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As she is held captive, the renegade group proceeds to gang-rape her. As Claire lies on the ground tied up and unable to free herself, she also has flash-forwards to an alternative future, to a Thanksgiving dinner in the ‘60s that is populated by the people she loves from the 18th century, but in modern dress. “The show has a reputation for taking risks, and I’m really glad they do," bestselling exclusively tells Parade.com ahead of the season finale. “I think in episode 512, the risks–lots of them–paid off.” Of course, Claire knows that help is on the way. She knows deep in her heart that Jamie will do everything in his power to rescue her, so she is not above taunting her captors–who believe she is a conjure woman–that they will all be dead by morning. And she is right. Jamie once again lights the cross at Fraser’s Ridge and calls the men loyal to him into action. “The acting is heart-stopping–Caitriona is so good!” Gabaldon exclaims. “Everyone from Lizzie [Caitlin O’Ryan] to the horrible Browns are pitch-perfect." https://parade.com/1033242/paulettecohn/outlander-season-5-episode-11-diana-gabaldon-claire-kidnapped/ What is interesting here is the parallel to Jamie’s rape at the hands of Black Jack Randall (Tobias Menzies) in the Season 1 finale. So, Jamie has an understanding of what Claire is experiencing when he and his men finally arrive and overpower the Brownsville contingent. “The show did this very powerfully at the end of Season 1, and they did it here, too, cutting things to the bone, and thus conveying immense emotional power,” Gabaldon points out. “Silence is as powerful as words, and Claire, bound, gagged, and–for the moment–helpless, seizes us by the heart with an agonizing desire to help. Somehow…Anyhow.” When the fight is going their way, Jamie abandons the battle to find Claire and set her free. He tells her he “kens” what she is going through–and he does–and he asks her how many, meaning how many men raped her. She doesn’t know, but she does know that Lionel was among them. Then mountain man John Quincy Myers (Kyle Rees), who answered the call to the burning cross, offers Claire a knife and the chance to kill her remaining living kidnappers, who are now captives. Jamie explains that Claire has taken an oath that prevents her from taking life, but he says he will kill for her, and Roger (Richard Rankin), Ian (John Bell) and Fergus (César Domboy) all step up and say they will, too. Then Jamie keeps things simple, saying, “Kill them all.” “You’ll notice also the way Sam’s pared-to-the-bone acting underlines and accentuates the action, and–as always–Jamie is Claire’s bulwark, his presence and few words giving her room to go safely to pieces and then begin to put herself together again,” Gabaldon says. “Most importantly, he understands this. She has to do it herself.” The book, A Breath of Snow and Ashes, deals with the aftermath of Claire’s ordeal in a longer sequence with just Jamie and Claire, because books have the space for a lot of exposition, inner thoughts and dialogue that TV shows don’t. “To film something like that would take a good 20 minutes of screen time, and might diffuse the sense of shock, fear and ultimate relief," Diana points out. “As it was, they did it very briefly, but using the two most important exchanges from the book: where Jamie says to Claire, ‘I understand…’ with the unspoken words ‘because I’ve been raped’—interrupted by Claire, who claims her own experience with the brief, ‘I have lived through a fucking world war…’ monologue, ending with, ‘I survived.’” Before the episode ends, we see the two enjoying a normal day at Fraser’s Ridge, but with a lightning and thunderstorm brewing in the distance, which could also foreshadow what is to come in Season 6: the storm of the war for freedom from England. But before we leave them, there is a beautiful shot of Claire lying in Jamie’s arms, her bruised and battered body in his care, and he asks her, “How do you feel?” And receives the best answer he could ask for: “Safe.” “Jamie and Claire have always rescued each other,” Gabaldon concludes. “I would like to note something that the show illustrates brilliantly, and that’s that sexual assault–and its effects and its recovery–is a unique experience. Depictions of rape–especially when done just for shock effect–tend to be repetitive and done without much imagination or empathy." She points out that Claire and Jamie are proof of that in this very episode. “People are unique in their perceptions and in their reactions and healing, and both books and show acknowledge this.” The new season of Outlander begins on March 6, you can go to starz.com and sign up for $5.99 a month to watch every episode when they drop.
