Diana Gabaldon described the rape scene of two major characters in “Outlander” TV series as something that was “in no way gratuitous.” The author also said that the television market has “matured” to allow for such scenes to be shown on screen.

In a recent interview with Radio Times, Gabaldon said that the rape scene between Jamie Fraser (Sam Heughan) and Jack Randall (Tobias Menzies) was not gratuitous. She explained that the scene was a “very integral part of the plot” and it was filmed “ pretty much straight out of the book.”

Gabaldon said that she had to reject many offers to adapt her books over the years, mainly because the scripts were “terrible.” She added that it was not the fault of the writers of the script and it was because her books were “very long” and “very complex.”

The author also pointed out that her work was “very honest.” She felt that her work being adapted as the “Outlander” TV series showed that television has “matured” and the industry can now take on “ very emotionally complex and very emotionally honest kinds of material.” She, however, felt that such a scene would not have been allowed two decades ago, when her book was first published.

Gabaldon felt that a TV series was the best format for her work. In a previous interview with Scotland Now, the author revealed that a 16 episode TV series was the “minimum” that was needed to tell the story. She felt that the show was a “wonderful adaptation” and at the same time cautioned the fans not to watch the show with the book and see what parts were left out.

“ Put the book down, enjoy the show and then go back and read the books for the other things there wasn’t room for,” Gabaldon said. The cast and crew of “Outlander” TV series is currently filming Season 2 and Gabaldon will be writing the script of one of the episodes this time around.

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