tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3396056115459934841.post4387708061016518144..comments2023-03-24T05:33:07.733-06:00Comments on PARCA'S CHOSEN: OUTLANDER 'Episode 8': FRANKLANDERDeniseSFhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10493792372940243204noreply@blogger.comBlogger47125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3396056115459934841.post-3990403954033465112015-09-11T11:59:31.222-06:002015-09-11T11:59:31.222-06:00Well said indeed! Bravo! And, of course, you are p...Well said indeed! Bravo! And, of course, you are preaching to the choir....I agree 100%! Thanks for taking the time to share...it's nice to know I am not alone. ;) Cheers! **Hey...could I have your permission to post this on our Outlander site? Please let me know...or if you ARE a member of OS, then post it there.... DeniseSFhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/10493792372940243204noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3396056115459934841.post-71915074178025565342015-09-05T12:30:51.808-06:002015-09-05T12:30:51.808-06:00I really felt that Book-Frank got a bad deal; was ...I really felt that Book-Frank got a bad deal; was handed a batch of massive lemons and made lemonade. He loved Claire, loses her mysteriously and doesn't get to have any kind of closure, i.e. the finding of her body or a "Dear Frank" letter. Then, as he's rebuilding his life as best he can, she turns up apparently crazed and definitely pregnant. Does Frank put Claire in a nice sanatarium and walk away? No. He stands by her and supports her as her husband and brings her half a world away so she will be less troubled by scandal, and rebuilds yet again.<br /><br />But what really upped my respect for Frank was not his maintaining and supporting Claire as his wife (which he might have felt he had to do for appearances and his family honor), but how he raised Brianna. A lesser man might have looked upon this red-headed changeling baby, so obviously the child of another man, as a burden, or even a 'trophy' - i.e. Frank would 'own' the child of Claire's mysterious lover, put his own name and stamp on the kid. And there might have been an element of one-upmanship in his taking on baby Brianna and determining to raise her as his daughter, possibly subconscious. But does Frank behave like a cool and distant authority figure to the changeling who he now 'owns' by right of fatherhood and limit himself to providing her with food, shelter and education? No! He loves her from babyhood on, from the minute he first lays eyes on her. He's excited when Claire tells him about Brianna's physical precocity; he's read Dr. Spock (if I remember right), he falls asleep cuddling the baby. Frank brings little Brianna to his office to stay during the day so Claire can continue building her own impressive career. He helps Claire raise a strong, self-confident young woman. And, Frank foresees that Brianna might have to return to the past - and the interloper - that spawned her, for her own safety, and not only helps her prepare for that transition by teaching her to shoot, but writes her a letter about it, which had to have been emotionally a bit difficult for Frank, i.e. telling his beloved daughter to go to her bio-father, the man who stole Claire from Frank. <br /><br />For a man of his time, or even of any time, Frank is exceptional and, I think, noble, in both his behavior toward Claire and particularly his treatment of Brianna. (I'm still annoyed that Brianna didn't give Jemmy "Franklin" as a middle name) Is Frank perfect? No. Was his decision to divorce Claire and take Brianna noble? Perhaps not; but I think he could only take so many years of being second best to the mysterious Jamie with his own wife; and wanted to get away from the marriage that had probably been torturous for him; and he was not about to leave Brianna behind.<br /><br />I wish there would be a way for Jamie and Frank to meet (during Brianna's adulthood) - I want to know whether they'd kill each other or come to some kind of truce. It would be an interesting confrontation. LazyLadyhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/05299318984156915477noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3396056115459934841.post-21520344738951575192015-01-08T11:02:30.691-07:002015-01-08T11:02:30.691-07:00Exactly. I agree 100%. *don't get to say that ...Exactly. I agree 100%. *don't get to say that very often... ;)DeniseSFhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/10493792372940243204noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3396056115459934841.post-36103498752632977722014-12-31T14:36:20.992-07:002014-12-31T14:36:20.992-07:00I just added a reply by Diana to a fan who asked a...I just added a reply by Diana to a fan who asked about Frank (from 2005). I think you will agree that it is spot on. Check it out! :)DeniseSFhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/10493792372940243204noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3396056115459934841.post-30532700272447065532014-12-31T12:06:44.216-07:002014-12-31T12:06:44.216-07:00Oh, I