Lassies of Lallybroch part 2.....SPOILERS

[Drywhitethanks]

Because we can't wait until next year for season 3. Highbrow discussion of Jamie's knees, hair and anything else Outlander

I want to rewatch last week's episode but it's so sad I don't think I can ... I think it will be easier to rewatch once we've seen episode 6

I think the show has tried to prepared the ground for J and L by having C make J go and thank L for her help getting Simon on board and encouraging him to forgive her because she's just a silly girl.
I hope the show makes J the problem in the marriage rather than L though. It's so unfair that she's painted as a frigid shrew when she's had such a hard life too!

There's a gleeful line in the books about how fat L gets too, which always struck me as quite unfair.

I swear that name is impossible to spell.

The female names in general are quite baffling. I always wonder where DG dug them up from.

A lot of the female names are Gaelic, as to be expected in Highland Scotland of the time. Marsali and Maisri were names that I wanted for my DD, but DH vetoed. Laoghaire is Irish and, I think, actually a boy's name.

I have read the books many times but I still don't remember everything and think of new things every time I reread.

It wouldn't be difficult to improve the J/L story line at all I don't think. I like Nel l what's her name who plays her.
Less would have been great to have those names fro your DDs but imagine the spelling mistakes!

Ooooh just seen latest E3 teaser on SH twitter....looks good

Ooooh just seen latest E3 teaser on SH twitter....looks good

DG used all her talent and energy in crafting the Jamie character (even Claire doesn't fully work as a character until at least book 4). She's ok on most secondary male characters but utterly odious to most of her female characters - Brianna for example, who is so central to the story, is insipid and insufferable, and clearly not much liked by her creator. She seems to be mostly breastfeeding Jem for approximately 1600 pages

So, yeah, she didn't need to make Laoghaire fat and frigid. I think we would have understood Jamie's motives in marrying her, the failure of their marriage, Claire's utter rage, the reason why Marsali ran away etc etc even if she'd "just" been a "normal" bitter, lonely, disempowered woman of her time... remember, Jamie thought she was a silly young thing but he was always respectful and honourable to her... and she was a woman of his flan fallen on hard times... but then again, that would have required a bit more work on Dg's part.

woman of his flan

Always thought Claire had double S standards in the books.....they both made decisions to service life without each other . J doesn't give c a hard time at all over her life with frank and yet Claire is so high and mighty about some of J's decisions. Much prefer the TV C.

Survive obv....bloody phone!

Ah ah ah bloody autocorrect on my phone!

And yyyy to TV Claire being so much better than book Claire

I quite admire tv Laoghaire. She has spark and I like how the show is trying to make her more dimensional. Book Laoghaire is just a tired old trope (as a lot of DG’s characters are) and I can’t believe Jamie would’ve married her, no matter how lonely he was. Is he really such a bad judge of character? I can see what the attraction might be in the show.

As someone upthread said, she’s nothing but a shrew in the book.

Book Claire is insufferable, tbh. Such a hypocrite and getting involved in things that she doesn't understand then needing rescued. Her attitude to John Grey sucks and her anger over Laoghaire is ridiculous. Clearly, she didn't think J. should have had a life without her.
Brianna rips my knitting as well. Don't mind Marsali. I really think that Jamie is the only character DG actually cares about. Obviously, she hates Roger with a passion.
The "fat" Laoghaire annoys me. Claire is obsessed with weight. Remember her best advice to Brianna was not to get fat and she reports Geillis's weight gain in detail. ANd she is always commenting on her own weight, not wanting J. to see her naked after winter because she is all squidgy, being angry with him when he says admiringly that she is "in fine flesh". And remember how she asked Joe if she was still sexually attractive. Its all very shallow.
Sometimes, I wonder why I read the books and then I remember my ridiculous fantasy marriage.

I put all that silliness about weight gain down to cultuRal conditioning and poor historical research. Like when Claire, Brianna and Jem bake cookies with "lashings of butter and cinnamon" on Frasers ridge... which always struck me as a totally anachronistic episode

I don't think book Claire is that bad. I always presumed the narration is from her POV so you're getting all the bitchy inner thoughts that most of us would have if someone turned up at your house with a profound love for your husband and his child. And the measles.

I don't mind a bit of inner bitching

Good point Grestwhite

Come on, let's get back to Jamie's knees

I'm still shocked at the x rated eating of cucumber pickle by the Quaker young lady....might have to try it on DH to see if it works....

Drywhite, I'm now thoroughly confused - what Quaker young lady?!?

She gets much better in the later books, much less self obsessed. I just think that Jamie doesn't have friends as such, men who respect him, who look to him for leadership, yes, but not friends. She could be a bit more accepting. But then, she doesn't seem to make friends easily herself and that probably makes her more jealous than she might otherwise be.

I love Rachel Hunter, she is the best female character in the whole series. The pickle bit reminds me of the flake adverts of old.

I hope we get more Jamie knees this week, or, even better, Jamie bum.

Rachel Hunter Aka

Less murtagh, lord John? Friends of J. But he does take on more father/leader figure in later books.

His thighs are objects of wonder he does work out a lot, but it is soooo worth it.