I'll stick with the details
A week after the Outlander finale, I must say that two things remain: (1) my absolute satisfaction with the resolution they gave it, and (2) a numbness from the sheer volume of material created around it. Press, influencers, social media usersâsimply a bunch of people wanting to seize the moment to talk. It doesn't matter what they talk about; they just want to talk about something related to the series. In the age of misinformation, clickbait, underutilized AI, virality and hashtags, the meaningless conversations and content are the order of the day, and I'm truly overwhelmed by the uncontrolled spread of information that adds nothing new, or worse, distorts the facts.
I won't dwell on the opinions regarding the ending, as everyone will have their own, tailored to their personal tastes. Instead, I'll briefly address the fact that I've often wondered, "What series did these people watch?" or "What book did they read?" It's not so much the opinion itself, but rather their lack of understanding of what they saw or read. Their analyses are so outlandish that, well, there's no point even mentioning them. It's also amused me that many people claim that many storylines weren't given proper closure, and when asked which ones, they end up talking about the secondary characters, about whom another group of people complained endlessly that they were given too much screen time. Nobody understands what they expected, but what is clear to me is that what the main actors and producers always warned us about was true: it was going to be impossible to please every audience.
The people around me, with whom I discuss Outlander, were very pleased; to this day, we're still grieving the end of the series, and at the same time, eagerly awaiting book 10. I love acknowledging that it's not because we feel any void regarding the answers the series provided, but because we're now also interested in the answers the book offers. It's like a double joy, because the plot threads multiplied, they didn't overlap, and that keeps the Outlander flame very much alive. Of course, I know this might be more common among book readers, and not so much among series viewers, who certainly wonder, "What happened after Jamie and Claire opened their eyes?" Because yes, they both opened their eyes and breathed again; they're alive on the very ground where they had previously closed their eyes. I appreciate that the producers and actors, in their subsequent interviews (the unedited video ones, since all the written interviewsâeven those from reputable media outletsâmanaged to distort some aspect of the story), didn't try to impose their own viewpoints. Instead, they simply stated what they would have preferred, and that was it! They left it to the viewer to form their own interpretation of the ending. Furthermore, they all agreed that no matter how or where, Jamie and Claire would be eternal, their love story was infinite, and what a beautiful message, because yes, that's precisely what they convey. And it's not a forced interpretation of the relationship, one of those you adopt as an alternative to poorly executed or empty things, where your mind tries to make sense of what you witnessed; the eternity of that love feels solid because that interpretation is a product of its very construction. It's having witnessed the entire lives of two people who chose each other time and time again.
Accustomed as I am to Outlander being underestimated, I stopped focusing on the big details and concentrated on the finer points. And this is where I'm grateful I read the books, because I'm fascinated by discovering all those little things and confirming the care they've (almost always) taken with what they present, and the magnificent work Sam and Caitriona do portraying Jamie and Claire, something I've mentioned countless times here. But since what I'm focusing on right now is the ending, I'm going to share something that amazed me, with an excerpt from the book and its corresponding image from the series.
âThe blood trickled slowly, dark and veiny. I was on my knees in the bloody mud, and there were large reddish-black stains on my dress. It felt warm against my skin, though that was probably just the heat of the day. âYou canât,â I said desperately. âJamie⊠you canât.â He opened his eyes, and I noticed he was looking beyond and through me, as if he were fixing them on something very, very far away. âForgive meâŠâ he said, his voice barely a whisper, and I couldnât tell if he was speaking to me or to God. âOh, Jesus!â I replied, feeling a cold, metallic taste on my tongue. âJamie⊠please. Please donât go.â His eyelids fluttered. And then they closed".
