Last night, I was sitting at a high school district track meet watching the granddaughters strive to make the finals (they made it in 4 events whoo hoo!) and a chance to advance to the regionals.  It was spitting rain and bit cold and the events they participated in were spread out over the night.  I had some time to drink coffee and check in on what was happening in Outlanderland. Right before the hurdles, I was reading an article about how Diana Gabaldon was credited with saying there was a decision/scene in an upcoming episode of Outlander that “jumped the shark” (how is that for irony).  Not entirely sure what “jumped the shark” meant, I looked it up on Wikipedia.

Read the rest of the article after the jump!

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“Jumping the shark” is an idiom popularized by Jon Hein that was used to describe the moment in the evolution of a television show when it begins a decline in quality, signaled by a particular scene, episode, or aspect of a show in which the writers use some type of gimmick in an attempt to keep viewers’ interest, which is taken as a sign of desperation, and is seen by viewers to be the point at which the show strayed irretrievably from its original formula. The phrase is based on a scene from a fifth-season episode of the sitcom Happy Days when the character Fonzie jumps over a shark while on water-skis.^[

It wasn’t quite what I thought. I was under the impression that it meant that, in this case, the writers had strayed too far from the book characters or story.  I’m really hoping Diana thought the same and that what ever they did decide to do isn’t some fatal flaw that will haunt the show and signal its demise.  I still worry that the decision to end episode 1.16 differently might be a fatal flaw.  It certainly has changed the amount of time for viewers to see Jamie and Claire being intimate and connected. As I sat there thinking of possible scenarios for a shark jumping moment, I realized I had written about this back in December.  https://outlander-online.com/2015/12/19/artistic-liscense-looking-ahead-to-changes-in-outlander/  My vote for a shark jumping moment that could affect the story arc going forward and really piss fans off is bringing Leery back too soon. However, ultimately, as I stated in the article, the creative choices are not being made by Diana, even though at times she has gotten creative (and a bit sneaky) in getting her voice heard. They don’t have to share anything or listen to her, but… they do.  This could have gone so wrong, but it hasn’t.  I’m hoping what ever they did that gave Diana more than a pause won’t cause the show to go down the slippery slope that lead to Happy Days and Fonzie’s demise.

In other Outlander news, the fandom saw a portion of our ranks having a bit of an angsty breakdown about news of a season 3.  Despite reassurance from everyone associated with the show, in every way they could without getting themselves fired or in legal trouble, the worry continued.  “Why won’t they tell us already! We have a right to know!’, was the battle cry that encouraged fans to bombard Starz with emails and phone calls.

I have a friend who worked for decades in marketing.  She tries, the key word here is tries, to explain to me how the landscape of selling a show has changed. New laws, platforms, and foreign markets have made the automatic renewal of shows a thing of the past. Some articles published in the last few days seem to back up her assertion that things are way more complicated than we can possibly imagine and that no one is holding out on fans. An article I read yesterday, quoting the head of marketing from Starz, gave fans the closest thing to a green light I’ve seen.  A huge piece of their business plan is built on Outlander’s success and fan base and, “This summer, we’ll have Power and Survivor’s Remorse. This fall, we’ll have Ash vs Evil Dead and Blunt Talk. Next year, we’ll have the slate from this year with the addition of American Gods, and we have Havana Quartet in development.” Sounds like season 3 to me! http://decider.com/2016/05/17/starz-exec-jeff-hirsch-interview/

A LOOK AHEAD

Episode 6 of Outlander season two ended in anguish.  We see Claire in the advance stages of pregnancy hemorrhaging.  We all know what’s coming whether you have read the books or not.  It has become painfully obvious that this isn’t the same pregnancy that she tells Frank about. As I predicted, viewers who haven’t read the books are already wondering how much one couple’s relationship can stand. The tender intimate moments between Jamie and Claire seem so few and far between.

What happens to Claire unfortunately happens to a lot of women.  However, despite being a common event, it is rarely or easily discussed.  I looked up statistics for miscarriage and found them very confusing.  Suffice it to say, depending on your definition of the word, miscarriages happen in up to 75% of conceptions.  Another statistic identified 1 in 5 “pregnancies” ended in miscarriage.  Common, devastating, but common.

As a people, we do not deal well with the death of a child. We don’t know how to properly express our feelings of empathy for the parent’s grief, but we understand why they would be devastated.  The unfathomable grief of losing a child is something we all understand. Miscarriage is another matter. We don’t know how to express our empathy over this kind of loss because…well…we don’t see a miscarriage as being the same thing as losing a child. No one would dream of telling a parent who has just lost their two year-old, “It just wasn’t meant to be” or “Don’t worry there will be other children”. But, these are expressions often heard by parents whose expectancy has ended in miscarriage. Grief over a miscarriage is less socially acceptable and poorly understood.

I was struck by the results of a new study that found that the grief over a miscarried child often lasts for years even after the birth of another child. And, that the loss of the unborn child affects men almost as strongly as women. Often these losses are wrapped up in guilt. The mother or father blames themselves, the other, or circumstances for the baby’s loss. “If only” or “if I didn’t” haunt the would be parents thoughts.

They will spend enormous amounts of emotional energy trying to explain why it happened,” Diamond says. “They often blame themselves, even when it is inaccurate, to help make sense of it. Women may torment themselves with guilt and blame, rewriting the story, so to speak: ‘If I hadn’t gone to the grocery store’ or ‘If I didn’t stay up so late.’ It’s a way of coping with the loss. I’ve come to see this as part of the grief process.” http://www.apa.org/monitor/2012/06/miscarriage.aspx

Surprisingly, the guilt and grief doesn’t appear to be lessened if the length of the pregnancy is lessened.  The study pointed out that technology has made it possible to become intimately connected with our children in the womb. We know their sex and often are able to “see” their faces while they are yet unborn.  Being born doesn’t make them any less children or the loss any less greater to those who morn.

This Saturday, Outlander will show us the story of such a loss and the affects on the couple who suffered it. Like episode 15 & 16 that dealt with rape, I expect this episode to be difficult for many fans to watch and urge self-care.  I’m sure it will be handled with the same sensitivity and care the show has always shown sensitive subjects, but they have never shied away from making things real or showing us the truth.

This quote from a couple who miscarried really moved me, “The sadness met us forcefully. We wondered at the pain we felt for the loss of someone we never knew.” http://www.christianitytoday.com/women/2013/october/miscarriage-secret.html

Faith.