Well, she assumed that Uncle-beard (named Dougal) was the boy’s father. From the reaction, my guess is that he really is the boy’s father, but they like to maintain the polite fiction that Colum (the laird of the manor) is the father, as the boy’s mother is Colum’s wife. Perhaps Colum is unable to conceive. Perhaps his wife just stepped out on him. But they didn’t appreciate this stranger saying out loud what they preferred not to acknowledge.
I can’t imagine any appropriate way to indicate on the show that he had a boner. (Perhaps show his kilt was tenting?) And as for the horse comment, if they included that, it would turn the whole thing into a Harlequin romance.
FYI, “Outlander” has been renewed for a second season, which will be based on Dragonfly in Amber. Now I’m sorry I revealed a plot spoiler earlier. Sorry, folks. 
Dinna fash… we’ll be here together a long time. 
Has anyone seen viewership numbers for Ep. 2 anywhere? i’m wondering how it did compared to Ep. 1.
Tobias Menzies is excellent, and is building up quite a resume of roles on high-profile pay-cable dramas:
Black Jack Randall on Outlander
Edmure Tully on Game of Thrones
Brutus on Rome
I always think of Brutus when I see him. I loved Rome so much, and I just now discovered it’s currently in rotation on one of HBO’s channels. Tonight’s is already episode 10 of season 1, but I set a series pass anyway to catch the rest of season 1 and all of season 2.
He’s also in The Honorable Woman on Sundance, but since I don’t get Sundance in high definition I don’t generally watch that channel.
Hm, Netflix is offering a lot of HBO shows on Netflix now. I’ll have to see if “Rome” is available.
Loved the second episode!
Also, I totally get the GoT reader/watcher angst, now. 
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The scene in hall where she was translating for Claire was exceptionally well done, and I loved the interplay between Rupert (right, rupert?) and Jamie during the beating.
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In the books, I think it’s Angus Mhor(Colum’s manservant) who administers the official beating. In the show, I believe they expanded that role so he could be more a part of the “company of merry men”, but I can’t tell the beards apart enough to see if it was supposed to be Rupert or Angus in the show delivering the pummeling.
Ahem. In the book, it’s Mrs. Fitz who translates the Gaelic for Claire.
It was Angus who serves as executioner (of Colum’s sentences). Mrs. Fitz refers to him ironically as “Wee Angus.” I thought the other dude was Murtaugh, not Rupert. (Which explains why he was trying to talk Jamie out of taking Laoghaire’s punishment.) Anywho, I agree that the two of them, whoever they were, look very much alike in the tv series.
In the book, Angus is a giant, and he’s doing a good job of Jamie’s punishment, but not cruelly so. There’s certainly no indication that he’s trying to inflict more damage than necessary (e.g. by targeting the wounded shoulder), by either his own initiative or at the prompting of Dougal. (Though I kind of like this about the tv series)
Oh, and 3 things that they left out that they I think they should have left in:
When Mrs. Fitz tells Claire that they’re arguing because it’s not normal for a person outside the clan to take on another’s punishment, Claire is surprised that he’s not a Mackenzie. And Mrs. Fitz says, “Did ye no see his tartan?” It’s a “duh” moment for Claire, and other outlanders (like us) who wouldn’t have noticed or known its significance.
After the beating, Jamie thanks Angus, not Colum.
When Mrs. Fitz and Claire are administering to Jamie’s battered face, she uses leeches, which turn out to be very effective. Missed squeamish opportunity!
P.S. I am not recalling all of this from memory. I have the book right here.
I was almost startled when Laoghaire came into the hall. My husband is watching with me, and I nearly did that ominous “ooooh” noise people make when something bad happens.
Angus…got it.
In Ron D Moore’s watch-along podcast he talks about this - they tried and tried to make the leeches happen and it just didn’t work out for technical reasons, so they scrapped the whole thing. If you haven’t watched and listened to the podcast yet I highly recommend it; its kind of a look behind the curtain. Episode 2 included the costumer designer Terry Dresbach, who is also RDM’s wife.
Laoghaire was not as pretty as I pictured her either…I think someone said that upthread. Speaking of her I’ve always wondered, (this will be a book spoiler if you have only read Outlander so beware) Would Jamie have married Laoghaire anyway, only as a young man and gone on to have a family etc if Claire hadn’t gone back in time? I mean in whatever Jamie’s original timeline was.
