ENTERTAINMENT WEEKLY: Ron, what kind of discussion did you have with [Outlander author] Diana Gabbadon about adapting the book’s final moments for “To Ransom a Man’s Soul”? Were there any particular scenes or moments that she fought to keep onscreen?
RONALD D. MOORE: Diana really wanted to keep the scene when Claire has an impromptu confession with Father Anselm. That was actually a piece which I kept cutting from the script, because I was looking at it more analytically—from the perspective of, “How does this scene serve a function in the story?” It’s a nice scene in the book, but do we need it? But it was an important scene to her, so we were like, “Okay, let’s find a way to make it work within the context of what we were doing.” So we shot it and moved it around in editing a coupe of times. It went in and out and shifted positions in the show [laughs], and then finally we got to a place where it seemed to work comfortably with the character.
Fans are up in arms about finale, largely because of the brutality of Jamie’s rape by Black Jack. Ron, what is that scene really about?
MOORE: I think it’s about a lot of different things. I think a lot of it has to do with power. Jack has been with obsessed with this young man for literally years now, beginning when he first saw him at Lallybroch. Then he takes him to Fort William, where Jamie endures incredible flogging not once, but twice. And then Jack walks away from that feeling that he never quite broke him. Jamie was the one he never broke. Jack couldn’t quite let go of that. So the scene is about breaking him and getting pleasure from that act, and forcing him to admit he was broken is at the heart of everything that’s going on in that chamber. Then there’s a sadistic, a literal sadistic aspect to that, which is the subject of Jack’s pleasure. Can he get it? Can he experience it? In what form can he accept it? Can his pleasure ever be associated with someone else’s pleasure? Does his pleasure always have to be associated with someone else’s torment? I think there are a lot of questions swimming around in those scenes.
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TVLINE | When Claire confronts Jamie at the abbey, you’ve portrayed it as less of a fever dream than it is in the book. What went into the decision to play it straighter and to have Jamie more mentally present in the moment?
It was just more about translating and adapting the material. On the page, it becomes more surrealistic… It’s a wonderful passage of the book. I know we’re going to get some criticisms from fans who will miss it, because it was such a great, really well written section, but making it literal changes it.
When you suddenly start getting into literally making surreal television, what are the shots, and are we in a [computer-generated] world, and are they floating? You just start getting into all these discussions that I felt instinctively were going to take you out of the story instead of keeping you in the story. Very early on, we said, okay, we’re just going to play it more grounded. We’re going to play it more real, and just let the actors carry it through.
TVLINE | Claire and Jamie are off to France for Season 2. Talk to me about how the show will look next season.
They’re going to Paris, and they’re going to be dealing with the French aristocracy. So you’re already in a completely different planet than where we were with Season 1. Scotland is about heavy stone, rough wood, dark tabletops, smoke and candlelit rooms, and now you’re in world of gilt, fine China, glassware and costumes that are made of silks and bright colors.
It was just more about translating and adapting the material. On the page, it becomes more surrealistic… It’s a wonderful passage of the book. I know we’re going to get some criticisms from fans who will miss it, because it was such a great, really well written section, but making it literal changes it.
When you suddenly start getting into literally making surreal television, what are the shots, and are we in a [computer-generated] world, and are they floating? You just start getting into all these discussions that I felt instinctively were going to take you out of the story instead of keeping you in the story. Very early on, we said, okay, we’re just going to play it more grounded. We’re going to play it more real, and just let the actors carry it through.
TVLINE | Claire and Jamie are off to France for Season 2. Talk to me about how the show will look next season.
They’re going to Paris, and they’re going to be dealing with the French aristocracy. So you’re already in a completely different planet than where we were with Season 1. Scotland is about heavy stone, rough wood, dark tabletops, smoke and candlelit rooms, and now you’re in world of gilt, fine China, glassware and costumes that are made of silks and bright colors.
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DEADLINE: How far along are you in Season 2?