am so glad that I am not the only person who...Oh, I am so glad that I am not the only person who loves book Jamie (so much) more but likes TV Frank more. I have not been happy with TV Jamie yet and I suspect it's because I want him to totally grow up and be the man I know he is. I think the casting has been great, but Jamie has been played like he's a kid. And even though he's young, he is NOT a kid, even at this point in the story. <br /><br />I'm ready for him to be "my Jamie", LOL. <br /><br />TV Frank is just too awesome. Good looking, tall, tough, in love, and quite honestly... more manly at this point than TV Jamie (don't hit me). I guess I understand why they are making us like him so much but I really want to start liking Jamie more. <br /><br />I.need.book.Jamie.JenEvanghttps://www.blogger.com/profile/16117207217647258508noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3396056115459934841.post-56927371657767381482014-12-31T06:59:29.380-07:002014-12-31T06:59:29.380-07:00When Frank asks Claire if she has 'strayed'...When Frank asks Claire if she has 'strayed' during the war (to her horror) and insists he'd love her anyway, it was clear to me that he was projecting his own feelings onto her (whether he acted on them or not). Witnessing TV Frank's meltdown at the stones was actually a relief - for the first time he seemed genuinely bereft and more than just pissed off that his wife might have run off with another man...she might actually be gone forever...dead. Finally, some tears and desolation at that prospect.<br /><br />But I realize that I may still be annoyed at Frank for not including his parents in his wedding to Claire - they hadn't met her yet and were waiting at a nearby restaurant! Does this not bother anyone out there??!? Contrast this to Jamie who is desperate for some sense that his mother would have approved of his marriage and would have given anything to have had his parents present at his wedding. Score one for Jamie on that point. Maybe I'm just an over-sensitive mother of three, but if Frank were my son.....BonnieMBEhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/12446957852844597471noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3396056115459934841.post-68778172954793360922014-12-31T03:18:25.106-07:002014-12-31T03:18:25.106-07:00To me, there was always more to Book (#1) Frank, e...To me, there was always more to Book (#1) Frank, even though his story wasn't really told in the book. Claire and Frank got married, the war started, they were seperated for years, they grew apart. They reunite, she disappears.<br /><br />Now, Book Frank could have believed she went to be with her Scot (cf. Jamie's ghost) and could have moved on. But when Claire returns two years later he is still single (though hey, he's hot, right? And smart? And he can have other women, we know that.) and as soon as he is told she has been found, bam! there he is back by her side. Pregnant by another man? Oh who cares. Not Frank. She tells a story about disappearing through the stones and ending up in the 18th century. Instead of having her hospitalised for the rest of her live and giving the baby up for adoption he stays with her and raises the child as his own. Yes, he is an ass. He cheats on her with what feels like every woman he works with but instead of having her declared dead or divorcing her or having her put away... there he is. Noble Frank, taking his wife back who had disappeared for years, raising the child she is pregnant with as his own (and we know he loves Brianna) and staying with them til his death. No, not a happy marriage for sure but he could have done worse to her.<br /><br />Now TV Frank we see suffer. We do get his story line. We see how much he worries and how much he tries. Whereas Book Frank was just... an empty shell, somebody Claire could return to (and even though we don't get told his side of the story, Book Frank must have tried, too. Otherwise he could just have walked away from Scotland, remarried and started a new family during the years after Claire's disappearance). With so much hatred bottled up inside herself because he looks so much like his ancestor who did horrible things to Jamie (and her). No matter how hot Book Jamie is or that he is Claire's soulmate, Book Frank (and TV Frank...) never stands a chance after what Black Jack did.