The NC History Behind The Outlander Story
March 7, 2020ONC Admin Choice Awards–Episode 3, “Free Will”
March 5, 2020
Welcome back to the season five ONC Administrators’ Choice Awards! Now until the end of this season, (we refuse to think about it), some of the ONC administrators and myself will be voting on our “Bests” from the latest Outlander episode. We enjoyed this fun way to briefly recap each episode last season, and hope you enjoy it as we do! This week’s voting contributors are Susan Jackson, Carolyn Baker, Tara Heller, Dawn Woo, Mitzie Munroe, Cameron Hogg and Nancy Roach. So, without further ado, the winners for episode 3, Free Will are…

Susan: When Fanny’s face was suddenly in the window. Just about had an accident when Jamie turned around–kinda like that scene from The Shining, but without the “Here’s Johnny!”
Dawn W: Maybe not a best moment, but I do like it a lot and the scene has been repeated with Jamie throughout the series. When he sees “home”, he stops and looks at it from a distance. We saw it with Lallybroch….we saw it with Helwater (although not what he particularly wished for)….I think we saw a far off shot with Leoch. (And when he’s walking into the house at the first, is that a dog trot he’s walking through??)
Tara: I agree with Dawn. I loved seeing the silhouette of Jamie standing on top of the hill overlooking the Big House. It reminded me of George Washington or a statue or something. Then going in and standing over Claire and then her waking up. I love moments with those two.
Carolyn: Piggybacking on Dawn and Tara, when Jamie stands over Claire after he comes home, crosses himself and thanks the Lord for her.
Mitzie: When Jamie comes home and stands over Claire, crossing himself and thanking God, with such a look of adoration on his face. (Swoon)!!!!
Cameron: I’m with Susan… there was something really cool about finally seeing Fanny Beardsley after envisioning the scene play out while reading the book. I did miss the more pronounced lisp, though. I found that kind of made Fanny a little more endearing.
Nancy: The opening scene between Claire and Jamie that lets us know the romance is still there and love is on a deeper level. By having this scene at the beginning of the episode, we are reminded of that love and are ready for them to go forward together and face whatever calamity lies ahead.

Susan: When Fanny screams at Beardsley “You hear that? You old bastard! She isn’t yours!” I can feel all of the revenge this abused woman is enjoying while announcing her secret to her now-helpless abuser.
Dawn W.: Claire’s reply to Jamie’s request to give him the same mercy that he gave Beardsley…”I’ll do what must be done”. There was an added line in the book. But I think it’s an interesting statement and a careful statement because coming from her as a doctor, it means something totally different.
Tara: Claire- “I’m coming with you…then you’ll need a physician. Murtagh, Knox, Tryon they’ve all made decisions, and I’ve made mine. You’ll need my help” Jamie- “I always have and always will.”They are still a team.
Carolyn: Jamie to Mr. Beardsley “Will you pray for forgiveness?”
Mitzie: Jamie: “Deo Gratias”. Claire: “What are you thanking the Lord for”? Jamie: “For the sight of you, Sassenach”. Me…. (Still Swooning)!
Cameron: It was a sad line, but memorable- Fanny saying that having a baby didn’t make her a mother anymore than sleeping in a barn would make you a horse. It seemed to really give some insight into Fanny’s state of mind.
Nancy: I have to agree with Mitzie on this one – Claire: “What are you praying for?” Jaime: “For the sight of you, Sassenach.”

Susan: Paul Gorman, for playing the parts of the Beardsley twins–he’s going to do a fine job, I think. He’s gonna be busy, to say the least.
Dawn W.: I have to give it to the man with no lines…Mr. Beardsley. He looked awful…acted like he was in pain….and just looked wicked.
Tara: Definitely the man playing Mr Beardsley.
Carolyn: I’ll give this one to the actress playing Mrs. Beardsley. I didn’t like her at all to begin with but ended up loving and really feeling for her in the end.
Mitzie: Bronwyn James, who plays Fanny Beardsley. I like seeing new faces in a breakout role and I think she did a wonderful job.
Cameron: Mr. Beardsley. So expressive with absolutely no words.
Nancy: I have to agree with others, my vote goes to the actor playing Mr. Beardsley. To emote with just your eyes and pain filled moans and gurgles had to be challenging. I think the make up artists did an excellent job of making his body grotesque and that blackened foot nauseating.

