Outlander: Season One, Volume Two Blu-ray Movie

Rating summary

Movie		4.0
Video		4.5
Audio		4.5
Extras		3.5
Overall		4.0

Outlander: Season One, Volume Two Blu-ray Movie Review

Reviewed by Martin Liebman November 15, 2016

In the plethora of TV shows available on cable today, Outlander stands apart from the ultra-crowded field and offers viewers a "less-is-more" style of storytelling. Possibly becuase it's based on a series of books by Diana Gabaldon, Outlander doesn't follow the new norm of slathering the sceen with violence or trying to cram as much action as possible into each episode (think Spartacus) or relishing in, and spending most every last dime on, lavish recreations of the past (think The Borgias), though it certainly does both to a great extent. Instead, Outlander takes a slow and methodical, deeply contemplative and charcter-driven aproach to its storytelling and seamlessly transports viewers to 1743 Scotland with Claire, who has fallen through time and fallen into a new life drastically different from the one she once knew.

Official synopsis: 'Outlander' spans the genres of romance, science fiction, history and adventure as it follows Claire Randall, a married WWII combat nurse who mistakenly falls back in time to 1743. As the season continues, Claire and Jamie's relationship is tested and Claire must reconcile her modern mindset with this 18th Century world. Ruthless Redcoats, volatile clan politics and a brutal witch trial force Jamie and Claire to escape to a new home. Just when their life as a married couple begins to take shape, Jamie is once again drawn into Captain Randall's darkness. Ultimately, Claire discovers there is a fate worse than death as she struggles to save Jaime's heart, as well as his soul.

Caitriona Balfe and Sam Heughan bring Claire and Jamie Fraser to life as a believable pair of newlyweds that are still learning their roles within the relationship. Early on in this half of the season, Jamie makes a misguided attempt at punishing Claire, much in the same way that he has been taught and seen other husbands punish their wives, and it nearly ends their relationship. Claire is not as forgiving of a beating as are her contemporaries. As the season progresses, audiences see their relationship grow and change and feel the couple begin to trust and love one another even more as Claire reveals her secrets and Jamie lets her go. The narration, alternating between Jamie and Claire, adds depth to the emotional impact of each episode and ensures both fans of the books and newcomers to the material that they're not losing anything in translation from page to screen.

The show's creators make good use of Claire's unfamiliarity with Scottish culture as a way to help the audience better understand the struggle of being suddenly thrust into a different way of life while also using it as a way to help the audience better understand just how different a place 1743 Scotland is as compared to Claire's 1940s home. Claire is, essentially, the audience, the eyes and ears, the one who must navigate all that's old, yet at the same time new. As it's presented to her, so too is it presented to the audience. The connection is strong between Claire and the viewer, and the show's ability to explore through her eyes, all the while bringing the audience up to speed on centuries-old Scottish tradition and life, is the key to getting the most out of all the other drama the show has to offer.

The following episodes comprise the second volume of season one. Summaries are courtesy of the Blu-ray packaging. Spoilers follow.

Disc One:

• The Reckoning: Jamie (Sam Heughan) and the Highlanders rescue Claire (Caitriona Balfe) from Black Jack Randall (Tobias Menzies). Back at the castle, politics threaten to tear Clan MacKenzie apart and Jamie's scorned lover, Laoghaire (Nell Hudson), attempts to win him back.
• By the Pricking of My Thumbs: Jamie hopes the newly arrived Duke of Sandringham will help lift the price from his head, while Claire attempts to save an abandoned child.
• The Devil's Mark: Claire and Gellis are on trial for witchcraft. Jamie manages to rescue Claire, but not before she discovers a secret about Gellis's past.
• Lallybroch: Jamie and Claire return to Jamie's ancestral home, dredging up painful family memories.

Disc Two:

• The Watch: Jamie finds himself between a rock and a hard place when a Redcoat deserter from his past resurfaces. Claire tends to a laboring Jenny while Jamie and Ian join The Watch on an ambush, resulting in devastating consequences.
• The Search: Claire and Jenny set out to rescue Jamie from his Redcoat captors. When Murtagh joins up, Jenny returns home to her family while Claire and the Highlander employ unorthodox tactics to send word to Jamie. When word finally arrives, the news is not what anyone had hoped for.
• Wentworth Prison: Jamie awaits his death sentence at Wentworth Prison, while Claire and the Highlanders desperately search for a rescue plan.
• To Ransom A Man's Soul: A plan is put in place to attempt to free Jamie from Wentworth Prison where he is once again being held by his tormentor, Black Jack Randall.

