We’ll be recapping every episode of Outlander this season, both in blog post AND podcast. Kendra and Sarah will be focusing mostly on the costumes — designed by Terry Dresbach — in our blog posts, but probably tackling both the costumes and the story itself in our podcasts. You can find the podcast at the bottom of this post, or on iTunes!
For those who aren’t regular Frock Flicks readers: this blog and podcast is all about costumes in historical movies and TV shows, and we approach things from the angle of history. So, expect us to be talking about the costumes primarily from the point of view of comparison with the real history of the 1740s. We’ll also talk about costume in terms of story, and the deviations that come with this one having the fantasy element of time travel. But, know that when we talk about that dreaded phrase “historical accuracy,” we’re not doing it to be mean or judgy. It’s just one lens through which to watch this fabulous show.
We open with a Portentous and Symbolic close-up of a familiar wig being powdered:
Tiny bellows for powdering! — Sarah
This is indeed how they did it! I should know, I wrote a book. — Kendra
Love getting to see the wig up close. — Sarah
It’s a very 1730s-40s “bob wig” style. — Kendra
That’s why you need wig clamps. — Sarah
Which are period! — Kendra
Meanwhile back at the war…
Claire gets to practice dentistry. No one is very happy about it. — Sarah
Murtagh looks especially skeptical. — Sarah
Nice shot of an extra in full kit. — Sarah
The generals. Everyone is wearing the same stuff as last week’s episode. — Sarah
Uh oh, back lacing on this jacket. — Sarah
But I liked her quilted cap! — Kendra
BPC is in a nice buff coat and his Stuart plaid kilt. Jamie broods handsomely in the background. — Sarah
BPC looks much more sane and less “HOORAY SCOTLAND” when he tones down the plaid to just a kilt. — Kendra
Lovely embroidery, and the foreground-right general’s wig is great. — Kendra
Really digging the wig and the cravat. — Sarah
I really like this hairstyle that Claire wears. — Sarah
Yes! It’s flattering and practical and era-appropriate. — Kendra
Nice details on Jamie’s leather coat. Meanwhile Claire looks kind of homeless. — Sarah
Well, she kind of is! — Kendra
Jamie is SO your high school bad boy dream date in that leather jacket. — Kendra
We are nearly treated to some quality naked Jamie time:
Awww yiiiiis. — Sarah
Almost there… — Sarah
Yeah, not with the lack of shagging in this season… — Sarah
The scene ends with Jamie as the big spoon. — Sarah
SO CLOSE. YET SO FAR AWAY. — Kendra
Jamie, Dougal, and the Lallybroch men are sent to Inverness. On the road, they run into some redcoats.
Helloooooo! — Kendra, President of the Dougal Fan Club
Rupert’s not looking so good… — Sarah
Redcoats in red coats. — Sarah
Dougal delivers a pile of blankets–I mean, Claire–to the English. — Sarah
Claire plays the “I’m a captured Englishwoman!” card, and the Brits take her to the Duke of Sandringham’s castle for safekeeping.
Yay! Simon Callow! Boo! Duke of Sandringham! — Sarah
Callow is fabulous, and he is also always the talky reverend from A Room With a View. — Kendra
I always wonder why the Brits never question Claire’s very Scottish wardrobe when she plays her English card… — Kendra
Fabulous outfit, of course. That’s the same waistcoat Sandringham wore to go horse shopping at Versailles. Interesting that he’s NOT wearing his usual wig style (featured in the opening credits) — this one is much more 1780s than 1740s. — Kendra
Finally! Some shiny! Mary’s little caracao has lots of nice details.
We all got very excited about Mary’s dress. — Sarah
Ruffles! Ruches! Trim! Finally something to ogle! — Kendra
Beautifully fitted. — Sarah
The ruched stomacher here is excellent. — Sarah
Her fichu (neck kerchief) is very correct. — Kendra
Evil henchman in a nice suit, perfect for a valet. — Sarah
The Shit Goes Down in the kitchen:
Sandringham’s banyan appropriately has a vaguely Asian motif. — Sarah
Note he has taken his wig off, and he doesn’t worry about putting it back on for Claire. — Kendra
A bit more of Sandringham’s robe. — Sarah
Mary in her night clothes. So much for shiny! — Sarah
But when Dream Date Jamie shows up, Sandringham grabs his wig and throws it on. — Kendra
Murtagh is about to pull a Lizzie Borden on Sandringham. — Sarah
“Aw, a severed head! You shouldn’t have!” — Sarah
Thanks to Outlander Online for the screencaps!
Outlander Season Two, Episode Eleven Podcast Recap
Listen to our podcast recap of episode 11 here or on iTunes!
Podcast: Play in new window | Download
Subscribe: Apple Podcasts | Google Podcasts | RSS
Mary wasn’t suppose to be there. It was just suppose to be Claire getting raped.
There are breaks in the books, but I guess because the show has limited time they chose to skip the quiet moments. And they are some of the best moments in the story.
