#Thanks greymattermaelstrom

[brian-in-finance]

Remember… (about S03E01 The Battle Joined) Ron was telling me and everybody else, that at the climactic moment when Jamie and Randall see each other, suddenly the sun actually came out from behind the clouds and just sort of lit them up, like Armegeddon, totally inadvertent but for two it is, and luckily these things happen. — Diana Gabaldon

[ashmarie1687]

This was a great summary!! Thanks @greymattermaelstrom

Ozlander Fan Gathering 2020  -   The Rik and Sophie Show

I attended Ozlander in Melbourne. What an incredible weekend so would like to share my Ozlander experience with you. Of course, it was during the very early days of covid-19 which I’ll address shortly. I’d never met any of the cast before, nor any group of like minded fans. Of course, you are usually lucky to know anyone who watch the TV show (not counting a partner) in your circle of friends let alone personally know a group of fans to chat with. It’s funny though, I’m not sure what I expected, but I thought people would have in depth discussions about OL characters/plots during coffee breaks or in line ups for autographs/photos. I didn’t experience that. I think it was a given that we were all deep into OL. Instead, I found we just chatted and got to know each other, ‘Where are you from?’ etc. As this was the first formal Outlander convention held in Australia, this was big news. I bought my ticket the day they were available (Nov 2019). It was a long way off but I knew the gathering would occur a short time after the first few episodes of Outlander S5 were broadcast, so when S5 started airing, my anticipation grew. Prices were steep admittedly, but a number of us felt it may be the first and last opportunity to meet a cast member, so we did what we could to get there (i.e. sell the healthiest child, blackmail the rich, etc).

Article from “The Scottish Banner” Feb 2020.

Unfortunately, 4 weeks out, Ed Speleers withdrew due to work commitments but local, David Berry, was announced as his replacement on the same day. Then 10 days out, Graham McTavish withdrew due to work commitments in Slovakia. No news of a replacement was announced (I learnt at the event that organising a visa etc with Covid-19 developing had made it nigh on impossible to organise a replacement in time). Ozlander organisers revisited the program and added extra value features to the various tiers. The gathering weekend was so close, yet seemed so far away in these uncertain times. Every day, I anticipated receiving an email stating it had been cancelled. I knew the organisers must have been pulling their hair out. Selfishly and as long as it was safe to do so, I was hoping it would still go ahead. The virus was not as advanced in Australia. Most of our relatively low number of cases were brought in by travellers (residents returning or tourists) from Europe/Asia before flying was cancelled. The Federal Government had restricted public gatherings to less than 500 at the time. Attendance was actually under 200.  FYI, below are the global covid-19 stats as of 19 April 2020, a month later. Australia’s population is 25 million.

A few days after the Ozlander event, only crowds of less than 100 were permitted by the govt. We were so, so lucky!! Of course, that reduced further as precautions were implemented over time. We have self-isolation and a lot of business closures, cancellation of sports/entertainment etc. It is dreadful, but not a total lock down in Australia. We could walk dogs and make necessary trips to the supermarket, pharmacy, doctor or special court appearances. Anyway, just wanted to address this concern. ~ Tickets sold well (premium tickets sold out). I saw fans on sm stating the date of the event clashed or it was a bit expensive so I know more wanted to come. Yes, the cost was relatively high. Return airfares for cast, accommodation, plus I assume their appearance fee was always going to be an expensive venture, especially as our AUD had been declining sharply against the USD for some time. Australia can miss out on some things because of distance and a relatively small population, but overall, I think we have done well over the years. ~ Rik (Richard) and Sophie posted IG photos from Melbourne a couple of days before the event. Yay!! They were in the country at least, enjoying the sunsets, cuddling koalas and hypnotising wallabies lol. Sophie posted a selfie from a public toilet (bathroom) - as you do. See Sam’s comment below. Toilet paper was becoming a precious commodity….🤔

So the odds looked good and finally, Ozlander arrived.🥳 Before we took our seats, a lone piper slowly walked into the throng playing Waltzing Matilda (iconic Australian bush ballad) which segued into Outlander’s theme song. Goosebumps! Applause all ‘round. The piper was a big fan too.

What a thrilling start to proceedings. We took our seats and Meagan Taylor (the one who dared dream the dream), welcomed everyone. The age range of fans was predominately 40-65. We were excited and expectant. Housekeeping announcements focused on coronavirus precautions of course. Wash hands, use hand sanitiser when you can’t, no handshaking and no touching the cast. This last request was a little disappointing after seeing photos from other OL cons, but it was quite understandable. I think we were just over the moon Ozlander went ahead so we were more than happy to comply and consider the health and safety of others. Then Meagan had the unenviable task of informing us David Berry had unfortunately cancelled his appearance due to health reasons. Yikes! What a shame. (David released a press statement 15 March(?) outlining his difficult decision. Sydney is Australia’s Covid-19 hot spot, so David being a Sydneysider, had to consider this I guess). There are IG photos of David, Rik and Sophie together in Australia, just not sure where. So of course, it surprised everyone that David wasn’t attending. Refunds of his meet and great and the re-jigging of tiers was to be announced on the fly. Then there were two, Rik and Sophie (and no pressure whatsoever!)🤪. Meagan then advised that the five panels across the weekend would be all audience Q & A which got a loud cheer. On with the show! The Rik and Sophie show! 🎉 They came on stage ready for a good time. Rik opened with 'G'day’. Great start I thought and continued his half decent Australian accent. It’s a hard accent to imitate as we know. Rik’s was a bit exaggerated but that was part of the fun. 

‘G’day. ‘How are ya’?’

Sophie in an outfit she bought here. Same brand as Saturday’s dress that she brought with her.

Roger Mac is in da house.

I’ll admit, I wasn’t quite sure what to expect. I have seen Rik and Sophie in a lot of interviews, OL promos (talking to camera) and taking part on OL panels on YouTube. I can find their rapport a little strained and snarky at times. Luckily, I was very pleasantly surprised that their 2020 version was very endearing and entertaining. I think they’ve worked on this. I also think, that the spectre of Sam and Cait, through no fault of their own, does loom large at cast events. Therefore, it was great to see Rik and Sophie rise to the challenge of working the room in the absence of their cast mates. And I think they really relished this (albeit exhausting) opportunity and the small theatre made it a casual and intimate affair. They answered questions in an engaging manner and often expanded on it, citing on set examples, many I’ve never heard before, and I’ve seen a lot of OL interviews. Almost as soon as they came on stage, Rik was asked if he would play his guitar and sing for us. While flattered, I think it was too early in the piece and he said maybe he would do so during the weekend sometime. Alas, time wasn’t on our side so it didn’t eventuate. ~ Rik was asked if his hair ticks were under control (ep 501)😂. Combing his fingers through his hair, he replied in his strong Scottish brogue that most of them were gone now. Good sport. ~ He was told the OL bts photos he posts on sm (taken on set) were great and much appreciated and to keep them coming to which the audience applauded. I think he quietly enjoyed that moment. All creatives will take that, knowing their skills and hard work meant something to someone, much like our appreciation for OL and these sorts of events!

