"Outlander" recently aired one of the most controversial scenes to ever hit the history of television. Sexual violence among characters in TV shows seems to be the next "trend," as more and more series start to take on such issues including "Game of Thrones." Will "Outlander" season two bring in more controversial scenes?
"Outlander" season 1 aired an episode titled, "Wentworth Prison," which showed Jamie Fraser (Sam Heughan) being tortured by Black Jack Randall (Tobias Menzies). The scene received mixed comments from viewers, with some painfully crying over the physical and mental torture that Jamie was put through while others thought that the series is becoming more like the HBO series "Game of Thrones."
Indie Wire published a report on the comparison of the sexual violence on "Outlander" and "Game of Thrones." The HBO series recently showed Sansa Stark being raped by her husband, Ramsay Bolton in the episode titled, "Unbowed, Unbent, Unbroken." According to the outlet, both shows simultaneously aired sexual violence, but the HBO series received quite a lot of backlash from fans in its most recent episode.
The outlet noted that "Game of Thrones" depicted Sansa's sexual violence in a way that does not pay attention to how the victim would feel following the act. It could be attributed to the fact that the HBO series is directed by a man, which possibly explains the reason for using "female extras as rape and murder fodder since its first season."
The "Outlander" series, on the other hand, portrayed the scene taken from Jamie's own perspective. According to the outlet, Black Jack's torture on Jamie was in no way seen as anything sexual; it was more of a mental torture, as Black Jack caresses the scars on Jamie's back.
Sam Heughan previously revealed that extra care was done while filming "Wentworth Prison."
"We're very aware that they're hard scenes to film, and even going up to the stuff with Black Jack Randall and the end... it's something we want to get right," he said.
"Outlander" season 1 finale premieres on Sunday, May 31 on Starz.
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