It seems even Outlander author Diana Gabaldon is having to weigh in over the controversy surrounding the first episode of season six.
In 'Echoes', the extended 90 min premiere, there was a storyline which has divided fans.
With Claire (Caitriona Balfe) dealing with not only the ghosts of her past, but also the trauma of the recent ordeal at the hands of Lionel Brown's gang, it seems she's come up with a way of getting through it that wasn't in the books.
It turns out that after recreating ether, an early form of anaesthetic, in the era she now lives in with Jamie (Sam Heughan), she's begun to self medicate to help her sleep.
But it's a decision by the showrunners that book fans aren't happy with, even if it was a plot device to show how Claire is being affected by her Post Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD).
Speaking in an enlightening interview with the Dipp, creator Diana Gabaldon explained that it's natural that there would be differences between the two mediums.
"We're always dealing with a big difference between books and shows — to wit, space and time," the experienced author said. "I have all the time I need for Claire (and other people) to deal with trauma in various ways, and Claire's usual means of doing that is Jamie."
With pages and pages of text, it's easier for Diana to be able to convey that Claire is struggling but the show has to do it in a different way.
However, it doesn't mean that Diana agrees with how they did it.
"Book Claire probably wouldn't have done that," Gabaldon adds. "For multiple reasons, including the not-inconsiderable physical risks of doing it, addiction being a notable one."
That does come with a caveat though, Diana believes fans will be happy with the "satisfactory conclusion" of the season.
She added that she has the benefit of having seen the whole season and that she thinks they handled the whole thing pretty well over the course of it.
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