Oh my God, that look from Jamie! What Sam did was magnificent. In the book, Jamie has a gaze that doesn't just see Claire, but pierces her and goes beyond her, and when he asks for forgiveness, she doesn't know if he's addressing her or God. Since the series established that this was a dialogue between them, his gaze pierces her, but stays with her; in that instant, she is the world, and explicitly, he asks for her forgiveness. What they did with these scenesâkeeping them as they are in the book, but giving them the appropriate meaning for what they wanted to convey in the series, and capturing those small details, like the look, the tone of the conversationâI thought it was spectacular. It was the book coming to life, but in its own way. And Sam's performance, OMG, how beautifully he did it. Cait was also outstanding in her part of this story.
"I refused to let go. I couldn't speak anymore; I didn't have the strength for it. But I didn't want to let go or move from there. Ian spoke to me every now and then. Other voices came and went. Alarm, worry, anger, despair. Ian and Roger. I didn't hear. "Blue." "So beautiful." "It's not empty." âą âą âą My face was pressed against his chest, my mouth over the wound in his sternum, the silvery taste of blood and the salt of sweat on my tongue. I thought I could feel the slowâvery slowâbeats of his heart. Thump-thump, thump-thump... I thought of Brianna's heart, beating rapidly; of the tiny, lively taps of Davy's under my fingers; I tried to feel my own heartbeat in my fingertips, to transfer all that life into his. "Don't let go."
The way Caitriona portrayed the grief and pain of that moment was spectacular. It was exactly the kind of unbearable pain depicted in the book, the kind that pierced her, yet she refused to let it consume her, until she understood, just as the series portrayed, that they needed to rest. In the book, with all the mysticism of this moment, the instant when Claire manages to enter Jamie, becoming one with him, to breathe life into him and heal him from within, is when she surrenders to the inexplicable nature of what she was feeling, when she loses all awareness of what was happening around her. I find it beautiful that they were able to maintain the essence of the book without losing sight of the transcendent nature of the moment. I couldn't fault them for omitting that moment of opening his eyes and breathing, because Claire, in the book, awoke disoriented, and Jamie wasn't even awakeâalive, yes, but not conscious. It was a complete respect for what the book wanted to convey, and a respect for its own story, so yes, I'm left with the details, and without any hype, I'm left with the masterful way in which Sam and Cait portrayed that moment. I feel so sorry for the people who couldn't enjoy this series finale, or Season 8, or the characters, or the acting, or anything about Outlander, because it's truly beautiful. The good thing about this is that they won't have to see it anymore, and there are many books and television series left that they can enjoy without feeling frustrated by what they don't like. In this space, Jamie and Claire will be eternal, just as those who brought them to life intended.
Me quedo con los detalles
A una semana del final de Outlander, debo decir que dos cosas persisten: (1) mi satisfacciĂłn absoluta por la resoluciĂłn que le dieron, y (2) un embotamiento por el exceso de material creado en torno a ello. Prensa, influencers, usuarios de redes, simplemente un montĂłn de personas queriendo aprovechar el momento para hablar. No importa de lo que hablen, simplemente quieren hacerlo de algo relacionado a la serie. En la era de la desinformaciĂłn, el clickbait, la IA subutilizada, la viralidad y los hashtags, las conversaciones y contenidos carentes de sentido, estĂĄn a la orden del dĂa, y realmente me abruma la difusiĂłn descontrolada de informaciĂłn, que no aporta nada nuevo, o peor aĂșn, que tergiversa los eventos.
No me detendré a conversar sobre las opiniones respecto al final, pues cada quien tendrå las suyas, ajustadas a sus gustos personales. En su lugar, me detendré brevemente en el hecho de que mås de una vez me he preguntado ¿qué serie vieron estas personas?, ¿o qué libro leyeron?, no tanto por la opinión, sino por la falta de comprensión de lo que vieron o leyeron, porque hacen unos anålisis tan descabellados, que bueno, ni para que hablar de ellos. Me ha causado gracia, a su vez, que un montón de personas alegan que no se le dió cierre adecuado a muchas historias, y cuando les preguntan ¿cuåles?, terminan hablando de los personajes secundarios, de los cuales, otro montón de personas se quejó incansablemente, que se les dio demasiado tiempo en pantalla. Nadie entiende qué esperaban, pero lo que sà me quedó claro es que lo que siempre nos advirtieron los actores principales y los productores, era cierto, iba a ser imposible complacer a todas las audiencias.
