Outlander Author Diana Gabaldon Offers Harsh Criticism of Love Scene in Latest Ep: 'Bad Dialogue, Bad Direction'
Outlander‘s Claire is known for speaking her mind. So it’s not that surprising that the woman who created her did that — and then some — after this week’s episode.
Author Diana Gabaldon, who penned the series of novels on which the Starz series is based, tweeted her harsh review of part of Episode 6, “Better to Marry Than Burn,” Sunday afternoon after the installment began streaming on the Starz app. (The channel airs the show Sundays at 8/7c.)
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Gabaldon tweeted that the episode was available, and a viewer replied that the chemistry between lead actors Caitriona Balfe and Sam Heughan seemed off near the end of the hour, during a sex scene in a stable. (Editor’s note: I thought the same and mentioned it in my recap, which you can read here.) Gabaldon then replied to the viewer with her take on why the moment didn’t work.
“Bad dialogue, bad direction, bad lighting, awkward set,” she posted, making sure to defend Heughan and Balfe. “Actors did their level best with what they were given to work with.”
In a subsequent tweet, Gabaldon clarified that she was not against the entire hour, just that specific exchange between Mr. and Mrs. Fraser. “Would y’all pay attention?,” she wrote. “I was referring explicitly to one 45-second scene, NOT the episode.” Later, she added that “Most of it was pretty good.”
Gabaldon is a consultant on the Starz series, and she wrote the current season’s upcoming Episode 11.
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