Outlander, the sci-fi historical drama from the American cable network Starz, based on the popular book series by Diana Gabaldon, has rightly earned a lot of attention since its release. The show has a creative premise which indulges our persistent love for all things eighteenth-century (I’ve now been asked several times how it compares to Poldark or Sharpe) while leaving itself open to new ways of exploring this particular kind of historical setting and our relationship with it. In particular Outlander has turned heads for its innovative way of couching a new kind of feminist discourse in a commercially successful and critically acclaimed television programme.

The first episode opens with Claire Randall (Catriona Balfe), an ex-combat nurse in post-WWII Britain, visiting Inverness with her husband Frank (Tobias Menzies). This is meant to be a second honeymoon, a chance for Claire to redefine her relationship with her husband and her own future. Of course, the situation takes an extreme turn when Claire, while visiting a set of standing stones called Craigh na Dun, is thrown back in time to eighteenth-century Scotland (she lands in 1743 to be exact… two years before the failed Jacobite rising in that country). Once there she meets a ridiculously attractive and open-minded Scotsman named Jamie Fraser (Sam Heughan) and falls in with the goings-on of his clan. Circumstances force her to start adapting to life in her new surroundings while troubling enemies within and outside of the clan pose a serious threat to Claire’s safety and the safety of those she has come to care about. Perhaps the biggest menace comes in the form of sadistic British officer Black Jack Randall, a direct ancestor of Claire’s husband, though of course Claire’s knowledge of the inevitable bloody national conflict also looms large. Tobias Menzies, pulling double duty as both Frank and Black Jack Randall, is a particularly sublime villain – his flashback/monologue in “The Garrison Commander” episode is one of the most terrifying and arresting sequences of the series.

Obviously, the Jacobite rebellion and the Hanoverian regime, helpfully distilled into tussles between Black Jack (fulfilling the Hollywood cliché of psychotic English oppressor) and the scrappy Mackenzie clan, influence many of the smaller conflicts of the plot. That said, attention is usually diverted away from big historical movements to the more central “will they/won’t they” interaction between Claire and Jamie, who admittedly have such great chemistry that one hardly minds. The show has been lauded for its historical accuracy, but as someone who doesn’t know very much about Scottish politics outside of the occasional Sir Walter Scott novel, the historical context is interesting but not, as yet, completely developed. Characters collect funds for the Jacobite rebellion and frequently highlight the injustices of the Hanoverian oppressors, but the love story and the small negotiations of everyday life make up the core of the show – it’s a ‘day in the life’ history rather than comprehensive overview.

This strategy allows for rich historical detail – the highlanders swear fealty to their lord in complex ceremonies, discuss witches and demons, and even play a game of shinty. In this context and particularly for a show about time travel, Claire is a bit of a marvel as a protagonist. As a ‘modern’ woman Claire is justifiably outraged by the brutality she witnesses in the eighteenth century, but she herself is a sign that life can be just as brutal in the 1940s. Her physical transportation ‘backwards’ into a less enlightened world suggests the post-WWII push against women in the workplace that would no doubt have caused Claire similar anxieties in her own time. If anything her grit and skills are more valued in the eighteenth century, though such knowledge and determination often gets her into as many scrapes as they get her out of.

Outlander avoids reducing Claire to a ‘strong female’ cliché, parsing guilt, confusion, pleasure, and power in order to build a relatable and three-dimensional character. In many ways the show become a response to a male-centric media landscape – the episode fittingly entitled “The Wedding” is a glorious testament to a positive understanding of female desire – but in fact the show moves well beyond that and into a broader social critique. Outlander’s importance as a TV show with a complex female lead and a consistent adherence to the female gaze cannot be overstated, and the fact that it has gained so much popularity as a bodice ripper with a uniquely female brain reflects our continued contemporary negotiation of these kinds of themes.

Ultimately Outlander is a show about time travel and muscular men in kilts (fun fact: kilts were first worn in the sixteenth century and we Outlander fans are so, so grateful…), and its popularity and effectiveness as a programme come down to the chemistry between its actors. It is, after all, part of a grand old tradition of historical romance and well worthy of Scott. Claire and Jamie as characters and Balfe and Heughan and Menzies as actors do a marvellous job of recreating the genre for a modern audience. The passion is electric and Heughan is a pleasure to watch, throwing himself head-first into his ‘thinking woman’s hunk’ role. The writing could use some technical work – sometimes the show moves quite slowly, and Claire’s voiceovers are, at best, clunky (at worst, irredeemably distracting and irritating), particularly in the first few episodes. The show picks up the pace and develops depth as it goes, though minor characters are underdeveloped and often the larger political concerns of the time are not well incorporated into the main narrative. However, these are all forgiveable issues that will likely be remedied as the show picks up speed in new seasons. As a whole Outlander is an entertaining, thoughtful, multi-faceted experience that achieves the high standards of ‘serious’ historical/ fantasy dramas.

Season One of Outlander is currently airing on Starz. It is available to watch on Amazon Instant in the UK.