Susan: When nasty old man Beardsley made enough noise to show he was alive. I was thinking that maybe they were going to portray him as dead for time’s sake. But, nope.
Tara: Not sure there were any surprising moments for me since this episode was pretty much right out of the book. But I guess for me it was when Fanny’s water broke and I thought to myself- guess we aren’t going into the woods with this party of the story.
Dawn W.: I think I’m most surprised at how well they pulled off 2 characters with one actor….in the same scenes!
Carolyn: When Mrs. Beardsley’s face suddenly appeared in the window of the house. I jumped!
Mitzie: How well the special effects team merged the actor playing both roles of Josiah and Keziah Beardsley together in that one scene. That was really well done.
Cameron: I agree with Tara. I wasn’t expecting her to deliver in the cabin. But the whole scuffle with Jamie, and his pushing her off, that led to her water breaking was a bit of a surprise.
Nancy: When Fanny’s water suddenly broke,( at first I thought she had peed out of fright), and she gives birth. In the book she her goats are everything to her. She continues to cradle a kid in her arms.

Susan: The men being boys around the campfire was kind of funny, but there was something that made me lol but I can’t remember what it is. Guess I need to rewatch…
Dawn W.: The men around the campfire talking about how cold it was.
Tara: I agree with Dawn, the campfire. My husband laughed at that. He never laughs during Outlander.
Carolyn: Ditto on the campfire scene!
Mitzie: Jamie, Myers, Roger, Claire, et al sitting around the fire, just cracking some jokes. It was a light moment in such a dark episode.
Mitzie – Jamie, Myers, Roger, Claire, et al sitting around the fire, just cracking some jokes. It was a light moment in such a dark episode.
Cameron: I liked the offhand comment from Bree, about feeling like Scarlett O’Hara, when all the men left the plantations. I love some of the inside jokes between Claire, Roger, and Bree about the future and later pop culture references.
Nancy: I liked the scene with the pounding on the locked door. Jaime and Claire approach the door with dreaded anticipation that Mr. Beardsley is behind the door only to reveal an errant Billy goat.

Susan: Can I have four? No? Well, I’m taking them anyway: (1)When Jamie stops at the crest of that hill and sees home–then (2) walks in and does the sign of the cross and gives thanks. sigh I SO miss this Jamie in the show–it’s not the religiousness of it, it’s just part of what makes Jamie Fraser Jamie Fraser. We haven’t seen that in the show since season 1, I think. (3) The gloominess of the Beardsley home, all of the suspense–I found it much more suspenseful and spooky than the book scene. (4) The exchanges between J&C seemed so natural–S&C come across so well onscreen. It’s like watching the old friends I know from the books. I’ve missed the “every day” between them. #TeamFraser is the hashtag for this episode.
Dawn W.: Jamie And Claire….their exchanges have a maturity….Claire is not fighting to be só headstrong but working with her husband. They just have a “oneness” about them.
Tara: I just give this whole episode an award. It was pretty much straight from the book. Bravo writers!
Carolyn: How Jamie and Claire worked together in this episode. He was definitely the strong, leader we all know and love, but she was also the physician who handled things at the Beardsley home. I loved it when she delivered the baby and handed her off to Jamie, who was more than willing to take her and help get her cleaned.
Mitzie: I liked the special effect touches and dark staging throughout this episode. From the time-lapsed molding bread to the passenger pigeons darkening the sky, I felt like they did a good job taking the direction of this episode to a more creepier level than previous episodes.
Cameron: Having the Beardsley twins side by side in the scene in the woods was really well done. Sometimes when they try to have “twins” in the same scene, they always have one in silhouette from the back or the effects look weird, but this was pretty seamless
Nancy: My best overall award goes to the writers for sticking with the storyline in the book. Kudos to you!