Las personas que me rodean, con las que hablo de Outlander, quedamos muy complacidas; al dĂa de hoy, estamos pasando por nuestro duelo de la serie, y a su vez, esperando con muchĂsima ilusiĂłn el libro 10. Me encanta reconocer que no es porque sintamos algĂșn vacĂo respecto a las respuestas que entregĂł la serie, sino porque ahora tambiĂ©n nos interesan las respuestas del libro. Es como una alegrĂa doble, porque los desenlaces se multiplicaron, no se solaparon, y eso mantiene la llama Outlander, muy viva. Claro, sĂ© que esto puede ser mĂĄs comĂșn en los lectores de los libros, y no tanto en los espectador de la serie, quienes ciertamente se preguntan ÂżquĂ© pasĂł luego de que Jamie y Claire abrieron los ojos?, porque sĂ, ambos abrieron los ojos y respiraron a su vez, estĂĄn vivos sobre el terreno en el que previamente habĂan cerrado los ojos. Me gusta que los productores y los actores, en sus entrevistas posteriores (las grabadas en vĂdeos sin ediciones, pues todas las escritas -asĂ fueran de medios reconocidos- se encargaron de tergiversar algĂșn tema), no intentaron imponer sus propios puntos de vista, sino que dijeron lo quĂ© hubiesen preferido, y ÂĄhasta allĂ!, que el espectador se hiciera su propia interpretaciĂłn del final. A su vez, todos estuvieron de acuerdo en que sin importar cĂłmo o dĂłnde, Jamie y Claire serĂan eternos, su historia de amor era infinita, y quĂ© belleza de lectura, porque sĂ, esa es lo que transmiten. Y no es una interpretaciĂłn forzada de la relaciĂłn, de esas que adoptas como alternativa a cosas mal hechas o vacĂas, y en las que tu mente trata de darle cierre a lo que presenciaste; la eternidad de ese amor se siente sĂłlida, porque esa interpretaciĂłn es producto de la construcciĂłn del mismo. Es haber presenciado la vida entera de dos personas que se elegĂan una y otra vez.
Acostumbrada, como estoy, de que se subestime Outlander, dejĂ© de fijarme en cosas rimbombantes, y me quedĂ© en los detalles. Y es aquĂ cuando agradezco haber leĂdo los libros, porque me fascina encontrarme con todas esas pequeñas cosas, y corroborar el cuidado que le han tenido (casi siempre) con lo que presentan, y el magnĂfico trabajo que hacen Sam y Caitriona, interpretando a Jamie y a Claire, y que lo he repetido muchĂsimas veces en este espacio. Pero como lo que me ocupa justo ahora, es el final, voy a traer algo que me maravillĂł, con el extracto del libro y su respectiva imagen en la serie.
"La sangre manaba despacio, oscura y venosa. Yo estaba de rodillas sobre el barro sangriento y habĂa grandes manchas en mi vestido, de un tono negro rojizo. Se sentĂa caliente contra mi piel, aunque eso tal vez se debiera al calor del dĂa. âNo puedes âdije desesperadaâ. Jamie..., no puedes. AbriĂł los ojos y notĂ© que miraba mĂĄs allĂĄ y a travĂ©s de mĂ, como si los estuviera posando en algo muy pero que muy lejano. âPer... dĂłname... âafirmĂł con apenas un hilo de voz, y no supe si me hablaba a mĂ o a Dios. âÂĄOh, JesĂșs! ârespondĂ, sintiendo un sabor metĂĄlico y frĂo en la lenguaâ. Jamie..., por favor. Por favor, no te vayas. Sus pĂĄrpados se agitaron. Y se cerraron".