Then on to costumes, wigs and make up. It was thought that it must be nice to have your scalp/hair attended to in the makeup. ‘No, it’s not’ R&S said in unison.😂 Verra uncomfortable process apparently. The hair is flattened and held down with clips. The hairline edge of the wig is ‘glued’ to the top of your forehead and then alcohol is used to get the glue off after shooting, which dries the skin. Some hair falls out over time with this process also. We know this has happened to Sam to an extent.😬 Rik is hoping to grow his hair long enough so he doesn’t need a wig, which accounts for his current hirsute glory. ~ Sophie said they both share a make up trailer and added that Rik has a magic make up chair. Being early morning, he often goes to sleep in it and upon waking up, hey presto, it’s Roger Mac. At make up time, they do know if the other is a bit touchy, so they try not to annoy each other. Too much.😂 ~ At one stage, we were a bit shy in asking questions. Meagan said if this was in the US, there’d be a line up for the mic.😂

Ozlander Fan Gathering 2020 selfie. 

~ Sophie responded to a geeky question about wearing wireless mics secreted in their costumes or hair as well using the usual overhead boom mics you see on bts videos. She was asked about her experience with ADR which she’s not a great fan of it. The audience asked, ‘What’s ADR?’ There are a few accepted terms in the industry, Additional Dialogue Replacement is one. It’s when some dialogue needs to be re-recorded late in post production if the original dialogue audio recording at the time is less than optimal for a variety of reasons (thanks Google). Sophie gave an instance when in S4, Bree told Claire she had been raped. The stream in the background got into the dialogue mics too much in this particular outdoor location, so Sophie had to re-record her dialogue (like lip syncing) saying exactly what she said at the time, whilst watching the scene on a screen in a recording studio. It’s hard to get the context and emotion of the scene back into your voice and that’s why some actors hate doing it and plead to have the original dialogue kept as much as possible. But ADR happens more than you realise and for various reasons (see Google). It is impossible to tell when you watch the show, what scenes have had ADR done, it’s blended so well. They would record the stream/ ambient sounds separately at some point and then mix it in lower against the dialogue after ADR is done. 😅

 ~ Sophie talked about her audition process and was sat down in an exec’s office and was told OL fans are very passionate! (we are?🤔😁). They have an idea of how book Brianna should look and Sophie confirmed she wasn’t tall enough, eyes the wrong colour, etc and that yeah, as expected, she received some not so nice things on sm. But she tried not to read too much of it and pressed on with the role of Bree. Her tone wasn’t sarcastic or indignant at all, but humble. I was impressed. 

Queuing for photos with Rik or Sophie on this occasion. We weren’t allowed to touch but we all had a squirt of hand sanitiser (just to be super safe?).🤔            

There were a few photo opportunities over the weekend and a bonus or two thrown in make up for the cast that couldn’t make it. A refund was offered for people with meet and greet tickets for David. However, R & S kindly offered to do a meet and greet for David’s fans instead and they happily accepted. Legends! I don’t know where they found the energy to be constantly ’on’ with so many people over the weekend. Chocolate? Youth?  ~ As it was a small event, there weren’t any extra security staff that I could see. I think it was only the Museum staff and the security cameras which were hardly noticeable. ~ When getting my autographs, Rik and Sophie didn’t ask for my name, but when I read their personal messages, they had used my name (which they’d seen on my Ozlander lanyard. How cool is that? Very slick!). There were assorted costumes, the de rigueur wedding dress of Claire’s which added to the ambience. Of course, most of the audience were women but good to see a handful of men there, some even in kilts! Saw some Aussie Peakers in their MPC tees too. Cool. 

To settle a pronunciation question, Sophie asked the audience after lunch, ‘Is it scone (as in, phone) or scone (as in, shone)? 

An emphatic SCONE (shone) came back. Rik said “Oh, wow, a shouting(?) majority?’ 

Just to be sure, someone asked who lost, Rik pointed at Sophie. He didn’t gloat too much. Poor Sophie!

Of course, what would an OL event be without the cast having a drink or two to lubricate the tonsils (as we say).

Here are a few more tidbits. All the info I’m sharing has been gleaned from the panels and time spent with Rik and Sophie over the weekend as my tier allowed (which was a lot). ~ Yes, they had tried Vegemite (similar to marmite/promite), courtesy of David Berry. Sophie has some in Scotland. Onya Davo! (good on you David). Incidentally, Sam tried some when he was here in 2016 on Studio 10 (morning talk show - March 2016, his interview is on You Tube). It’s a thing. ~ Rik didn’t know if Sam’s whisky would be his cup of tea, but said it was ‘good actually’. ~ Rik was sometimes surprised by the particular take post production used for the show, but was more surprised by what was edited out of a scene (to add dynamics or guide the narrative a certain way which would apply to all productions everywhere). ~ The pyre scene with the Jesuit Priest at the Mohawk Village Ep 412 was hard to watch on TV. He said it was hard to watch them shoot that scene on set as it was so dangerous!😬 ~ Sophie very occasionally discussed the historical accuracy of things in a scene with directors ie. birthing stool or not in Ep 413 and 1960′s The Mashed Potato moves in S5 are different to how we know them now. She convinced the director’s on those 2 occasions. To me, it shows her passion for the show! ~ When asked about Bree meeting Jamie for the first time in S4, Sophie was asked about the eww factor but didn’t think about Jamie’s hand touching her face after he had relieved himself as he had only used a fruit juice bottle.🤣 ~ R & S were asked to respond to: ‘Aussie, Aussie, Aussie!’ And with relish they replied: ‘Oi, Oi, Oi!’. Someone did their homework. Cool. It’s a parochial call and response thing some aussies do at sporting events etc. ~ R & S often went for an early morning run. Before Sunday’s program began, Meagan asked us all to be very quiet. ‘That sound’, she said, ‘is Rik having his hair blown dry backstage.’ Laughter at Rik’s expense all round. Sophie came on with her’s still damp.

Graham McTavish ‘popped’ in from Slovakia to say hi and sorry I can’t be there. Rik and Graham had a good rapport. After some banter, the audience was now supposed to ask a question and GM rolled his eyes as he heard Rik’s voice again, this time asking him what he conditioned his beard with? ‘Well”, said GM, ‘well Richard, um, I, ahh (chuckle), I condition it with…., obviously a little bit of your love ..’. Much laughter in the theatre.