Sam Heughan – Hugh han/an. Sorry can’t help myself on the pronunciations. lol
Seriously, we are SO NOT Gaelic speakers over here. Please feel free to correct us. Or, maybe we need a handy pronunciation guide… LOL
Not a Gaelic speaker myself. Just watched enough interviews with Sam and Cait being introduced that I’ve gotten their pronunciations. Though to be honest nobody actually pronounces Sam’s last name right. There should actually be a guttural/phlegmy sound between the syllables. But most of us can’t quite get that right so Sam seems to be ok with Hugh han/an as opposed to Hugh (lots of throaty spit) han. haha
Thanks, it’s helpful!
I’ve not read the books, so the ending totally caught me by surprise.
Now, I laugh in retrospect — the symbolism of a powdered wig hitting the floor. They gave away the ending at the start — the aristocrat loses his head. ;)
I’m the Queen of Spoilers, especially since we’ve started doing these recaps, so I knew it was coming. Apparently, they filmed a ton of footage for that scene, including a speech that Murtagh gives, and so the actual scene seemed rather short. I get the time-constraints with TV, though. Maybe the DVD will include an extended scene, because I am Team Murtagh.
I usually love spoilers and go after them like gangbusters, but I kind of like Outlander to shock me with them. :D
Interesting, that the scene wound up so truncated. Maybe the episode turned out over-long.
If you notice most of those opening bits give away something from the ep.
I’ve finally figured that out! =P
I though the same thing about why the Brits never notice Claire is in plaid. But, then. Men.
I figured they would just assume that her “captors” were giving her things to wear, like the plaid brat, etc.
Sorry about the shiny, you guys! Missing Paris???? I promise there will be fun ahead. We are looking at new ways to bring in beautiful details in a different context.
In theory we are going to have time now to focus on some things I think you’re going to love!
I promise no more back laced gowns on principals, but they will still show up on extras, cause I am not remaking costumes to make you happy!! Lol
;)
Terry
Yay for more shiny coming up! And no worries, we understand that extras’ costumes have to be just-good-enough.
Will the new details be dressing the principals for Edinburgh and Charles Edward’s court there. I really liked Mary’s fichu.
So militarly speaking especially at that time, officers were important. Without officers, the whole army wouldn’t be able to function. Officers are placed in the back of the action so they don’t die. Now non commissioned officers work for a living, they are the ones who see that the orders are carried out. So yes to have your officers peace out of a situation is fairly common. You also have to realize that most of the officers were high born, second sons who needed to make their own way in the world. So you wanted to target them. Or it does work the opposite way as well. Where the officers wouldn’t be touched. Remember we are still in the battle senario were you met your opponent line for line. Officers were needed to control that. Hope that helps.
Also as per book so maybe, there should be a shagging scene coming up…
As per the books, there should have been some bone zone action right after Prestonpans. But they are sacrificing the loving for plot and war.
Am I the only one who finds Simon Callow hot? (Maybe not here but elsewhere. Like “Room With a View,” Because HELLO SKINNY-DIPPING SCENE.)
That’s really all I have to contribute to this. That was a very lovely curacao
Oh, and I’m with Kendra on Dougal.
Simon Callow is hot in that weird way that you’re like, I’m not sure if I should think this guy is hot, but he’s so fucking amazing that it would be a crime to not think he’s hot, even if he is slightly off somehow.
Oh dear “PC is in a nice buff coat and his Stuart plaid kilt.” No he isn’t, he’s wearing the MacQueen tartan, a design that can dated to the Vestiarium Scoticum of 1842. This type of error really gets my goat. There are a number of tartans we know existed at the time, some are even still in use and easitly available. This is just lazy.
Given the timeframes involved, trying to source fabrics that look correct on screen but are not overly expensive can be difficult. Especially since Terry Dresbach had to fight for H/A costuming all together. If you can suspend disbelief for the types of plaid used, I can overlook the too short gowns. Deal?
Yes, that is it we are lazy. And we just don’t give a shit.
Brava, dear lady! Brava!
I just spit out my tea reading this. I enjoy your responses immensely.
Er, yours Terry, not Peter’s!
LOL.
If there’s one thing I’ve learned in my life, it’s never mis-identify a clan-specific tartan. You might as well be literally Hitler. :P
Another reason why we decided to design our own. Unfortunately we cannot afford to produce a hundred tartan designs, or we definitely would have. Knew that if we even thought about colouring outside the lines, we would be called incompetent or lazy. We are neither.
We work about 80 hours a week trying to get it as right as we can as well as serving the story and production needs. I am okay with being called out on a mistake, but not on being called lazy.
Yeah, “lazy” was uncalled for, especially when clan-specific tartans were not codified until 100 years post-Outlander. The plaid you used for BPC’s kilt looks an awful lot like the one in his portrait, which I suppose is also not a modern Stuart plaid.
Also, pretty sure the original commenter was trashing me and my “Stuart plaid” comment more than anything.
I found the use of the MacQueen tartan entirely appropriate, as it called into mind the Alexander McQueen ‘Highland Rape’ collection .Totally apt, and very gorgeous. It’s my favourite costume in the whole 2 series.
Because of the connection with the McQ Widows of Culloden collection I really loved the choice of tartan.
And because they weren’t clan coded yet, it really doesn’t matter if it’s Stuart or not. The existant 18th century tartan outfits are never clan related, although the more wealthy, the more red they used.
Shagging doesn’t make the story good and it’s mostly unecssary.
DISAGREE! ;)