Crime
The Residence
As much as one might enjoy solving a good mystery, there’s a fair bit of content slop to muck through in Netflix’s The Residence.
When Claire Randall visited the “standing stones” at Craigh na Dun near Inverness, Scotland, she didn’t realize they would transport her through time. She and her husband, Frank, were simply trying to reconnect after their time apart during World War II.
Suddenly, Claire found herself transported from 1945 to 1743, right in the middle of a Scottish rebellion. And since Claire finds herself unable to travel back right away, she embraces the past, even using her skill as a nurse to undo some of the bloodier bits.
To preserve her own life, Claire marries Jamie Fraser, a local Scotsman. She shares the truth of her origin with Jamie, and the couple falls in love. They endure a number of hardships together before Claire is forced to return to her own time, now pregnant with Jamie’s child.
Frank, her husband in the future, has eagerly awaited her return. After hearing her story, he believes Claire. He agrees to raise Jamie’s child as his own, but requests that Claire won’t leave again or tell her daughter the truth about Jamie. Claire agrees, and they spend the next 20 years together, raising Jamie and Claire’s daughter, Brianna.
Then Frank is killed in a car accident. Brianna discovers the truth on her own. And soon, mother and daughter are taken back to the 1700s once more.
Let’s just say that now the family faces even more trials and tribulations. They journey to America, even joining in the American Revolution. Brianna’s boyfriend from the 1900s, Roger, joins her in the 1700s. She and Roger wed and have two children of their own. But when their daughter is diagnosed with a heart defect, she and Roger return to their own time so the young girl can receive the treatment she needs. And they take up residence in Jamie’s family home in Scotland.
Eventually, Claire and Jamie (still in the 1700s) make their own trek back to Scotland, realizing that their knowledge of the Revolution could cause them to inadvertently change the past and the future.
And just when it seems things might be settling down, a man from the past travels to the 1900s and kidnaps Brianna and Roger’s son, taking the boy back through the standing stones to a time before Jamie and Claire even met where an old enemy awaits.
How things will play out in the coming seasons remains to be seen. But suffice it to say that Outlander is pretty outlandish.
STARZ’s Outlander is based on a series of historical fantasy novels by Diana Gabaldon. As of this writing, the show is currently in its seventh season, with an eighth promised, whereas nine books have been published with a 10th and final novel forthcoming.
However, while the story is certainly compelling, the content is incredibly problematic.
I was appalled at the amount of rape that occurs in this show. A “trigger” list on Reddit documented 33 cases of sexual assault against both female and male characters, including a few children. One woman is even brutalized by multiple men. Most of these attacks are at least partially, if not fully, depicted onscreen and include full-frontal nudity of both male and female characters.
The show doesn’t hold back other forms of violence either. Domestic abuse, hangings, drownings, shootings and dismemberings all get plenty of gory screentime, to say nothing for good old-fashioned brawls. Several characters have suicidal thoughts, too. Some even attempt to take their own lives, and one woman succeeds in Season 7, all of which incidents are portrayed onscreen.
Outlander also shows the painful and sometimes graphic results of miscarriages and stillbirths. We sometimes see these deceased children afterwards, which could be incredibly distressing for families that have experienced the loss of a child. And after a pregnant woman is murdered, Claire attempts to perform an emergency C-section on the woman’s corpse in an unsuccessful attempt to save the baby.
These issues are probably more than enough to deter most families, but they certainly don’t encompass everything challenging with Outlander. Sex, nudity, foul language (including severe abuses of the Lord’s name and uses of the f-word) and even witchcraft—Claire is mistaken for a witch due to her knowledge of modern medical practices, another woman actually practices dark magic, and there’s also the mystical nature of time-traveling—each get a decent amount of exposure as well.
So not only is Outlander a bit outlandish, it’s also pretty outrageous.
(Editor’s Note: Plugged In is rarely able to watch every episode of a given series for review. As such, there’s always a chance that you might see a problem that we didn’t. If you notice content that you feel should be included in our review, send us an email at [email protected], or contact us via Facebook or Instagram, and be sure to let us know the episode number, title and season so that we can check it out.)
Roger travels through the standing stones hoping to rescue his kidnapped son, Jemmy. Meanwhile, Claire and Jamie tell Jamie’s family the truth about her time-travel abilities.
Roger’s ancestor struggles to breath normally after traveling through the standing stones, and Roger wonders if he himself will cease to exist if his ancestor perishes before their family line is established. He realizes he traveled further back in time than he meant to and runs into an old enemy of his family. Jamie’s family wonders if Claire is a witch or faerie, but she explains she has no magical powers of her own.
Characters quote Scripture occasionally. A young woman declares her desire to take vows as a nun. A cross adorns a grave. People talk about praying, heaven and having faith in God.
A woman throws things at Jamie in anger and smacks him across the face. When Jamie tries to hold her still, another man hits him with a gardening tool. Jamie responds by punching the man in the face, knocking him down. We hear about several untimely deaths, sexual assaults, miscarriages and other violent instances. A man suffers from consumption and is told he’ll die within the year. Claire warns Jamie’s family about the coming French Revolution, describing how the king and queen will be beheaded by guillotine. Jamie carries several dead pheasants after a hunting excursion.
A married couple kisses several times. Jamie makes amends with the woman he married after Claire’s first disappearance. Their marriage has been nullified for many years, but he never apologized for the pain he caused her. Part of the new arrangement is to have her marry the man she loves and has been living with “in sin.” A man says a wife is the greatest gift God has for men.
People drink alcohol. Someone talks about opening new wineries. There is a single use each of “b–tard” and the British expletive “bloody.” God and Jesus’ names are each misused four times.
Families bid tearful farewells. Jenny (Jamie’s sister) worries what will happen to her if her husband dies. But Jamie reassures her that she’ll carry on. And she apologizes to Claire for harsh words exchanged after learning that Claire’s medical knowledge wasn’t enough to save her husband. Roger questions his suitability as a father when he fails to find Jemmy, but he also resolves not to leave the past until he finds the boy.
Emily studied film and writing when she was in college. And when she isn’t being way too competitive while playing board games, she enjoys food, sleep, and geeking out with her husband indulging in their “nerdoms,” which is the collective fan cultures of everything they love, such as Star Wars, Star Trek, Stargate and Lord of the Rings.
As much as one might enjoy solving a good mystery, there’s a fair bit of content slop to muck through in Netflix’s The Residence.
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