Then GM commented further, (which I missed, sadly), to even more laughter.

Who knows what would have happened had GM been at the event in person?! There is so much more I could share, but you get the idea. 

Sophie wasn’t feeling the best during the last panel just before the close of the event, but she pushed through like a trooper. Rik said she had eaten too much chocolate. A weakness of Sophie’s. I think fatigue was catching up with both of them. They did so much.

Meagan presented Rik and Sophie with an Akubra (pron. uh·koo·bruh) each (iconic Australian outback hat) as a memento of their time here at Ozlander. Rik had the Crocodile Dundee style whilst Sophie’s was more demure. In his best aussie lingo, Rik said: ‘I’m Richard Dundee and this is my partner, Skippy (Sophie).’ (Referencing Skippy the bush kangaroo ? - a much loved Australian TV show 1968-1970). 

The Scottish Banner article promised an intimate relaxed chance to get to know stars from the Outlander TV series and I’m happy to say that this is exactly what we got. Whilst it’s a shame we didn’t get to know Ed, Graham or David better, we certainly got to know Rik and Sophie better than we had ever anticipated. As a result, I see Rik and Sophie in a new light, esp in S5, where they have more scenes together. In a small way, I’ve gotten to know a little of the person that inevitably informs their TV persona (ie facial expressions, mannerisms, speaking cadence and inflections). What a memorable time I had (can you tell?). Thanks to Rik and Sophie, the gathering organisers (who got a special mention on stage at the close) and the other fans I met there. Thanks for reading this far on a rather lengthy post.😊 I know it’s my take on the weekend, but I’ve tried not to editorialise it, but present it, as accurately as I can, hence, it may be a bit dry to read.😅  I think Ozlander is a great name and I look forward to Ozlander Fan Gathering 2021.  

Ozlander graphics: Ozlander Fan Gathering (I tweaked the circle logo in the title)

Ozlander Fan Gathering 2020 selfie: Ozlander Fan Gathering

other photos: all permissions obtained    

Ozlander Fan Gathering article: The Scottish Banner February 2020

Sophie Skelton post: Instagram

global covid-19 cases stats: Wikipedia

[brian-in-finance]

Remember… (Roger’s POV) the feeling of unreality was even more prominent when he preached of a Sunday or went around as a minister — if yet without portfolio — to visit the sick or counsel the troubled. — A Breath Of Snow And Ashes

[boyneriver-fraser]

Wow... There’s some detailed analysis here, @greymattermaelstrom, and I missed many of the fine points you’ve noticed. You’ve inspired me to revisit the Facebook Live video and check your highlighted moments for myself. Thanks for carefully noting the timing. (BTW, tenterhooks is a most apt word. Good choice, great descriptor.)

Congratulations on your first original post! 🎉

... to the fandom 😃

NYCC 2019 Outlander  a sort of life ...

Discovered OL just over a year ago. What a ride! I think I’m still in one piece, though have a few scars! Only joined Tumblr a few weeks ago. This is my first original post for Tumblr. In at the deep end!! Sometimes I don’t know where I am on the Sam and Cait ‘are they, aren’t they’ continuum. I know I’m not alone. I have watched NYCC 2019 a number of times now, it is so good. Ginger and the cast were in fine form.

However, there is a section that I found particularly intriguing. I’m not sure why there was such emotion amongst some of the panel at this point. There are 2 full versions available publicly. The one that piqued my interest was the live stream version that I find on Facebook (not the final official version on YouTube).

 FB search: Outlander NYCC Panel. There are differing camera angles between the two versions. YT version has a long-shot of this part. The streamed version has a much closer mid-shot as per below. You can see expressions, body language and interaction between these 4 members quite clearly. I’ve watched this 3-4 min part many times and almost always notice new things with each subsequent viewing as it’s hard to focus on 4 people at the same time. So I am putting this out there hoping some may find it as interesting as I did. Apologies if this particular part has already been discussed in detail elsewhere, but as a Tumblr newb, I haven’t found it as yet. It really helps to watch the streamed video on a good screen, the bigger the better to catch it all. 

44:38 Caitriona is speaking and her voice breaks a bit on the words: really true, when speaking about her marriage with Frank before the Stones. Please view vid around this mark for context. Duncan shifts his gaze after C says this. Sam’s foot is swinging (body language experts pls) and his eyes are getting moist and he shifts position and puts his hand to his mouth (to stop his mouth trembling?). Meanwhile, Maria is getting emotional listening to this and her eyes glint. Brave C tries to say something else but decides not to and she plays with her hair as she does when I think she feels vulnerable/emotional/unsure. Duncan claps a little and tries not to shed a tear I think. C finishes and is trying hard to hold it together. Seeing that S is a bit emotional makes it hard for her I think. I found this short bit a start of the emotions found later from 47:59 where Cait then talks about Claire not being her full self and living as a compromised woman in the 60′s without living to her potential back with Jamie. 

As Cait continues, 48:14 Sam pinches his nose and wipes his mouth and I sense becomes a little more emotional as do Duncan and Maria.

48:16 Sam thinks Cait is about to specifically describe the time J and C are apart and motions accordingly, but Cait talks about a slightly different part and you see her foot move up in recognition, like a sympathetic reflex, that she saw Jamie’s gesticulation and I think S sees this acknowledgment.  

48:39 Maria and Duncan become more emotional and it’s on their faces. Sam is listening and watching like a hawk and he is getting more emotional. 

48:47 Sam shrugs his shoulders as a sympathetic reflex of his own?

48:49 I don’t quite know how Cait kept it together whilst she spoke, maybe she had made that point before and/or rehearsed it - which is fine. She is quite emotional when she finishes as is Sam. Duncan is eyeing her I think, to see if she is ok? (relatively speaking). Cait does very well to recompose herself from that emotional place. That’s some heavy stuff there. I think when C says ‘ .. their hearts and their souls are ageless with each other.’ C sees Sam is emotional and that sets off C even more I think? M smiles at Cait’s last line. Why is it so emotional for the four of them? Was C tactfully emphasising her mature love view of JC (that OL is not a skin show)? She has copped a bit of flack that S4 doesn’t have a lot of intimate scenes along with her horny grannies podcast comment.