<br /><br />I still like Book Jamie best ;) though TV Frank is currently a close second. He will ruin it all later on if they stick to Book Frank. So sad.Wembley Fragglehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/17909358120601537479noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3396056115459934841.post-73735373973604427162014-12-31T02:15:24.618-07:002014-12-31T02:15:24.618-07:00Book Jamie is forever loveable. :)Book Jamie is forever loveable. :)DeniseSFhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/10493792372940243204noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3396056115459934841.post-42412670032537606582014-12-31T02:14:18.089-07:002014-12-31T02:14:18.089-07:00I think Claire's wanting to go back to Frank n...I think Claire's wanting to go back to Frank need not have been expanded upon. Frank is not the only reason to want to get back so desperately: he represents safety, familiarity, family, modernization and every bit of home and sanity she has ever known. No running and hiding, no abductions, nobody to hate her or feel jealous over, no confusion or fear... in short. LIFE as she knows it. THAT is reason enough don't you think, to want to get back to her own era?DeniseSFhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/10493792372940243204noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3396056115459934841.post-65589354081142177312014-12-31T02:09:42.767-07:002014-12-31T02:09:42.767-07:00Cheers and thanks! I am not sure how cool it is to...Cheers and thanks! I am not sure how cool it is to be on a small team like ours, but I am on it nevertheless. HA! Again, I am on TV Franks Team and Book Jamie's. :)DeniseSFhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/10493792372940243204noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3396056115459934841.post-51487910310192278102014-12-31T02:07:45.222-07:002014-12-31T02:07:45.222-07:00Thanks Monique! It was fun to write...beats doing ...Thanks Monique! It was fun to write...beats doing the dishes. ;) And no need to be sorry. I KNOW I am in the minority on this. LOL!DeniseSFhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/10493792372940243204noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3396056115459934841.post-32675024112953373892014-12-31T01:59:58.237-07:002014-12-31T01:59:58.237-07:00Sorry...messed up my reply (bedtime! :P ) What I ...Sorry...messed up my reply (bedtime! :P ) What I wanted to say was that agree with your assessment of Tobias's acting, and your last statement...but in regards to the books only. DeniseSFhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/10493792372940243204noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3396056115459934841.post-12058256444935722832014-12-31T01:55:29.911-07:002014-12-31T01:55:29.911-07:00I know the books well...and I love them the most. ...I know the books well...and I love them the most. The tv show is an entire new entity that I must circle like Claire circled Jamie on their wedding night and find the juicy bits to savor and help bolster the less palatable ones. *and Herself has already said Frank didn't cheat on Claire...but one was free to believe their own interpretation. I can live with that.DeniseSFhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/10493792372940243204noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3396056115459934841.post-88529383661657636452014-12-31T01:50:23.246-07:002014-12-31T01:50:23.246-07:00Leeann: I think the Outlander series has many hero...Leeann: I think the Outlander series has many heroes.DeniseSFhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/10493792372940243204noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3396056115459934841.post-39558190679548017552014-12-31T00:55:37.255-07:002014-12-31T00:55:37.255-07:00I hope the TV JAMIE blends into the BOOK JAMIE. I...I hope the TV JAMIE blends into the BOOK JAMIE. I had a hard time putting down BOOK JAMIE and would DVR TV JAMIE for a convenient time. I couldn't leave home without BOOK JAMIE, he travelled nicely in his paper back version.Anonymoushttps://www.blogger.com/profile/08173576041589008420noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3396056115459934841.post-82601943776715855382014-12-30T20:58:46.616-07:002014-12-30T20:58:46.616-07:00Claire is the Hero of Outlander, not Jamie or Fran...Claire is the Hero of Outlander, not Jamie or Frank.Leeannhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/17148008932005586200noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3396056115459934841.post-10099980650568052692014-12-30T19:14:58.491-07:002014-12-30T19:14:58.491-07:00I don't remember Frank being a character I fel...I don't remember Frank being a character I felt sympathy for in the first book, it seems to me his true character was revealed in the second and third books. That's when I really started to dislike him. I believe that the producers are building Frank up so much in the first season to explain why Claire would try so hard to get back to him, because why would she if he wasn't a great guy? But they will show his true colours in the second season. I'm Claire and Jamie all the way, but I love what Tobias is doing with both the roles of Frank and Jack.Donnahttps://www.blogger.com/profile/01814546519007800624noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3396056115459934841.post-42472905900683755272014-12-30T19:07:26.784-07:002014-12-30T19:07:26.784-07:00LOVED THIS POST! I was Team Frank before it was co...LOVED THIS POST! I was Team Frank before it was cool (even in the books). Mind you, I'm also Team Jamie. But I never understood the rancor Outlander fans have for Frank and I think the TV show is capitalizing on that aspect of him - he loved Claire. And Gabaldon makes it clear that Claire is torn between them for a long, long