Outlander: Season One, Volume Two Blu-ray Movie, Video Quality 

The second half of Outlander's first season shines on Blu-ray. The digitally sourced picture favors a rather clean and gently smooth appearance, but it never betrays the coarser textures that make it so appealing. Indeed, detailing is terrific, particularly heavier-set stones, woods, and clothes, but finer garment lines, intimate skin textures (including Jamie's back scars), pores, and thick facial hair are dynamically complex and revealing. Image clarity is fantastic, the picture holds a natural sharpness, and viewers will be privy to practically every fine detail available in Outlanders' textural wonderlands. Colors are terrific, too. This half season has its fair share of dark and bleak backdrops, but natural greens sparkle in daylight, brightly colored clothes are likewise resplendent when well-lit, and even dimmer interiors capture a natural warmth and pleasing level of dimmed vibrance. Skin tones hold up under the half-season's lighting conditions and black levels are deep and true without crushing out important details. Light noise and trace banding are apparent in places, but never to the image's major detriment.

Outlander: Season One, Volume Two Blu-ray Movie, Audio Quality 

This half-season release of Outlander features a stout, clear, and highly enjoyable DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1 lossless soundtrack. The presentation is excellent in every regard. Light natural ambience is always full and penetrating, transforming the stage into any number of unique environments. That's both natural woodland and shoreside locations as well as manmade rowdy halls or chaotic courtrooms. The surrounds are engaged in harmony with the fronts, carrying their share but never overextending and betraying each scene's realism. Music is clear and precise, boasting wide front spread and, again, harmonious surround (and low end) implementation. Gunshots pop with good presence, explosions sufficiently rock the stage, and other sounds of chaos and battle are detailed and true. Dialogue is carried primarily by the front-center channel, expanding only when the environment allows. It's clear and well prioritized throughout.

Outlander: Season One, Volume Two Blu-ray Movie, Special Features and Extras 

Outlander's second half of season one features extras on both Blu-ray discs. A UV digital copy code is included with purchase.

Disc One:

• Outlander Podcasts: These podcasts are essentially episode commentaries. Each features different guests and concentrates on different elements of the episode. For "The Reckoning:" Podcast with Ronald D. Moore and Matthew B. Roberts (59:27). For "By the Pricking of My Thumbs:" Podcast with Ronald D. Moore & Ira Steven Behr (59:00). For "The Devil's Mark:" Podcast with Ronald D. Moore & Toni Graphia (59:01). For "Lallybroch:" Podcast with Ronald D. Moore & Anne Kenney (57:39).
• "The Reckoning" Extended Episode with optional Introduction by Ronald D. Moore (2:15) (1080p, 1:11:13).

Disc Two:

• Deleted and Extended Scenes with Introductions by Ronald D. Moore (1080p, 10:07 total runtime): I'm No Stable Boy, She'll Pay the Price, I Ordered You Ned, Your Baby Is on its Way, My Best Days Were Spent Soldiering, Life of Adventure, The Simple Things, and Vowed to Protect You.
• Outlander Podcasts: For "The Watch:" Podcast with Ronald D. Moore, Toni Graphia & Matthew B. Roberts (56:57). For "The Search:" Podcast with Ronald D. Moore & Matthew B. Roberts (57:53). For "Wentworth Prison:" Podcast with Ronald D. Moore & Ira Steven Behr (56:03). For "To Ransom A Man's Soul:" Podcast with Ronald D. Moore &Ira Steven Behr (58:21).
• Diana Gabaldon Tours Outlander (1080p, 7:53): The author of the Outlander book series tours the set and meets the cast and crew.
• Outlander Cast & Crew Table Read (1080p, 5:44): This extra showcases samples of the table read with the script at the bottom of the screen.
• A Triangle in Time (1080p, 9:14): Ronald D. Moore, Diana Gabaldon, Caitriona Balfe, Sam Heughan, and Tobias Menzies discuss the love triangles within the show and how their characters react to them.
• Weaving Authentic: Making the Fabrics of Outlander (1080p, 5:12): Ronald D. Moore and Terry Dresbach discuss the fabrics that were created especially for the show to make sure the fabric colors and styles were authentic. Colin Brown shows viewers an up-close look at the looms that wove the fabric and how his mill helped create authentic tartans for the show.
• Gag Reel (1080p, 4:44).

Outlander: Season One, Volume Two Blu-ray Movie, Overall Score and Recommendation 

Outlander's compelling set-up and strong performances, not to mention the acclaimed source material, have together yielded one of the most praised show on TV. Sony's Blu-ray release of the second half of the split season one features the expectedly strong video and audio. Supplements are through and entertaining. Highly recommended.