Is she saying she can’t live a normal married life (with whomever it is i.e.Tony, or Sam or someone else)? If it’s with Sam, the 4 cast members would know and empathise with the SC together narrative - that they are hiding it for security reasons and/or NDA. Or C is married to Tony and S loves C and knows he will never have her and C knows this and can see S is upset? Or he doesn’t quite approve of C and T? Are they reminiscing about the simple, heady euphoria they seemed to enjoy in the early days and things now have become so much more complicated? Or something happened but they are still fond of that time? These are just my thoughts. Happy to look at all other scenarios 

48:55 Duncan is upset and now wipes a tear. Can’t eye-roll that one away. Sam’s eyes are quite moist. He’s trying to keep it together as does C. I imagine the pre-panel drinks have kicked in by now which can emphasis emotions. I don’t blame them for needing dutch courage for the panel. They would have been on tenterhooks about so many things. Maybe they had a choice, maybe they didn’t. 

48:59 Thankfully the next fan question is delivered quickly and a nice comment about Underarmour activewear gives SC a reason to smile and press on quickly. It was good to see SC smile at each other and regain some composure. Whatever the backstory is, I felt for them. All four smile as the fan’s question continues and they needed that. C is smiling and mirroring Sam nodding along to the irons in the fire fan question and is fidgeting with the corner of a piece of paper whilst listening which is similar to Sam’s recent foot swinging.

49:26 Now this is very interesting! Most of us know about Cait’s head shake when the fan asked Sam ‘Do you sleep, ever?’ Duncan smiles and turns his head to SC and when Duncan sees Cait shaking her head, I believe Cait and Duncan make eye contact. D’s smile drops straight away, which C sees. D’s thinking, what are you doing? Cait’s thinking, Yes, what am I doing? D turns away with a serious face and continues his beard stroking. C’s head doesn’t move but her eyes drop in contemplation or ?. Then her head drops and she has a big swallow. She raises her eyebrows to stop a tear from falling? We’ve all done that. I’d like to really know what is happening there?? I’m sure you would also. She is emotional and shortly recomposes herself to an extent. 

The second part of the question to S was ‘Do you have a particularly favourite season or scene from OL ..’? Then S takes this opportunity to tell his ‘what is Jamie like without Claire story’, again. Is he answering the question or trying to share an allegory of their relationship secrets?? Not sure why he would refer to that bit otherwise? C had possibly just put her allegory out there, so S wants to support that with his. Perhaps SC had discussed this breadcrumb code beforehand?? If not that scenario, they still appear to be alluding to something! 

49:57 Sam says, ‘He found is way back. He found a sort of life, I think’ and Cait nods with her head down. And then there was some tension relief from C and DB. Ha, Ha! And S says the Wedding Scene! Everyone laughs. Phew!

50:42 Cait gets something out of her eye a few times past this point.

51:41 Sam wipes his eye. And is still emotional.

52:15 DB gets something out of his eye. May not be anything. Could be something in the air!

These snapshots are of the streaming video and would be covered by the fair use policy I would think.

There is a lot happening in these few minutes. I’m sure you’ll find something else as well. I feel sometimes that I have invaded their privacy by looking at this under a microscope. However, it is a public event and the video is in the public domain. They know some will analyze it. That’s one reason they are on tenterhooks I think. Unfortunately, with so much conflicting disclosure and non-disclosure, we can’t really be blamed for trying to join the dots I don’t think. 

I’m trying to be reasonably objective here although it is hard for me to be totally unbiased. I just find this interesting. If you don’t, then that’s totally fine. I get that some peeps are really over this. I would just ask that any comments be as civil and constructive as possible please. Thanks. Enjoy!! 

[snowwhitelass]

Thank you for coming forward with your information, and the truth @greymattermaelstrom! I have never gotten involved with shipping, because I find it very intrusive into their personal lives. It’s just not my cup of tea. I also feel Sam and Cait would share more publicly, if they weren’t constantly harassed. I also find it disheartening that Caitriona would be upset with Sam for posting a picture, and now I am afraid Sam will get more hate from the Cait-only Stans. Sam has always been more social media savvy, than Caitriona Balfe, and has been accused often on so many levels of not caring or respecting her by some in this Outlander fandom. Obviously, that is far from the truth! I really hope you don’t get bullied or harassed for this!!!

What she said

This has been a difficult post to prepare. After much thought, I wish to share some very interesting information. Some know from my recent post, I went to Ozlander in Melbourne, Australia on March 14 & 15, 2020, and I thoroughly enjoyed seeing Richard and Sophie. As a premium ticket holder, I enjoyed lunch with them on both days. They would individually spend 5 minutes or so at each table and rotate through the tables to meet the fans. At the event introduction on Day One, we were asked to respect Richard and Sophie by not asking questions of a personal nature, which naturally, everyone understood. Therefore, I wasn’t going to ask anything about Sam, Cait, or even Tony. So, I was more than surprised when Sophie briefly mentioned Cait’s wedding!

Sophie visited our table and we talked about a number of things. It was Sophie’s first trip to Australia; Caitriona had been here and had told Sophie how nice it was. Someone asked Sophie, ‘You went to Caitriona’s wedding, didn’t you?’

‘Yeah, Caitriona’s husband is a lovely guy.’ (Did she just say that, I thought?)

I asked Sophie, 'You and Sam were the only cast members that went?’

And she replied, 'No, Tobias was there as well.’ Interesting.

Sophie then added she took the photo of Sam in the Dunhill suit (remarkable weekend).

'The background had to be photoshopped as we couldn’t give away the location. It got onto social media and Caitriona wasn’t that pleased about it,’ Sophie said a little ruefully. (Sam had posted the photo on IG. The right-side background looks very photoshopped.)

During a photo session on Day Two, I asked Sophie, 'Did Caitriona marry Tony?’ with the emphasis on the word Tony.

 'Yeah,’ she said with a smile.

 'Really?’ I asked.

 'Yes. Really,’ Sophie said.

 Then I said, 'Well she doesn’t say his name and hasn’t released any photos so…’

 'I don’t know…,’ Sophie said pleasantly enough. Wow!! Being so busy and so involved with OL for so long, I don’t think she fully appreciated how all the Tait secrecy is being perceived in the fandom.

Okay, a photo or some sort of evidence or it didn’t happen. This info from Sophie was really unexpected. What sort of proof would be acceptable and not immediately suspected anyway? Nevertheless, I believe I have the evidence I need to satisfy myself. Someone else who was at the same Day One table, has confirmed to me in writing (I contacted her a week or so after the event) she heard Sophie say all this as well. I don’t think my acquaintance follows the ins and outs of the SC/Tait drama. I don’t think most of the people at Ozlander did from conversations I had and the general talk I heard. So, my witness doesn’t have a vested interest in The Narrative and, I believe, just gave a purely objective confirmation.

