Diana Gabaldon, author of the original “Outlander” book series, had some choice words to say about one particular sex scene in the latest episode of the Starz television adaptation.
Gabaldon originally tweeted to say that episode 6 of Season 5, called “Better to Marry Than Burn,” was available to stream on Starz. But her tweets turned to criticism after a fan asked a question about a sex scene in a stable towards the end of the episode between leads Caitriona Balfe, who plays Claire Randall, and Sam Heughan, who plays Jamie Frasier.
“The stables scene was such a disappointment…what has happened to their chemistry?” the fan asked. “Everything looked so forced and unnatural.”
Gabaldon’s response sympathetic to the actors, but hard on the crew who works on the Starz series.
“Bad dialogue, bad direction, bad lighting, awkward set,” she tweeted Sunday. “Actors did their level best with what they were given to work with.”
Later, Gabaldon emphasized that she liked “most” of the episode, and that her criticisms were only meant for that one “45-second scene.”
“Would y’all pay attention?” she wrote in response to another fan defending the episode. “I was referring explicitly to one 45-second scene, NOT the episode.”
“Most of it was pretty good,” she added.
The Starz TV series, created by Ronald D. Moore, has been running since 2014. Gabaldon serves as a consultant on the show and wrote an upcoming episode in Season 5. The first “Outlander” book in the series was originally published in 1991.
“Outlander” airs Sunday at 8/7c on Starz.