All of Outlander Season 1 Episodes: Ranked

2. “Sassenach” Episode 1

Being the very first episode of a brand-new series we didn’t quite know what to expect from “Sassenach.” At first glance from the trailer, you can see it’s an interesting concept. A confident war nurse of the 1920’s is back from the ravages of World War II to reconnect with her husband. She somehow time-travels to 17th century Scotland. Unless you were a fan, of the Outlander books, you had no idea what to expect.

What we did find was in the near-perfect pilot episode. And we don’t say that lightly. We quickly learned the backstory of Claire and Frank. Some shows will needlessly drag on the introduction of its main characters and what kind of person they are, but that didn’t happen here. In the very same episode, Claire time travels through the stones and quickly meets her husband Frank’s doppelganger/family member. Of course, the most important part of the episode is when Claire meets Jamie. Again, “Sassenach” being the pilot episode set the tone for the entire season and people loved it.

For Outlander book fans, this was the moment they have been waiting for almost 20 years. The production quality of “Sassenach” was incredible. You could tell the dedication to Diana Gabaldon’s Outlander storyline was the most important part to get right. You could not ask for a better book to screen adaptation.