If I had heard Sophie say Cait married Sam, you would probably believe it, put this info in the receipt warehouse, and any evidence would be a bonus. I have been wanting truth no matter what it is. I’ll just deal with it. While it’s greatly disappointing, I do wish Cait and Sam happiness in life whomever they find it with.

I discovered OL 18 months ago and have only been active on Tumblr for 8 months. So, I am still a newb of sorts. Some might say a naïve babe in the woods with not much to lose. However, I’ve met some wonderful people on this side of the fence and I will probably lose friendships and reputation, be unfollowed and blocked, receive a lot of vitriol, be called a troll working for (fill in the blank), etc., due to this heresy. So, my info does come at a price for me. I understand I have not experienced years of surviving on this side of the fence, enduring the delusional tag and the attacks and insults from antis, NST, TPTB, Shamuso, and even some from Sam and Cait, and being thrown under the bus when convenient. I get, in principle, some shippers will close ranks and support any higher-profile shippers who don’t believe me. I anticipate this will be the response. One way to discredit information is to discredit the person presenting it, and I assume this tactic will be employed as well.

So why am I putting my head on the chopping block? Notoriety? Hardly. Well, as I said, I want intel even if it conflicts with what I hope for. I believe people can ship the way they want (within reason) and as KDS infamously said, believe what you want. I don’t wish to convince anybody, nor get into a slanging match with anyone. It would be pointless really. I feel obligated out of principle to reveal the info and not hide it no matter how controversial and inconvenient that might be. I understand some may not think it a good time in the fandom right now to deal with this but I didn’t want the info dating too much before putting it on the table. I understand and I am sorry. But is there an optimal time to hear this?

People like I, who want to know what is going on or had suspicions, and are prepared to accept this information, will welcome it. They have had enough of the mess that is happening right now in The Narrative as well. Also, I don’t wish to be intimidated into keeping contrary evidence hidden just because it doesn’t suit the manifesto. And I apologise in advance to high-profile shippers who will probably be inundated with comments and asks. I accept there will be jealousy involved. Why did a newb get this intel? Believe me, I wish it didn’t happen to me; I really wish it was someone else. I just happened to be in the right place at the right time.

For the record, yes, I’m Australian living in Australia. I understand some people’s problem with that. Why does so much narrative controversy emanate from this place? I don’t know. I wish I knew. We often call it the lucky country (for various reasons). Do we appear have more luck than the Irish?!

However, and unfortunately, this does not provide closure for me. I accept the Tait wedding. I do have problems with the Tait marriage, sorry to say. I don’t know why games are being played. Cait still doesn’t call her husband Tony, there were no wedding or engagement photos made public, and no confirmation from her PR team when wedding articles hit the magazines. It seems like secrecy, not privacy. Why so secret? We continue to see gaslighting, innuendo, and an intentional vagueness, to keep us all engaged it seems?! And Hawaiigate is certainly a head scratcher at best.

So, in summing up, the four things I learnt about the wedding are:

1. The wedding happened.

2. Cait married Tony.

3. Tobias was there.

4. Sam posted Sophie’s remarkable Dunhill manipulated photo on IG and Cait wasn’t too happy about it.

Most shippers won’t like my saying Tait is real and most antis won’t like my saying Sam and Cait continue to play games. But that’s ok. I knew this going in. I just think it is important for the info to be put out there. I don’t wish to appear foolish, talking about a fake wedding, now that I know Cait married Tony. I think there must be other intel such as this out there. Perhaps the time is right for others to make their intel known.

I believe the four things Sophie said about the wedding. I do not have any further intel to share, nor do I have any further theories on what is happening with Sam, Cait, or Tony that haven’t been discussed on Tumblr already. With this in mind, I’m prepared to answer every constructive and civil comment I may receive on this post, including any DMs. If you wish, please look through my blog to see what I have posted. You will find it aligns with this side’s thinking. You may see some names that do not. Please consider the message, not the messenger. And please, it would be appreciated if you would do some homework before making any comment. Thank you for your time in reading this long and very difficult post. I imagine, many will take some time to process it.

[barb50]

Hi @greymattermaelstrom welcome to tumblr & thank you for this informative post. I went straight away to check out the video again & you are right she was very emotional & so were Sam Duncan & Maria. They definitely know the truth it must be so hard for them. 💕

NYCC 2019 Outlander  a sort of life ...

Discovered OL just over a year ago. What a ride! I think I’m still in one piece, though have a few scars! Only joined Tumblr a few weeks ago. This is my first original post for Tumblr. In at the deep end!! Sometimes I don’t know where I am on the Sam and Cait ‘are they, aren’t they’ continuum. I know I’m not alone. I have watched NYCC 2019 a number of times now, it is so good. Ginger and the cast were in fine form.

However, there is a section that I found particularly intriguing. I’m not sure why there was such emotion amongst some of the panel at this point. There are 2 full versions available publicly. The one that piqued my interest was the live stream version that I find on Facebook (not the final official version on YouTube).

 FB search: Outlander NYCC Panel. There are differing camera angles between the two versions. YT version has a long-shot of this part. The streamed version has a much closer mid-shot as per below. You can see expressions, body language and interaction between these 4 members quite clearly. I’ve watched this 3-4 min part many times and almost always notice new things with each subsequent viewing as it’s hard to focus on 4 people at the same time. So I am putting this out there hoping some may find it as interesting as I did. Apologies if this particular part has already been discussed in detail elsewhere, but as a Tumblr newb, I haven’t found it as yet. It really helps to watch the streamed video on a good screen, the bigger the better to catch it all. 

44:38 Caitriona is speaking and her voice breaks a bit on the words: really true, when speaking about her marriage with Frank before the Stones. Please view vid around this mark for context. Duncan shifts his gaze after C says this. Sam’s foot is swinging (body language experts pls) and his eyes are getting moist and he shifts position and puts his hand to his mouth (to stop his mouth trembling?). Meanwhile, Maria is getting emotional listening to this and her eyes glint. Brave C tries to say something else but decides not to and she plays with her hair as she does when I think she feels vulnerable/emotional/unsure. Duncan claps a little and tries not to shed a tear I think. C finishes and is trying hard to hold it together. Seeing that S is a bit emotional makes it hard for her I think. I found this short bit a start of the emotions found later from 47:59 where Cait then talks about Claire not being her full self and living as a compromised woman in the 60′s without living to her potential back with Jamie. 

As Cait continues, 48:14 Sam pinches his nose and wipes his mouth and I sense becomes a little more emotional as do Duncan and Maria.

48:16 Sam thinks Cait is about to specifically describe the time J and C are apart and motions accordingly, but Cait talks about a slightly different part and you see her foot move up in recognition, like a sympathetic reflex, that she saw Jamie’s gesticulation and I think S sees this acknowledgment.  