Por Dios Santo, ÂĄesa mirada de Jamie!. Lo que hizo Sam fue magnĂfico. En el libro, Jamie tiene una mirada que no sĂłlo ve a Claire, sino que la atraviesa y va mĂĄs allĂĄ de ella, y cuando Ă©l pide perdĂłn, ella no sabe si se dirige a ella o a Dios. Como en la serie establecieron que ese era un diĂĄlogo entre ellos, su mirada la atraviesa, pero se queda con ella, en ese instante, ella es el mundo, y explĂcitamente, le pide perdĂłn. Lo que hicieron con estas escenas, de mantenerlas como en el libro, pero darle el sentido apropiado para lo que querĂan contar en la serie, y captar esos pequeños detalles, como la mirada, el tono de la conversaciĂłn, me pareciĂł espectacular. Era el libro cobrando vida, pero a su manera. Y lo de Sam, OMG, quĂ© hermoso que lo hizo. Cait no se queda atrĂĄs con su parte de esta historia.
"Me negaba a soltarlo. Ya no podĂa hablar; no me quedaban fuerzas para ello. Pero no querĂa soltarlo ni moverme de allĂ. Ian me hablaba cada cierto tiempo. Otras voces iban y venĂan. Alarma, preocupaciĂłn, ira, desesperaciĂłn. Ian y Roger. Yo no escuchaba. «Azul. »Tan hermoso. »No estĂĄ vacĂo.» âą âą âą TenĂa la cara apretada contra su pecho, la boca sobre la herida del esternĂłn, el sabor plateado de la sangre y la sal del sudor en la lengua. Me pareciĂł percibir los lentos âmuy lentosâ latidos de su corazĂłn. Bum-bum, bum-bum... PensĂ© en el corazĂłn de Brianna, que latĂa a gran velocidad; en los diminutos y animados golpecitos del de Davy bajo mis dedos; intentĂ© sentir los latidos de mi propio corazĂłn en las yemas de los dedos, traspasar toda esa vida al suyo. «No me sueltes.»"
La forma en la que Caitriona representĂł el duelo y el dolor, de ese momento, fue espectacular, era exactamente el tipo de dolor insoportable que se plasmĂł en el libro, que la atravesaba, pero que se negaba a dejar que la consumiera, hasta que entendiĂł, tal como lo querĂa expresar la serie, que debĂan descansar. En el libro, con todo el misticismo de este momento, el instante en el que Claire logra adentrarse en Jamie, siendo una sola entidad con Ă©l, para insuflarle vida, y sanarlo desde adentro, es cuando se rinde a lo inexplicable de lo que estaba sintiendo, cuando pierde toda conciencia de lo que sucedĂa a su alrededor. Me parece precioso que hayan sido capaces de mantener el sentido del libro, sin dejar de lado lo trascendental del momento. No podrĂa reclamarles que lo hayan dejado en ese momento de abrir ojos y respirar, porque Claire, en el libro, despertĂł desorientada, y Jamie ni siquiera estaba despierto, vivo sĂ, consciente no. Fue un respeto total a lo que el libro querĂa contar, y un respeto a su propia historia, asĂ que sĂ, me quedo con los detalles, y sin ningĂșn hype, me quedo con la forma magistral en la que Sam y Cait, representaron ese momento. Lo siento mucho por las personas que no pudieron disfrutar este final de serie, ni la T8, ni los personajes, ni las actuaciones, ni nada en torno a Outlander, porque es realmente hermosa. Lo bueno de Ă©sto es que ya no la verĂĄn mĂĄs, y que allĂ quedan muchos libros e historias televisadas, a las que pueden asistir sin sentir frustraciĂłn por aquello que no les gusta. En este espacio, Jamie y Claire, serĂĄn eternos, tal como lo entendieron quienes los trajeron a la vida.
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