Outlander, a new original series on STARZ channel, based on the popular novels by Diana Gabaldon, should be light-hearted, escapist fun. In the romance-drama period piece, World War II–era nurse Claire (Caitriona Balfe) is mysteriously transported into the Scottish highlands of the year 1743. There, the English lass soon encounters Jamie (Sam Heughan), a strong, noble, stunningly handsome warrior — picture Fabio with intellect, a sexy level of internal conflict, and a kilt. It’s Rob Roy meets Back to the Future meets Harlequin-style romance, along with some promising historical storylines on the Jacobites, a not-too-shabby script, and a highly capable cast.
The characters (Clan MacKenzie & company), like most Scots of the time, are faithful Christians.
It is thus particularly odd that the show creates a subplot, which dominates an entire episode, dedicated to attacking Christianity and priests in particular.
The third episode depicts a village boy, Thomas, who, following a visit to the local ruins, becomes gravely ill. The superstitious villagers believe him to be possessed, falling prey to the demons that patrol the area. But Claire, our protagonist, is a spunky, strong-willed, spirited woman of reason and science. (How tired and trite is this cliché? Will Claire kickbox a villain in a future episode while saving the day? Probably!). She visits Thomas and, employing her nursing knowledge, notices the boy has symptoms of food poisoning. He is not possessed, she suspects, but rather suffering the effects of eating a poisonous plant. The priest supervising Thomas, however, is having none of that sensible science rubbish! Let’s explore how Outlander portrays this plot and the priest, Father Bain.
First, the actor playing Father Bain (Tim McInnerny) could not look more gruff or malicious. Picture the “Kurgan” villain from the first Highlander film (no relation, unfortunately). The makeup artist was apparently told, “Do Father Bain’s eyes with the heavy under-eye shadows of a meth-head serial-killer vampire,” while the actor was told, “Invoke the facial expression and mannerisms of a constipated Jason Voorhees.” Voilà, we have ourselves a bona fide priest!
Second, the priest is, well, sadistic. He has strapped Thomas, for instance, who is clearly in pain, to a bed, so that the boy can barely move.
Third, the show employs the all-too-common tactic of pitting our lovable, sane, rational protagonist against the priest and, by extension, pitting her against the Faith. Claire is begging for a chance to untie the boy and treat his poison, directly against the priest’s insistence that the boy needs an exorcism and Claire be silenced. Why would a priest refuse to consider that the boy has food poisoning? We are not told – but we are expected to draw the inference that Father Bain is simply a narrow-minded, fanatical monster.
Fourth, the alternative to the Christian dolts, an earth-mother type named Geillis, is portrayed in a positive fashion. (‘Tis standard in period pieces like this to represent a potions-and-herbs-and-nature-worshipper who moves, dresses, and talks like a Stevie Nicks video.) In several episodes, Geillis, who dabbles in the alternative arts, is shown as patient, loving, and wise, a reasonable, sensible force who quietly rolls her eyes at those silly Christians. When Claire visits her and sarcastically laments the “delightful” Father Bain’s attempted exorcism on the boy, Geillis shares her annoyance, noting that “there is no mercy in his Bible or his heart” and informing us that Father Bain even believes every woman should be beaten daily to keep evil at bay. Huh?
Fifth, the sadistic-priest angle is hammered home yet again, in case you missed it earlier. Just as Claire and Geillis are discussing Father Bain’s evil ways, a noise below alerts them to a commotion. Along comes Father Bain, dragging a young boy behind him to the town square. The boy was caught stealing, so he will lose a hand. Thanks to Geillis, though, who persuades her husband, the judge, to show mercy on the boy, the boy is only nailed to the pillory by his ear. Callous Father Bain carries out the punishment, naturally, and appears to relish the act. In STARZ’s version of 18th-century Scotland, it is priests who administer physically cruel punishments when, in fact, it is priests who were often the voice of reason, stemming the tide against mob rule and mob violence throughout a good millennium in Christian Europe.
Sixth, this subplot seems to be deliberately written into the show, as reports I found indicate it is not in the books.
Seventh, the negative Father Bain portrayal is not counterbalanced with any positive portrayal of another man of the cloth.
Eighth, the evil-priest caricature is so over the top as to reach cartoon-character territory. When the boy’s family sternly rebuffs his wishes in order to allow scientific Claire to treat the poison, Father Bain storms out, even threatening Claire that he will have the last word. Later, Claire complains to Jamie, “I truly do believe he would have preferred to see that child die.” Sure, that’s believable.
All that, packed into one rollicking hour!
For the past decade or so, the entertainment industry has noticeably ramped up its efforts to slander and smear Christians. As any movie or television watcher can attest, the only question about the evil priest or the dimwitted and/or hypocritical Christian making an appearance on screen is not a matter of if but when. The only other question is just how heavy-handed the attack will be. Historical accuracy be damned: The motive is not only to dismiss Christianity but to dismantle it one film or television episode at a time, planting the seed of doubt and shame in Christians while promoting disdain and hate toward Christians. Consider, for instance, the portrayal of priests in Ridley Scott’s King Arthur (torturers); Kevin Costner’s Robin Hood (a corrupt, slovenly priest bought off by the evil sheriff); or History Channel’s The Vikings (see here). These are just a handful of the hundreds of films and shows portraying a faithfully Christian era yet faithfully attacking Christianity.
Eighteenth-century Scotland was a time and place in which the church and its priests were largely responsible for keeping the peace, law, education, charity for the poor and weak, civil rights, and morality. Yet there is no sign of that to be found anywhere in Outlander – on the contrary, the show seems to go to great lengths to break with historical accuracy in order to viciously attack Christianity.
This disease spreads across nearly any film or show in which a smear of the faithful can even remotely be written in. Forget the boy who stole the food — time to drag these executives and producers before the town square and demand answers. Until then, avoid shows such as Outlander. If you crave a little Scottish romance and warfare, hey, there’s always Mel Gibson’s Braveheart.
— A. J. Delgado is a conservative writer and lawyer. She writes about politics and culture.