a subtle undercurrent of menace that any woman can immediately recognize. At first he seems sympathetic (if eccentric) because he's clearly never gotten over the death of his wife, but he soon starts projecting those protective and possessive urges onto Claire, dismissing her knowledge as a doctor (and her simple desire to leave) and prioritizing his own feelings – a classic sign of emotional abuse.
Credit: starzIt's telling that the other woman in Father Fogden's life, Mamacita, immediately senses the danger when he becomes too proprietary and, in her own subtle way, offers Claire an assist by demanding that she leave. Whether it's because she fears her daughter being replaced or, by womanly intuition, simply knows that no good can come of Father Fodgen fixating on Claire, she makes herself into an ally even when disguising herself as an enemy, utilizing the power she knows she has over the grieving priest to create the only escape route available to Claire in that moment.
Thankfully, fate and shallow shoals bring Claire and Jamie back together soon after, and, taking a page from Diana Gabaldon's book, their reunion presents another welcome opportunity to explore respect and consent.
First, Jamie balks at the prospect of administering a dose of penicillin to Claire when she's feverish – hesitant to do anything that would hurt her, and displaying clear deference to her superior skills as a doctor. Given that the whole season has been full of men trying to undermine Claire's knowledge, this moment is a refreshing sign of how far Jamie's come since Season 1, when he gave his new wife a spanking rather than treating her as an equal – now he's perfectly secure in himself and his relationship, happy to acknowledge that there are plenty of things Claire knows more about than he does.
SEE ALSO:Why 'Outlander's' Lord John Grey is the hero TV needsThis isn't the first time the show has gone out of its way to emphasize Claire's influence on Jamie; in Episode 8, when Jamie and Claire returned Young Ian to Lallybroch, Gabaldon's book saw Jamie flogging Young Ian as punishment (for both nephew and uncle -- since Jamie then asked Young Ian to flog him in return), but the show took a different tack, with Jamie suggesting that Ian do a menial chore instead.
"It was really to reflect Claire's influence on Jamie because yes, kids were beaten back then, but so were wives," executive producer Toni Graphia tells Mashable. "And when Jamie tried that on Claire, it didn't work. She ended up telling him, 'Don't lay a hand on me again. That's the only way we can stay together.' Jamie's learned something from Claire. Even though this was done to him as a child, and that was the way back then, she's shown him that maybe there're other ways to handle things, and this isn't the best way ... And so we chose that scene specifically to reflect Claire's influence on him."
It's a welcome reminder that Jamie and Claire are partners, and he's not prepared to perpetuate the same damaging behaviors that his forebears did, even if that behavior is expected from a man of his time. (It also speaks to the adaptation process, since some things that might be more tolerable on the page would almost certainly not land in the same way on screen, especially in today's pop culture climate.)
The same is true of how the show treats sex – in "Uncharted," Jamie initially tries to dissuade Claire from being intimate when it's clear that she's feverish, injured and a little drunk from the copious quantities of sherry in Mr. Willoughby's turtle soup, insisting that he doesn't want to "take advantage" when she's not in her right mind.
While plenty of shows have romanticized, laughed off or outright ignored drunken hook-ups between its characters, having Jamie vocalize the fact that Claire's faculties may be a little compromised is a way for Outlanderto subtly emphasize the importance of consent, especially while someone's under the influence of alcohol. The script has him check in with her several times to make sure she really wants to have sex, lets her drive the action to emphasize her enthusiasm, and demonstrates that she has the presence of mind to physically bolt the door herself to give them privacy.
As The Daily Beast's Lauren Sarner pointed out in her review of Episode 4, Outlanderalways has consent on its mind in ways that other shows don't (and it certainly doesn't hurt that the show employs so many female writers and directors while many others don't). In that episode, Jamie also went out of his way to gain consent from Geneva Dunsany, even after she had blackmailed him into bed and was clearly taking advantage of the power imbalance between them.
That scene also featured both Jamie and Geneva asking permission to touch each other, with Geneva reclaiming her agency by admitting that she wanted her first time to be with a partner like Jamie, not the grotesque old man to whom she was being married off against her will.
As Caitriona Balfe said of the Jamie/Geneva scene in an interview with Marie Claire, "I think they approached it from the way of, 'This is a young woman who has decided she's going to take the decision into her own hands about who's going to be her first. I liked it that way because it gives all the power to her. I think that's possibly the only way that scene could have been written and worked out."
And when Claire and Jamie finally reunite in episode 6, even after 20 years apart, Jamie's first instinct isn't to treat his wife like his property and grab her as most men of his time would -- he specifically asks if he can kiss her, leading to one of the most romantic and well-earned moments in the show.
While the TV adaptation of Game of Thrones has added rape scenes – and encounters with dubious consent – that didn't exist in George R. R. Martin's books, it's refreshing thatOutlander is here to remind us how vital consent is, especially when so many famous men desperately need that reminder.
Outlanderairs Sundays at 8 p.m. on Starz.
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