48:39 Maria and Duncan become more emotional and it’s on their faces. Sam is listening and watching like a hawk and he is getting more emotional. 

48:47 Sam shrugs his shoulders as a sympathetic reflex of his own?

48:49 I don’t quite know how Cait kept it together whilst she spoke, maybe she had made that point before and/or rehearsed it - which is fine. She is quite emotional when she finishes as is Sam. Duncan is eyeing her I think, to see if she is ok? (relatively speaking). Cait does very well to recompose herself from that emotional place. That’s some heavy stuff there. I think when C says ‘ .. their hearts and their souls are ageless with each other.’ C sees Sam is emotional and that sets off C even more I think? M smiles at Cait’s last line. Why is it so emotional for the four of them? Was C tactfully emphasising her mature love view of JC (that OL is not a skin show)? She has copped a bit of flack that S4 doesn’t have a lot of intimate scenes along with her horny grannies podcast comment.

Is she saying she can’t live a normal married life (with whomever it is i.e.Tony, or Sam or someone else)? If it’s with Sam, the 4 cast members would know and empathise with the SC together narrative - that they are hiding it for security reasons and/or NDA. Or C is married to Tony and S loves C and knows he will never have her and C knows this and can see S is upset? Or he doesn’t quite approve of C and T? Are they reminiscing about the simple, heady euphoria they seemed to enjoy in the early days and things now have become so much more complicated? Or something happened but they are still fond of that time? These are just my thoughts. Happy to look at all other scenarios 

48:55 Duncan is upset and now wipes a tear. Can’t eye-roll that one away. Sam’s eyes are quite moist. He’s trying to keep it together as does C. I imagine the pre-panel drinks have kicked in by now which can emphasis emotions. I don’t blame them for needing dutch courage for the panel. They would have been on tenterhooks about so many things. Maybe they had a choice, maybe they didn’t. 

48:59 Thankfully the next fan question is delivered quickly and a nice comment about Underarmour activewear gives SC a reason to smile and press on quickly. It was good to see SC smile at each other and regain some composure. Whatever the backstory is, I felt for them. All four smile as the fan’s question continues and they needed that. C is smiling and mirroring Sam nodding along to the irons in the fire fan question and is fidgeting with the corner of a piece of paper whilst listening which is similar to Sam’s recent foot swinging.

49:26 Now this is very interesting! Most of us know about Cait’s head shake when the fan asked Sam ‘Do you sleep, ever?’ Duncan smiles and turns his head to SC and when Duncan sees Cait shaking her head, I believe Cait and Duncan make eye contact. D’s smile drops straight away, which C sees. D’s thinking, what are you doing? Cait’s thinking, Yes, what am I doing? D turns away with a serious face and continues his beard stroking. C’s head doesn’t move but her eyes drop in contemplation or ?. Then her head drops and she has a big swallow. She raises her eyebrows to stop a tear from falling? We’ve all done that. I’d like to really know what is happening there?? I’m sure you would also. She is emotional and shortly recomposes herself to an extent. 

The second part of the question to S was ‘Do you have a particularly favourite season or scene from OL ..’? Then S takes this opportunity to tell his ‘what is Jamie like without Claire story’, again. Is he answering the question or trying to share an allegory of their relationship secrets?? Not sure why he would refer to that bit otherwise? C had possibly just put her allegory out there, so S wants to support that with his. Perhaps SC had discussed this breadcrumb code beforehand?? If not that scenario, they still appear to be alluding to something! 

49:57 Sam says, ‘He found is way back. He found a sort of life, I think’ and Cait nods with her head down. And then there was some tension relief from C and DB. Ha, Ha! And S says the Wedding Scene! Everyone laughs. Phew!

50:42 Cait gets something out of her eye a few times past this point.

51:41 Sam wipes his eye. And is still emotional.

52:15 DB gets something out of his eye. May not be anything. Could be something in the air!

These snapshots are of the streaming video and would be covered by the fair use policy I would think.

There is a lot happening in these few minutes. I’m sure you’ll find something else as well. I feel sometimes that I have invaded their privacy by looking at this under a microscope. However, it is a public event and the video is in the public domain. They know some will analyze it. That’s one reason they are on tenterhooks I think. Unfortunately, with so much conflicting disclosure and non-disclosure, we can’t really be blamed for trying to join the dots I don’t think. 

I’m trying to be reasonably objective here although it is hard for me to be totally unbiased. I just find this interesting. If you don’t, then that’s totally fine. I get that some peeps are really over this. I would just ask that any comments be as civil and constructive as possible please. Thanks. Enjoy!! 

[tithora]

Dear @greymattermaelstrom congratulations for your first post, it's a great one! I have seen the YouTube version of the panel and I remember noticing, as well, the over emotional climate that was there in certain moments. I will try to find the FB version and watch it according to your thorough notes. Thank you for sharing!

If it's ok I would like to add two moments that I believe Sam was extremely sentimental. At 22:20, when Sam said that "He would die for her and that's it" (Jamie for Claire), Caitriona made the sign of heart to Sam. He did it back to Cait whispering "l love you too" , more like moving his lips without voice and he was looking at her! He looked very moved.

She was too...

After that, Caitriona answered a question about Claire at the surgery, which was pretty neutral. Sam though was still emotional from before, at 23:50 you can see a progression of his emotional state. When Cait finished with her answer, she looked at Sam and said to him "What?" (like what's the matter?) and immediately the camera zooms at his face, on purpose imo, but luckily he managed to hold it together.

Here Cait asking "What" with a fake smile.

And immediately the zoom

It's better on video of course.

It's not the first time I see Sam or Cait or both very emotional in panels or interviews. SDCC 2017 panel first comes to mind, Build interview 2017 etc. Especially after the IFH there were many examples...

They are projecting imo.

NYCC 2019 Outlander  a sort of life ...

Discovered OL just over a year ago. What a ride! I think I’m still in one piece, though have a few scars! Only joined Tumblr a few weeks ago. This is my first original post for Tumblr. In at the deep end!! Sometimes I don’t know where I am on the Sam and Cait ‘are they, aren’t they’ continuum. I know I’m not alone. I have watched NYCC 2019 a number of times now, it is so good. Ginger and the cast were in fine form.

However, there is a section that I found particularly intriguing. I’m not sure why there was such emotion amongst some of the panel at this point. There are 2 full versions available publicly. The one that piqued my interest was the live stream version that I find on Facebook (not the final official version on YouTube).

