Suzanne Carillo

Rushing Towards The End

I’ve just finished watching season one of Outlander. I was surprised just how quickly I became emotionally invested in the series. The spectacular Scottish Northlands brought back memories of my time living there but it was the compelling storyline that sucked me in. Initially I thought the whole premise was a bit too, “Dr. Who meets Harlequin Romance” for me. I had no idea I’d become a swooning romantic, falling head over heels for Jamie, a formidable Scotsman all the while cheering on the strength and intelligence of the female lead, Claire.

The unique storyline is well developed with plenty of twists and turns, the characters are detailed, nuanced and believable.

Tobias Menzies plays, without a doubt, the coldest, most vile villain I’ve ever seen.

As with any really great story it is the background, the history, the daily moments and missteps that create the character’s lives and shape the people they become. These  cunningly gauged discoveries enticingly advance the story forward one detail at a time.

Understanding and getting to know these characters and their lives is what gives the story authenticity and meaning.

The moments and details which make up our days are important in shaping our lives, not just the life altering highlights or extreme lows.

Every moment that passes serves its purpose as we march towards our final destination.  Learning to appreciate the moments without constantly peering into the future is a skill that develops happiness and gratitude.

Sometimes in life we want to rush towards the finish line while ignoring the road we took to get there.

I was reminded of this when I told my husband (who is currently in Hong Kong) that I was enjoying the series and he should watch it too. Often times my husband doesn’t really appreciate my recommendations. Is your spouse like that? For some reason he is dedicated to only watching gory horror movies, violent, fighting war movies and fake super hero films, anything that falls outside that realm is subject to severe critique. While we both loved Mad Men, Better Call Saul, The Sopranos, Dowton Abbey, The Alienist, Taboo, Mindhunter and Breaking Bad he wasn’t keen on giving Outlander a chance, that is, until I told him I’d just witnessed the most violent, disturbing episode I’d ever seen on film. Somehow I knew that would pique his interest. I’m not a fan of extreme violence but I still find the series compelling.

The next day (my morning, his evening) I was surprised to read a text from him that said what a sick so-and-so Captain Jack Randall was. I wrote back that he hadn’t seen the worst of it because his unfathomable evil isn’t thoroughly revealed until the last episode of season one.  He didn’t respond. It wasn’t till the next evening while chatting on FaceTime that my husband revealed he’d only watched the last three episodes of season one. WHAT???

He’d skipped over the whole story rushing towards the end!

ARGHHH!!!

I can’t even begin to tell you how disappointed I was. How on earth can you expect to understand anything or commiserate with the characters when you jump in at the end? It’s like buying a book and only reading the last page! I mean why even bother??? 

Can you imagine jumping in on your life now without any background knowledge?

How can we enjoy where we are when we don’t know where we came from?

Needless to say after my extreme disappointment and horrified reaction he told me he started watching the series from the beginning now, although if you ask me, that is a m00t point. He will never be able to enjoy it as it was meant to be. Moments are meant to be discovered and savoured, revealed to us one step at a time, no rushing towards the end.

Have you ever skipped ahead to the end?

Linking up with Patti for Visible Monday, Turning Heads Tuesday and Fancy Friday

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