Susan: I still dislike all of the accessories Claire has in her “lab.” All of the cloches, and equipment–it’s too modern, if that makes any sense. Oh, and Captain Mackenzie telling that mother that he’d bring her sons back to her. I mean, looking at her face, she knew he was full of it, because you just can’t promise someone’s going to come back from any battle safe and sound, but to make that promise as a ruse to get someone to let their sons go–just kind of silly to me.
Dawn W.: I have two…..Claire checking out Keziah’s ears with a mirror and diagnosing his burst eardrums. Can you really see your eardrums like that?? And…since Fanny brought up Mary Ann, I kind of wish they had gone into more of Mary Ann and the whole ghost thing. Mary Ann, supposedly, caused Beardsley to have the stroke bc he saw her.
Carolyn: I know it was necessary, but the Beardsley man was definitely the epitome of “a scary old man!”
Mitzie: Some of the gruesome sights during the Beardsley cabin segment. I pretty much watched the whole thing with RBF on my face.
Cameron: I didn’t really get the need to have the few moments of seeing the scene from Mr. Beardsley’s point of view. There weren’t enough of it to make it seem logical with the rest of the episode. If that had been more cohesive, it could have been more impactful.
So, now that we’ve voted, it’s your turn! Agree? Disagree? Tell us in the comments who or what gets your vote for “Best” Awards for Episode 503, Free Will. Leave it in the comments!
ONC Admin Choice Awards–“Between Two Fires”
February 28, 2020
Welcome back to the ONC Administrators’ Choice Awards for season five! Now until the end of Season 5, (we refuse to think about it), some of the ONC administrators and myself will be voting on our “Bests” from the latest Outlander episode. We enjoyed this fun way to briefly recap each episode last season, and hope you enjoy it as we do! This week’s voting contributors are Dawn Woo, Mitzie Munroe, Harmony Tersanschi, Traci Thompson, Stephanie Bryant and Nancy Roach. So, without further ado, the winners for episode 2, Between Two Fires are…

Mitzie – Bree teaching Roger how to shoot by adjusting his stance, leaning in close and laying her head on his shoulder, breathlessly telling him to breathe.
Stephanie– How happy Bree is when she’s with Jemmy. Glad to see that she still can have some happiness even after she heard Bonnet was alive. I was afraid the terror we saw on her face and in her drawings would linger throughout the episode.
Harmony – I really enjoyed the interaction between Claire & Marsali when she was speaking to her about becoming her apprentice.
Dawn W.- I really liked the moment when Claire And Marsali looked at each other when Marsali was processing/butchering the goat. It was a moment where you knew that they were comfortable in their relationship with each other.
Nancy– I have to agree with Marsali’s reaction to Claire’ corpse and invitation to assist her.

Mitzie – Marsali “Don’t make me say it, Claire. Don’t make me say it. Was she right, my mom, was she?” And Claire’s response, “I’m not a witch”! I laughed out loud during that exchange!
Stephanie– Mr. Fanning “It’s getting worse and worse, this country is going to the dogs”
Scary to hear a line like that, very apropos to modern day, in my opinion.
Harmony – I’m with Mitzie on this one, “Don’t make me say it Claire. Don’t make me say it”. That had me cracking up!
Dawn W.– I think I liked what Murtagh said toward the end when they were back in the Regulator camp. He corrected one of the men who said that Jamie was fighting for the Redcoats. Murtagh said that Jamie was fighting with his his men just like he was fighting the Regulators. (They were both standing with their men.)
Traci – both Marsali’s “Don’t make me say it” and Fanning’s “this country is going to the dogs.” One was funny & hilariously acted, and the other puts things in perspective – someone’s always thought the country was going to the dogs in one way or another!
Nancy– All Marsali’s lines when she walked in on Claire and the corpse.

Mitzie – Lauren Lyle has my vote this week. I am really liking her character development these last couple seasons. She was so funny acting all shocked and affronted when Claire showed her the body still in her surgery, but then she looked excited about jumping in and learning all she can from Claire.
Stephanie– Have to agree with Mitzie, Lauren is so good as Marsali! I like the way the she responded to Claire’s offer to help… from outraged,to suspicious to the beginnings of acceptance.
Harmony – Yup, Lauren Lyle for me as well. I love that we’re seeing more of her this season!
Dawn W.– Lauren Lyle
Traci – Yes, Lauren shone in this episode! I find myself liking her more and more.
Nancy– I have to agree Lauren Lyle stole the show in this one. I think her acting talent has inspired the writers to write more lines for her this season and make her part bigger.