 FB search: Outlander NYCC Panel. There are differing camera angles between the two versions. YT version has a long-shot of this part. The streamed version has a much closer mid-shot as per below. You can see expressions, body language and interaction between these 4 members quite clearly. I’ve watched this 3-4 min part many times and almost always notice new things with each subsequent viewing as it’s hard to focus on 4 people at the same time. So I am putting this out there hoping some may find it as interesting as I did. Apologies if this particular part has already been discussed in detail elsewhere, but as a Tumblr newb, I haven’t found it as yet. It really helps to watch the streamed video on a good screen, the bigger the better to catch it all. 

44:38 Caitriona is speaking and her voice breaks a bit on the words: really true, when speaking about her marriage with Frank before the Stones. Please view vid around this mark for context. Duncan shifts his gaze after C says this. Sam’s foot is swinging (body language experts pls) and his eyes are getting moist and he shifts position and puts his hand to his mouth (to stop his mouth trembling?). Meanwhile, Maria is getting emotional listening to this and her eyes glint. Brave C tries to say something else but decides not to and she plays with her hair as she does when I think she feels vulnerable/emotional/unsure. Duncan claps a little and tries not to shed a tear I think. C finishes and is trying hard to hold it together. Seeing that S is a bit emotional makes it hard for her I think. I found this short bit a start of the emotions found later from 47:59 where Cait then talks about Claire not being her full self and living as a compromised woman in the 60′s without living to her potential back with Jamie. 

As Cait continues, 48:14 Sam pinches his nose and wipes his mouth and I sense becomes a little more emotional as do Duncan and Maria.

48:16 Sam thinks Cait is about to specifically describe the time J and C are apart and motions accordingly, but Cait talks about a slightly different part and you see her foot move up in recognition, like a sympathetic reflex, that she saw Jamie’s gesticulation and I think S sees this acknowledgment.  

48:39 Maria and Duncan become more emotional and it’s on their faces. Sam is listening and watching like a hawk and he is getting more emotional. 

48:47 Sam shrugs his shoulders as a sympathetic reflex of his own?

48:49 I don’t quite know how Cait kept it together whilst she spoke, maybe she had made that point before and/or rehearsed it - which is fine. She is quite emotional when she finishes as is Sam. Duncan is eyeing her I think, to see if she is ok? (relatively speaking). Cait does very well to recompose herself from that emotional place. That’s some heavy stuff there. I think when C says ‘ .. their hearts and their souls are ageless with each other.’ C sees Sam is emotional and that sets off C even more I think? M smiles at Cait’s last line. Why is it so emotional for the four of them? Was C tactfully emphasising her mature love view of JC (that OL is not a skin show)? She has copped a bit of flack that S4 doesn’t have a lot of intimate scenes along with her horny grannies podcast comment.

Is she saying she can’t live a normal married life (with whomever it is i.e.Tony, or Sam or someone else)? If it’s with Sam, the 4 cast members would know and empathise with the SC together narrative - that they are hiding it for security reasons and/or NDA. Or C is married to Tony and S loves C and knows he will never have her and C knows this and can see S is upset? Or he doesn’t quite approve of C and T? Are they reminiscing about the simple, heady euphoria they seemed to enjoy in the early days and things now have become so much more complicated? Or something happened but they are still fond of that time? These are just my thoughts. Happy to look at all other scenarios 

48:55 Duncan is upset and now wipes a tear. Can’t eye-roll that one away. Sam’s eyes are quite moist. He’s trying to keep it together as does C. I imagine the pre-panel drinks have kicked in by now which can emphasis emotions. I don’t blame them for needing dutch courage for the panel. They would have been on tenterhooks about so many things. Maybe they had a choice, maybe they didn’t. 

48:59 Thankfully the next fan question is delivered quickly and a nice comment about Underarmour activewear gives SC a reason to smile and press on quickly. It was good to see SC smile at each other and regain some composure. Whatever the backstory is, I felt for them. All four smile as the fan’s question continues and they needed that. C is smiling and mirroring Sam nodding along to the irons in the fire fan question and is fidgeting with the corner of a piece of paper whilst listening which is similar to Sam’s recent foot swinging.

49:26 Now this is very interesting! Most of us know about Cait’s head shake when the fan asked Sam ‘Do you sleep, ever?’ Duncan smiles and turns his head to SC and when Duncan sees Cait shaking her head, I believe Cait and Duncan make eye contact. D’s smile drops straight away, which C sees. D’s thinking, what are you doing? Cait’s thinking, Yes, what am I doing? D turns away with a serious face and continues his beard stroking. C’s head doesn’t move but her eyes drop in contemplation or ?. Then her head drops and she has a big swallow. She raises her eyebrows to stop a tear from falling? We’ve all done that. I’d like to really know what is happening there?? I’m sure you would also. She is emotional and shortly recomposes herself to an extent. 

The second part of the question to S was ‘Do you have a particularly favourite season or scene from OL ..’? Then S takes this opportunity to tell his ‘what is Jamie like without Claire story’, again. Is he answering the question or trying to share an allegory of their relationship secrets?? Not sure why he would refer to that bit otherwise? C had possibly just put her allegory out there, so S wants to support that with his. Perhaps SC had discussed this breadcrumb code beforehand?? If not that scenario, they still appear to be alluding to something! 

49:57 Sam says, ‘He found is way back. He found a sort of life, I think’ and Cait nods with her head down. And then there was some tension relief from C and DB. Ha, Ha! And S says the Wedding Scene! Everyone laughs. Phew!

50:42 Cait gets something out of her eye a few times past this point.

51:41 Sam wipes his eye. And is still emotional.

52:15 DB gets something out of his eye. May not be anything. Could be something in the air!

These snapshots are of the streaming video and would be covered by the fair use policy I would think.

There is a lot happening in these few minutes. I’m sure you’ll find something else as well. I feel sometimes that I have invaded their privacy by looking at this under a microscope. However, it is a public event and the video is in the public domain. They know some will analyze it. That’s one reason they are on tenterhooks I think. Unfortunately, with so much conflicting disclosure and non-disclosure, we can’t really be blamed for trying to join the dots I don’t think. 

I’m trying to be reasonably objective here although it is hard for me to be totally unbiased. I just find this interesting. If you don’t, then that’s totally fine. I get that some peeps are really over this. I would just ask that any comments be as civil and constructive as possible please. Thanks. Enjoy!! 

[maisiemop]

This is an awesome post @greymattermaelstrom! I am going to watch this with a new perspective. Thank you.

NYCC 2019 Outlander  a sort of life ...

