Okay so that bitch just chose JAMIE over FRANK??? Wtf. Frank is like this amazing fun man who is also a history professor. The post war 1940s were really not all that bad and she chose for Jamie. Seriously? He is a piece of ass shit. He has beaten her and is kinda stupid. The only thing that he apparently does well is sex. Like girl- it cannot be that good that you chose this bulk of a man over electricity and not dying from fewer.
Anyway claire should really sort her priorities out. The only thing that is better in the 1740s is that I think it would be very cool to look at the stars and the nature, while not untouched, is not fucking dead
Progress update: Caroline has finished Dragonfly in Amber. Because it’s going to take for-freakin-ever to get through the texts of the book, and Caroline is coming to the end of Season 1, we wanted to post our postmortem of Dragonfly in Amber before she starts Season 2. Our thoughts are below the cut, Caroline in italics Victoria in normal font, and Caroline’s texts are in the queue. We highly recommend that you check both out. Thank you for checking in on our ridiculous conversations, and we hope you continue to enjoy/judge the fuck out of us/but maybe not the latter.
Because we’re entertaining as fuck.
(And humble, too).
As Caroline has already said, she hates DIA more than she hated Outlander. Which kind of means she loved it, but she actually has some dark feelings about the novel.
Dark feelings? K edgelord, I was SUFFERING.
Hence the “dark feelings”. I could have gone with ridiculously volatile emotions, but I toned it down for you.
SUFFERING.
However, it wasn’t ALL bad for Caroline (thank God). Here are some of her favorite parts of DIA:
Well Murtagh killing Sandringham was incredible. Like. Was not expecting and did not realize how much I needed that to happen.
Happily married (slash newly wed) Jamie and Claire
Jamie. His reactions to Claire’s outfit choices, personal grooming habits, friends, his stupid sense of duty, the way he was a more reliable period tracker than the stupid app I use, etc.
I mean Jamie at all times is bae, but outraged and protective Jamie was impressive
MOST IMPORTANTLY: DRUNK!JAMIE WHO THOUGHT HE CAUGHT WHISKEY DICK BUT INSTEAD ONLY REMEMBERED HOW TO SAY “I LOVE YOU” THAT WAS A VERY LOVED PART OF THE NOVEL.
FERGUS what a little nugget
Claire:
Being a horrible doctor
Opening Jamie’s eye like a seven year old
Lack of bedside manner
The potato party at Lallybroch. (Slash seeing Jamie being Laird for a hot second).
Whoops that’s it.
But seriously, that’s all I remember you liking. Moving on to your least favorites, aka the bullshit I had to hear about for weeks. But I still enjoyed it because you are entertaining af:
Okay, but only because this is what the people wanted.
I really disliked the way the miscarriage was handled. For a lot of reasons.
It was obvious from the beginning that something was going to happen with the pregnancy, since the timeline didn’t add up. I had a sense of dread whenever the pregnancy was brought up.
The immediate fallout between Claire and Jamie
ONLY FOR THEM TO BE FINE AFTER THE MAKE UP
LIKE
NO
PENALTY FLAG FOR A HOT SECOND
I understand that they were suffering from the loss. But the fact that it’s never brought up again, really, is kind of minimizes the whole thing into a sub plot that gets resolved neatly like the rent collecting in Book 1. A miscarriage is not a subplot without lasting effects. I had to think about this for a while, but it doesn’t really have any effects… It clearly fueled Claire’s fears about her pregnancy with Bri, but it doesn’t seem to have huge repercussions, which miscarriages have. Even if they aren’t necessarily negative impacts. Tragic losses like that often bring people closer together and the miscarriage didn’t even do that. So I agree with Caroline here.
But that’s just me.
FUCKING BJR RETURNED AND RAPED FERGUS WHAT THE FUCK IS THAT ?! FERGUS IS SO GOOD AND PURE AND I WAS LITERALLY REDUCED TO TEARS OVER A LITTLE FRENCH BOY BEING RAPED BY THE WORST HUMAN BEING ON THE PLANET @GABS WHY YOU GOTTA DO ME LIKE THAT?
And in the same line of thinking - I hate the new relationship with BJR, especially after what he’s done to this family (because Claire, Jamie, and Fergus are a little family unit, I’m sorry I don’t make the rules). I hated that Claire made deals with him, and that JAMIE WITNESSED HIS WEDDING LIKE NO THANKS BRUH.
YAS. one hundo percent agree.
I also hated that Claire had to leave Jamie to return to Frank, only to have a daughter that literally worshiped Frank. FRANK IS THE WORST BRI GET IT TOGETHER.
^rt.fave.follow.
Also, Roger was hella mean to Fiona. Just tell the girl you aren’t interested, ya inconsiderate doob.
AND ANOTHER THING. The whole visiting Louis’ chamber scene where Claire picks who the witch is - I COMPLETELY MISSED THE PART WHERE SHE SLEPT WITH THE KING. (side note - this isn’t new. I frequently miss major plot points and it normally bites me in the ass later. Like, I was reading a Separate Peace in high school and I didn’t realize the one boy pushed the other boy off the branch and I wrote a whole essay about it and got a C and had to explain to my teacher that I actually did read the book and that no, I’m not an idiot. Not my finest moment. Moving on.) So imagine my surprise when the truth came out that she did, in fact, sleep with him. Like. Woah not cool.