Mitzie – Bonnet
not yielding mercy and instead going in and cutting the bridge of the
nose/eyes of that man. Not that I expected anything less from him, but
he had no qualms to do that in front of a crowd and so it shocked me
that he felt safe enough in that company to not suffer any repercussions
from his actions. He feels like he can do absolutely anything and get
away with it. It’s going to make psychopathic Bonnet even more dangerous
and unpredictable.
Stephanie–
Bonnet mentioning he was a father. Who would think he cared? I’m not
sure he’d really say that but I guess it’s a set-up for the future plot
line.
Harmony – Bonnet being so close & mentioning being a father.
Dawn W.– Bonnet “….after all, I’m a father now.”
Traci – Murtagh still hanging around (wasn’t he supposed to “be hard to find?”) and Marsali becoming the surgery sidekick – but I like it, it works!
Nancy– The realistic tar and feathering scene. I have seen this portrayed in movies, but don’t think they showed the aftermath of burnt flesh. My dog even barked during the act of tar and feathering. Also Claire hiding a corpse in the surgery and deceiving a family by burying a coffin full of rocks. (See more info on this in my answer to least liked overall award.)

Mitzie – Roger and Bree’s exchange during target shooting practice about Tufty Fluffytail. Brought back memories from when I was a kid, obsessively reading Ranger Rick.
Stephanie– Marsali asking in a roundabout way if Claire was really a witch. I mean I’m sure Laoghaire pounded it into her head growing up so she was bound to think it at some point, with Claire practicing her 20th century medicine.
Harmony – Marsali and Claire’s whole dialogue when they were there with the body. That was such a great & well acted scene!
Dawn W.– The whole autopsy scene with Marsali And Claire. Marsali’s facial expressions…her dialogue…her body language. Don’t make me say it Claire!
Traci – Far and away the Claire & Marsali scene!
Nancy– Again Marsali, Claire and the corpse.

Mitzie – Overall I liked seeing Roger and Bree trying to still adjust to their new life here in the past. Bree is having an easier time with finding her niches but Roger is struggling. He’s always bringing in modern references; Tufty, Nancy Drew, Jeremiah was a Bullfrog. It’s as if he is desperate to not forget or it helps to ground him in such an unfamiliar circumstance.
Stephanie-Jamie…trying to keep his emotions in check. I really felt his dilemma being caught “between two fires”. His expressions said it all, no words necessary!
Harmony – I really loved the candle making and seeing more of the day to day activities on the Ridge.
Dawn W.– So many different scenes with Roger and with everyone he stood out. His delivery is so natural…..his singing added so much to the episode…his facial expressions.
Traci – the overall harmony of everyone being “caught between two fires” – Claire with her medicine, Bree/Roger between two time periods, Jamie between two political groups & all that goes along with that, even Murtagh between Jamie and the Regulators and Marsali torn between what to think of Claire.
Nancy-Again Marsali, Claire and the corpse. I’m always partial to humor in the show.

Mitzie – Jamie being forced to hunt down Murtagh, and in turn he is crossing paths with people he knows. Good people who are fighting for what they know is right and seeing Jamie longing to stand by their side, but can’t because of his oath. It worked out this time that he could secretly save the two caught regulators, but I don’t think he will be so lucky again.
Stephanie– I didn’t like all that gore in one episode. Claire and the autopsy,the tar and feather scene,the killing of the Regulator and Bonnet in the brutal fight scene was just too much to handle in one hour.
Harmony – Murtagh and the whole tarring and feathering. I had to close my eyes for half of it, and I’m usually not that squeamish.
Dawn W.– I can’t put a finger on anything that I did not like.
Traci – Roger finding the pictures of Bonnet and then trying to pretend everything is okay instead of saying something. I could have done without some of the gore, too – while tar & feathering was appropriate for the time period in general, I would have been happier had the Hillsborough riots been depicted closer to reality.
Nancy– Claire hiding a corpse in the surgery. I know the writers put it in this episode because they couldn’t put in later, but how could Claire hide a smelly bloody corpse from people? I worked in a hospital before I retired. We had a situation where a corpse in the morgue created a stinch throughout the main floor of the hospital where my office was located. Maintenance brought in fans to help blow the smell out the nearest door to the outside, but it didn’t help. I know people in the 18th century stank, but even they would cover their noses at that smell. I also find it hard to believe Claire would deceive someone by burying a coffin full of rocks. It just seemed out of character for her.