LONG time.aunt rowenahttps://www.blogger.com/profile/13057699340414065959noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3396056115459934841.post-16357271233914026512014-12-30T18:30:43.032-07:002014-12-30T18:30:43.032-07:00That was hilarious - your quips are genius :D Sad...That was hilarious - your quips are genius :D Sadly, this cougar (is 15 yrs a cougar?) is all about Jamie (it's those eyes and that deep Scottish voice - I just have handle it). Frank is a dear and I do feel sorry for him and I think that is part of the directors plan - to give Frank a presence that he never had in the books - after all if Frank and Claire were truly in love with each other then it stands to reason that we should see not only Claire's struggle but Frank's anguish (which is being portrayed brilliantly by Tobias). BUT I am Team Jamie both book and TV - sorry ladies ;) lol Anonymoushttps://www.blogger.com/profile/15095030857586156134noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3396056115459934841.post-11438467091960471812014-12-30T18:20:34.187-07:002014-12-30T18:20:34.187-07:00Enjoyed the article. I find the TV Frank just fine...Enjoyed the article. I find the TV Frank just fine as in a few books later he will take Claire back and raise Jaimie's daughter. we're seeing the kind of man he can be. We can also see the fortitude that he has from being in the intelligence service. I like the details of Frank's life during the war working for M-5 or one of the other intelligence divisions that got England through the war. We got off easy here in the states. England after the war will be on rations for years and so many places were bombed. Claire and Frank haven't seen each other except a few times. They would be awkward. What is really neat is how Frank and Randall are so brilliantly acted by Tobias. Different, but hints of some same hard and soft edges. <br /><br />As for Claire and Jaimie, as Gabaldon has said, it's about a life. They are romantic figures that will stand the test of time. Frank will only be there to bridge that life.<br />historywriterhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/07646517639758524668noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3396056115459934841.post-75948498979708000042014-12-30T17:31:09.489-07:002014-12-30T17:31:09.489-07:00In the book, it is implied that Frank cheated on C...In the book, it is implied that Frank cheated on Claire when they were separated due to the war, but that Claire remained faithful to Frank. I think that perhaps this implication does not come out as clearly in the TV show as it did in the book. This implication in the book is, in my opinion, one of the main reasons why I do not feel much sympathy for Frank after Claire accidentally goes through the stones. I think the TV show didn't do a good enough job of implying that Frank had cheated, and therefore, he comes off as a great husband and Claire as perhaps as selfish to those who have not read the books. I also think that the TV show provides more of Frank's side of the story (on his side of the stones) than the book did. Because I have read the books several times, I still feel that Frank cheated on Claire during the war and that Jamie is destined to be her soul mate for all eternity.Anonymoushttps://www.blogger.com/profile/11632339281966090283noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3396056115459934841.post-41328768019820536732014-12-30T16:52:26.410-07:002014-12-30T16:52:26.410-07:00Thank you for your thoughts...well said. The '...Thank you for your thoughts...well said. The 'losing oneself in drink and lust' makes sense but with Frank being portrayed so sympathetically, it is hard to forgive her still. IMHO. Again, I am a Book Jamie lover and a TV Frank lover, so it is a struggle for me to balance both. But I am trying! Cheers!DeniseSFhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/10493792372940243204noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3396056115459934841.post-44100728394885554852014-12-30T16:48:48.218-07:002014-12-30T16:48:48.218-07:00I too am pleased that the books have come to life,...I too am pleased that the books have come to life, and will strive to enjoy them separately as to minimize disappointment...but analyzing and critiquing is what I do. Opinions are for sharing and I do appreciate yours. :)DeniseSFhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/10493792372940243204noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3396056115459934841.post-88741002901540877832014-12-30T16:45:10.489-07:002014-12-30T16:45:10.489-07:00You are not alone. :) But that is okay...more for ...You are not alone. :) But that is okay...more for me.DeniseSFhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/10493792372940243204noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3396056115459934841.post-81858899024085039122014-12-30T16:44:09.657-07:002014-12-30T16:44:09.657-07:00Cheers Amanda! Glad you enjoyed it. :)Cheers Amanda! Glad you enjoyed it. :)DeniseSFhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/10493792372940243204noreply@blogger.com