The truth came out when I asked you what you thought about it. I was so #unsurprised but also just in shock that somehow you missed that.
@gabs - Why do you have to make Ian and Jenny suffer they are good people.
I wasn’t a fan of the Mary Hawkins rape subplot. It was unnecessary.
And finally - I really don’t appreciate the fact that I don’t know Murtagh’s fate. He’s my fave and I just want him to be safe is that too much to ask?
… you will find out soon enough, young grasshopper.
DAMMIT, VICTORIA, I DON’T NEED YOUR CRYPTIC SASS IN MY LIFE!
Welp, unfortunately we’re family so you really can’t get rid of me.
Moving on to what you do/don’t want to see in the show. You haven’t started it (as of midnight on August 1 when this is being written up) so you really have no clue. What do you want to see expanded, what do you want eliminated, go for it.
Strap yourselves in, I have opinions.
Of course you do.
Okay. I’m looking forward to the scenes at Versailles because I want to see what the costume department produces. Don’t get me wrong. I’m digging the greys and plaid (it’s what one may call my ~aesthetic~), but I’m a slut for pretty dresses in period pieces.
^This is very true. You should see the movies that we watch. All based on aesthetics. I’m sorry I didn’t realize you didn’t want to watch Pride and Prejudice (2005, dir. Joe Wright) and Atonement (2007, dir. Joe Wright), the two most visually pleasing movies in the universe (I fact checked) my mistake.
Ok, lemme just defend myself because WHY YOU GOTTA LIE SO HARD. I LOVE PRIDE AND PREJUDICE. I DRUNKENLY NAMED A FISH FISHWILLIAM DARCY AFTER MY FIRST LITERARY BAE. Moving on. so I just wanted to see Fergus (and I love Romann, the little boy who plays him). And I was FUCKING STOKED for Mother Hildegard when they announced Frances de la Tour would be playing her. I also just wanted happy fluffy married Jamie and Claire who work together and are, essentially, each other’s better halves. In the book, they work like a well oiled machine, their banter is extremely important to their relationship, and they legitimately communicate better than most real couples. I wanted to see that in the show. I’m not confirming nor denying that you will/will not see that but still… You can infer after what was left out during Season 1.
S/o to Victoria for pretty much nailing everything else I want to see.
And also adding to my SUFFERING thanks betch.
Omg wait how could I forget. Murtagh. He killed that Sandringham fucker. I want the dead head. I will praise Gabs for the rest of my life because I did not see that coming. AT ALL. That whole chapter was full of great material and it’d be a real shame if Ron Moore leaves it out. A. Real. Shame.
What do you not want to see? I know you have opinions. Which match mine so please, begin.
Remember when I said I hated Fergus being raped?
Yeah.
I’m not trying to see any of that. I know it’s going to be included. But I really don’t want to see it.
… Agreed. Also it broke my heart reading/watching that so… just you know prepare yourself with some tissues and shit.
SUFFERING.
So sry. What else?
Yeah. Hugh Munro’s death was sad and I’m not trying to see that either.
I’m also not looking forward to more Frank (because Ron Moore clearly is going to continue to put that shithead on my TV).
And worst for last. I’m 100% not looking forward to having to watch Charles Stuart fuck up so bad that he gets all of the Highland clans killed. Like this idiot thought he could run a country? He couldn’t even fund a rebellion jfc.
I’ll just say that he is worse in the show, in my opinion, than he was in the book. So far. I haven’t finished the show yet (I’m waiting on Caroline to finish catch up so that I can watch with her... because I’m her favorite cousin). But he’s way more obnoxious in the show. I thought he would have some charisma but *damp dirty dishrag* personality comes out in full force with this portrayal of the Bonnie Prince. It’s no bueno.
So this is a little bit different than last time, but if you could change one thing in the book for the series, what would it be?
So apparently “‘Jamie kills Charlie and the rebellion never happens’ isn’t a good answer.” Sorry for wrecking your vibe on this one.
Whoops.
I suppose the one thing I would change is the miscarriage. Claire would have given birth, no problem, and we’d get to see Jamie be a father because we were all cheated by not seeing him be a parent. (That being said, Jamie is 100% Fergus’ father).
But would you do about Claire going back through the stones at Culloden to be safe? That’s what I always wondered about. **stealing from The XO Files Podcast, but go fic yourself on that scenario. Claire + baby Faith what would happen….**
I don’t want to think about it I just want these losers to be happy is that too much to ask?
Yes, apparently.
So that’s it for Dragonfly in Amber postmortem. We hope you enjoy the texts that entertained us for hours, Caroline has some great reactions, as per usual. Thanks for reading all the way to the bottom of this, we know that four pages of google doc is crazy, but we had feelings.
Starting of Chapter 8 with a bang: Murtagh and Jamie are the best godfather-godson pair of all time. And Caroline wishes she could be pals with her godson.
Before (and if) we get comments, yes, we know that Bri loves Frank because he was the only father she knew, and he probably was a great father to her. HOWEVER, we would argue with anyone that a child knows more than parents generally see and that she would have also seen the lack of communication/trust/devotion that Frank must have not shown to Claire (and honestly speaking vice versa), especially knowing that if Claire knew that Frank was having multiple affairs Bri probably would have felt that things were off too. Children are not stupid, and they are not so blinded by their love for parents that they refuse to see the hurt that happens. That’s all, let’s continue now.