MOORE: We’re roughly three weeks in and it’s been great. The footage looks really good. I was there on day 1 and it was a lot of fun, it was like we were going, “Hey, let’s get back together, can’t believe we’re doing another one of these.” We’re off to a good start.
DEADLINE: Diana Gabaldon’s been a consultant on the show, which from the outside looks like a tricky proposition for you. What’s that relationship been like as you’ve brought her best sellers to the small screen?
MOORE: Diana’s been incredibly generous and very trusting, and it’s been great. I can genuinely say I am really impressed and have a lot of respect for the way that Diana has approached this. From the very first time we met, she said, “Look, you know, I’m an author, you’re a TV writer I don’t do what you do. I’m going to have to trust you. I’m going to trust that you’re going to take care of my characters and go with God,” and I was like, “wow,” and just sort of we had a good relationship and I said, “Well. You know, I’m going to try to deliver these books and it matters to me that we try to be as truthful to them as we can and lets go forward on that basis,” and she’s been great. She’s been incredibly supportive.
MOORE: We’re roughly three weeks in and it’s been great. The footage looks really good. I was there on day 1 and it was a lot of fun, it was like we were going, “Hey, let’s get back together, can’t believe we’re doing another one of these.” We’re off to a good start.
DEADLINE: Diana Gabaldon’s been a consultant on the show, which from the outside looks like a tricky proposition for you. What’s that relationship been like as you’ve brought her best sellers to the small screen?
MOORE: Diana’s been incredibly generous and very trusting, and it’s been great. I can genuinely say I am really impressed and have a lot of respect for the way that Diana has approached this. From the very first time we met, she said, “Look, you know, I’m an author, you’re a TV writer I don’t do what you do. I’m going to have to trust you. I’m going to trust that you’re going to take care of my characters and go with God,” and I was like, “wow,” and just sort of we had a good relationship and I said, “Well. You know, I’m going to try to deliver these books and it matters to me that we try to be as truthful to them as we can and lets go forward on that basis,” and she’s been great. She’s been incredibly supportive.
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Will there be more fallout and consequences from Jamie's rape as his character evolves?
It will definitely carry over and have reverberations in their relationship and his growth as a character.
Did you have any concerns in portraying the rape scenes the way that you did?
We knew it was going to be controversial, we knew that some people were going to really object to it and others would not. You try not to think about that too much. You try to just make your call and make an artistic judgment on what you're trying to achieve and then you hope people like it. You try not to get too outside your head and start thinking about what you're saying on a sociopolitical context or how this will be interpreted by other people. If you go down that rabbit hole you just won't come out. We're telling the story of two men based on everything that occurred before in the season. All along this season we kept laying track to get us to this place and once we got there it was all about following the arc of character, following where the story was going to take us.
A huge amount of credit goes to those two actors. They were fearless in their performances; they were in it. And being on the set was difficult — and we have a very nice, happy set. But this one had a different mood. The [crew] guys gave them a lot of space. But still, they were in that dark, gloomy cell for days and they were willing to go to all these places that are emotionally draining. A lot of the show has a tremendous amount of credit to the two of them.
It will definitely carry over and have reverberations in their relationship and his growth as a character.
Did you have any concerns in portraying the rape scenes the way that you did?
We knew it was going to be controversial, we knew that some people were going to really object to it and others would not. You try not to think about that too much. You try to just make your call and make an artistic judgment on what you're trying to achieve and then you hope people like it. You try not to get too outside your head and start thinking about what you're saying on a sociopolitical context or how this will be interpreted by other people. If you go down that rabbit hole you just won't come out. We're telling the story of two men based on everything that occurred before in the season. All along this season we kept laying track to get us to this place and once we got there it was all about following the arc of character, following where the story was going to take us.
A huge amount of credit goes to those two actors. They were fearless in their performances; they were in it. And being on the set was difficult — and we have a very nice, happy set. But this one had a different mood. The [crew] guys gave them a lot of space. But still, they were in that dark, gloomy cell for days and they were willing to go to all these places that are emotionally draining. A lot of the show has a tremendous amount of credit to the two of them.
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