Outlander season six episode 1 spoilers follow.
Note: The following article contains discussion of sexual assault throughout that some readers may find upsetting.
As Outlander returns for a sixth season, fans will remember that season five ended with the shocking rape of lead character Claire Fraser, who was kidnapped and assaulted by Lionel Brown and his men before she was rescued by husband Jamie and the men of Fraser's Ridge.
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While the horrific attack was handled carefully – the camera focused on Claire's face and was intercut with scenes of her imagining an idyllic life with her family in the 20th century as a way to cope with the assault – the show did draw criticism for showing yet another rape on screen.
Certainly, there are more rapes in Outlander than in your average period drama. Since the show began in 2014, Claire's character has been threatened with sexual assault multiple times (including attacks by Jack Randall and an English Redcoat deserter, as well as being forced to have sex with King Louis XV of France in return for Jamie's freedom), all before the season five rape.
And she's not the only victim – in season four, Claire's daughter Bree was raped by Stephen Bonnet, while both Jamie and his adopted son Fergus were both raped by Randall in earlier seasons.
Of course, the reason why so many assaults appear in the series is that they were all first featured in author Diana Gabaldon's Outlander novels, and the producers remain quite faithful to the source material.
"There's a lot of rape in Diana's books," executive producer Maril Davis told EW in 2018 when Bree's rape was due to be broadcast (it should be noted that her attack takes place off camera). "Obviously we've seen some of it and every time we try to figure out what is best for the story. We certainly want to be sensitive to the character who is going through this situation."
While Outlander could be criticised for featuring these assaults at all, the first two episodes of the new season bring into sharp focus one thing the series does incredibly well that many other dramas featuring rape fail to do – and that is give a realistic, sensitive portrayal of the aftermath and emotional ramifications of such attacks on the character affected.
The opening episode of season six picks up weeks after the events of the season five finale, and it's made clear very early on that Claire isn't coping well at all.
Tormented by memories of the attack, and the other assaults of her past (a nightmare she has features images and voices including Jack Randall), Claire uses her new discovery of anaesthetic ether to give herself the peaceful, dreamless sleep she desperately needs, all while pretending to her family that she is fine.
In an exclusive interview with Digital Spy, Caitriona Balfe talked about how Claire's PTSD would be explored in the new season.
"When last season we were talking about the attack and the rape and what that was going to be, we were already having conversations at that point about how important it was that we were going to show the aftermath and the recovery," Caitriona says.
"What I loved is that we do see Claire unravel in a way that we have never seen before, and this kind of coping mechanism that she has had of compartmentalising everything and moving on just doesn't serve her anymore. You can't expect a character or somebody to go through something like that and for it not to deeply, deeply shake them to their core."
Caitriona Balfe – and the Outlander writers – are correct, of course. Many victims of sexual assault and rape suffer trauma for years and even decades afterwards, remaining deeply affected by what has happened to them. Some people suffer feelings of guilt and shame, feel terrified to be around other people, flinch at even a close family member's touch, or even experience nightmares and other symptoms of PTSD.
Watch many other dramas that have depictions of rape, however, and these emotional scars are barely touched upon. The storyline is usually wrapped up in a couple of episodes with no lasting effects, and the attack itself can even be used as motivation for another character's actions while forgetting the perspective of the victim entirely.
Game Of Thrones, for example, was rightly criticised for the depiction of the rape of Sansa, which was not only described as 'gratuitous' but also spent more time focusing on the reaction of Theon, who was made to watch.
An anonymous female scriptwriter commented to Variety about the scene: "A guy actually came back at me and said 'Fine, would you rather have seen [it from Sansa's point of view]?' And I said yes, actually. If you're going to do it, show it, and show it from the POV of the woman, and don't use it as a way to motivate a male character." (It is often cited as Theon's first step on the road to redemption).
Sex and violence-heavy series True Blood, meanwhile, featured the violent rape of Tara in season three, but the storyline was quickly glossed over (Tara attends one support group meeting) and then it's barely mentioned again. The attack was clearly included just to add shock value and nothing else.
Even Downton Abbey, which won praise for its depiction of Anna's suffering in the aftermath of her rape by a valet, was rightly chastised for taking such a sensitive storyline and using it to further another character's story.
Following the attack, it became all about her husband John Bates as he tries to figure out what has happened, leading to a mystery plot twist as he becomes a murder suspect when the valet ends up dead. Sorry Anna, your rape is not about you, it's about your poor husband.
While it would be preferable for Outlander to never feature another rape in future seasons, the writers, directors and especially the cast – most notably Caitriona Balfe, Sam Heughan and Sophie Skelton – should be praised for their sensitive portrayals of the aftermath of rape and assault.
In the series, the physical and emotional effects are far-reaching and never abandoned after an episode or two, and that has been the case for each of the hard-hitting storylines.
The horrific, graphic rape of Jamie by Jack Randall at the end of the first season has affected Jamie throughout the entire Outlander series, with him haunted and repelled by the act in the second season and only achieving some sort of peace following Randall's death. Brianna, meanwhile, continues to quietly deal with her own assault, with her almost violent drawings of her rapist, Stephen Bonnet, saying more than mere dialogue could.
And it is clear from the first episodes of season six that Claire's recent experience will have far-reaching consequences over the coming season, that her rape has not been forgotten or trivialised as simply a plot device, and that once again the Outlander team have handled an extremely sensitive topic in a thoughtful way that they should be proud of.
Outlander season 6 premieres on STARZPLAY in the UK and Starz in the US on March 6.
Outlander - Season 1
Outlander - Season 2
Outlander - Season 3
Outlander - Season 4
Outlander (2014) - Seasons 1-4 DVD
Go Tell the Bees that I Am Gone (Outlander 9) by Diana Galbaldon - Signed
The Making of Outlander: The Series: The Official Guide to Seasons One & Two
The Making of Outlander: The Series: The Official Guide to Seasons Three and Four
Freelance film & TV writer, Digital Spy
Critic and writer Jo Berry has been writing about TV and movies since she began her career at Time Out aged 18. A regular on BBC Radio, Jo has written for titles including Empire, Maxim, Radio Times, OK!, The Guardian and Grazia, is the author of books including Chick Flicks and The Parents’ Guide to Kids’ Movies.
She is also the editor of website Movies4Kids. In her career, Jo has interviewed well-known names including Beyonce, Steven Spielberg, Tom Hanks, Kiefer Sutherland, Tom Cruise and all the Avengers, spent many an hour crushed in the press areas of award show red carpets. Jo is also a self-proclaimed expert on Outlander and Brassic, and completely agrees that Die Hard is a Christmas movie.