Colum’s condition (I can’t recall what it is now) causes infertility. Claire recognizes it and therefore knows that Colum can’t be the boy’s Da.
But it’s not known back then, you find out more stuff later, so I won’t ruin it.
Has anybody watched episode 3 yet? In my opinion the action picked up a little bit, and for the first time, we saw the chemistry between the leads… and in my opinion, it was electric and is only going to get better. Jamie “Please Keep Untying My Cravat” Fraser gave Claire the look that Colin Firth kept trying to give Jennifer Ehle. My ovaries smoked a little.
Honorable mentions for the episode go to Arthur Duncan (a comic character straight out of Lawrence Sterne), Geillis Duncan again, Oblivious Jamie (the scene with Claire and Laoghaire was played very well, and may I note, almost word-by-word from the book), and Colum’s bum.
I thought the narration in the first 15 minutes was particularly off-putting, much moreso than previous narration. I forget the actual lines, but it was stating things so painfully obvious that it bordered on being offensive.
Later on the narration was also pretty obnoxious. One example was when she goes outside and the narration tells us how she misses her husband. When the narration ends, we smash cut to a flashback of a sweet moment between her and her husband. Hey, show runners, the rule is “show, don’t tell,” not “tell, then show.”
I’m watching it now. I can’t believe they did the “she’s daydreaming” thing to us about her telling Mrs. Fitz about being from the future.
A tired gag no one appreciates.
I was just waiting for Claire to address Friar Bain as “Darling”.
This was the weakest episode so far, IMO. Too many changes from the book, and I am just not feeling the chemistry between Jamie and Claire yet.
I know. My wife and I said when the priest entered, “Hey, he kind of looks like Captain Darling.” Of course, I found out when he appeared in full lighting that we were right.
Good for Darling for losing weight(he was heavier a few year ago) and kudos to him for giving in and shaving his head. He looked great.
I find myself kind of giggling to see him play “angry priest”, though. Still, he was good.
When I read the book, a couple of historical errors (the Mackenzies wearing metal clan crests on their bonnets, and this comment) made me wince. I’ve noticed that the producers have corrected those errors in the show. This may be an example - the notion that each clan had its specific tartan that it and only it wore is a 19th century romantic fallacy. Weavers in the Highlands wove whatever pattern took their fancy. However, the vegetable dyes available differed across the country. So it was possible to identify tartans by district. Since certain districts were dominated by certain clans, a knowledgeable person could make a guess at a Highlander’s clan: if he’s wearing a plaid woven in Moidart colors, he’s more likely to be a Macdonald than, say, a Mackenzie.
But Jamie’s clan is from the same district as Colum’s. The only visual way to tell he’s not a Mackenzie would be to see what plant he wore a sprig of in his bonnet, while riding to war. That’s how the clans distinguished themselves on the battlefield. If the costumers put clumps of staghorn moss in the bonnets of Dougal and his men, my inner history geek will squee like a schoolgirl.
I understand why they chose to invent a Claire-heals-a-sick-child story out of wholecloth, though it is pandering to the lowest common denominator. There’s a different sick-child story in the book, and it’s disturbing. Won’t go into details in case a miracle occurs and they include it also.
Just watched episode 103 for the second time. Many things to like, and a couple of things to take issue with.
I think they did a great job of capturing Jamie kissing Laoghaire scene. One of my favorite moments from the book, and it came to life beautifully. Kid with ear nailed to the stock was great too. Agreed with Sattua that Arthur Duncan was great - not at all like I pictured him but it worked. Geillis’ red shoes were a beautiful touch. Anyone noticed that the actress plays her without blinking? I think that’s what gives her the creepy & otherworldy look. Oh another nice touch was Jamie currying the horse with straw instead of a brush. Also very much enjoyed the first bard scene where Jamie basically ignores Laoghaire and gives the snotty-nosed brats line. So fun watching that scene happen.
The sick kid. Well. I think this is an example of getting us to the same destination via a different road. Its just very heavy-handed compared with the touching the baby changeling scene in the book, which also sets Claire up for being tried as a witch. The scene as done here lines that plot development up just as well but in a more overt way that doesn’t ask for as much cultural context.
So. Episode 4 here we come… And I’ll be honest at this point I’m simply biding my time and counting the episodes until Jamie and Claire’s wedding night.