Discovered OL just over a year ago. What a ride! I think I’m still in one piece, though have a few scars! Only joined Tumblr a few weeks ago. This is my first original post for Tumblr. In at the deep end!! Sometimes I don’t know where I am on the Sam and Cait ‘are they, aren’t they’ continuum. I know I’m not alone. I have watched NYCC 2019 a number of times now, it is so good. Ginger and the cast were in fine form.

However, there is a section that I found particularly intriguing. I’m not sure why there was such emotion amongst some of the panel at this point. There are 2 full versions available publicly. The one that piqued my interest was the live stream version that I find on Facebook (not the final official version on YouTube).

 FB search: Outlander NYCC Panel. There are differing camera angles between the two versions. YT version has a long-shot of this part. The streamed version has a much closer mid-shot as per below. You can see expressions, body language and interaction between these 4 members quite clearly. I’ve watched this 3-4 min part many times and almost always notice new things with each subsequent viewing as it’s hard to focus on 4 people at the same time. So I am putting this out there hoping some may find it as interesting as I did. Apologies if this particular part has already been discussed in detail elsewhere, but as a Tumblr newb, I haven’t found it as yet. It really helps to watch the streamed video on a good screen, the bigger the better to catch it all. 

44:38 Caitriona is speaking and her voice breaks a bit on the words: really true, when speaking about her marriage with Frank before the Stones. Please view vid around this mark for context. Duncan shifts his gaze after C says this. Sam’s foot is swinging (body language experts pls) and his eyes are getting moist and he shifts position and puts his hand to his mouth (to stop his mouth trembling?). Meanwhile, Maria is getting emotional listening to this and her eyes glint. Brave C tries to say something else but decides not to and she plays with her hair as she does when I think she feels vulnerable/emotional/unsure. Duncan claps a little and tries not to shed a tear I think. C finishes and is trying hard to hold it together. Seeing that S is a bit emotional makes it hard for her I think. I found this short bit a start of the emotions found later from 47:59 where Cait then talks about Claire not being her full self and living as a compromised woman in the 60′s without living to her potential back with Jamie. 

As Cait continues, 48:14 Sam pinches his nose and wipes his mouth and I sense becomes a little more emotional as do Duncan and Maria.

48:16 Sam thinks Cait is about to specifically describe the time J and C are apart and motions accordingly, but Cait talks about a slightly different part and you see her foot move up in recognition, like a sympathetic reflex, that she saw Jamie’s gesticulation and I think S sees this acknowledgment.  

48:39 Maria and Duncan become more emotional and it’s on their faces. Sam is listening and watching like a hawk and he is getting more emotional. 

48:47 Sam shrugs his shoulders as a sympathetic reflex of his own?

48:49 I don’t quite know how Cait kept it together whilst she spoke, maybe she had made that point before and/or rehearsed it - which is fine. She is quite emotional when she finishes as is Sam. Duncan is eyeing her I think, to see if she is ok? (relatively speaking). Cait does very well to recompose herself from that emotional place. That’s some heavy stuff there. I think when C says ‘ .. their hearts and their souls are ageless with each other.’ C sees Sam is emotional and that sets off C even more I think? M smiles at Cait’s last line. Why is it so emotional for the four of them? Was C tactfully emphasising her mature love view of JC (that OL is not a skin show)? She has copped a bit of flack that S4 doesn’t have a lot of intimate scenes along with her horny grannies podcast comment.

Is she saying she can’t live a normal married life (with whomever it is i.e.Tony, or Sam or someone else)? If it’s with Sam, the 4 cast members would know and empathise with the SC together narrative - that they are hiding it for security reasons and/or NDA. Or C is married to Tony and S loves C and knows he will never have her and C knows this and can see S is upset? Or he doesn’t quite approve of C and T? Are they reminiscing about the simple, heady euphoria they seemed to enjoy in the early days and things now have become so much more complicated? Or something happened but they are still fond of that time? These are just my thoughts. Happy to look at all other scenarios 

48:55 Duncan is upset and now wipes a tear. Can’t eye-roll that one away. Sam’s eyes are quite moist. He’s trying to keep it together as does C. I imagine the pre-panel drinks have kicked in by now which can emphasis emotions. I don’t blame them for needing dutch courage for the panel. They would have been on tenterhooks about so many things. Maybe they had a choice, maybe they didn’t. 

48:59 Thankfully the next fan question is delivered quickly and a nice comment about Underarmour activewear gives SC a reason to smile and press on quickly. It was good to see SC smile at each other and regain some composure. Whatever the backstory is, I felt for them. All four smile as the fan’s question continues and they needed that. C is smiling and mirroring Sam nodding along to the irons in the fire fan question and is fidgeting with the corner of a piece of paper whilst listening which is similar to Sam’s recent foot swinging.

49:26 Now this is very interesting! Most of us know about Cait’s head shake when the fan asked Sam ‘Do you sleep, ever?’ Duncan smiles and turns his head to SC and when Duncan sees Cait shaking her head, I believe Cait and Duncan make eye contact. D’s smile drops straight away, which C sees. D’s thinking, what are you doing? Cait’s thinking, Yes, what am I doing? D turns away with a serious face and continues his beard stroking. C’s head doesn’t move but her eyes drop in contemplation or ?. Then her head drops and she has a big swallow. She raises her eyebrows to stop a tear from falling? We’ve all done that. I’d like to really know what is happening there?? I’m sure you would also. She is emotional and shortly recomposes herself to an extent. 

The second part of the question to S was ‘Do you have a particularly favourite season or scene from OL ..’? Then S takes this opportunity to tell his ‘what is Jamie like without Claire story’, again. Is he answering the question or trying to share an allegory of their relationship secrets?? Not sure why he would refer to that bit otherwise? C had possibly just put her allegory out there, so S wants to support that with his. Perhaps SC had discussed this breadcrumb code beforehand?? If not that scenario, they still appear to be alluding to something! 

49:57 Sam says, ‘He found is way back. He found a sort of life, I think’ and Cait nods with her head down. And then there was some tension relief from C and DB. Ha, Ha! And S says the Wedding Scene! Everyone laughs. Phew!

50:42 Cait gets something out of her eye a few times past this point.

51:41 Sam wipes his eye. And is still emotional.

52:15 DB gets something out of his eye. May not be anything. Could be something in the air!

These snapshots are of the streaming video and would be covered by the fair use policy I would think.

There is a lot happening in these few minutes. I’m sure you’ll find something else as well. I feel sometimes that I have invaded their privacy by looking at this under a microscope. However, it is a public event and the video is in the public domain. They know some will analyze it. That’s one reason they are on tenterhooks I think. Unfortunately, with so much conflicting disclosure and non-disclosure, we can’t really be blamed for trying to join the dots I don’t think. 

I’m trying to be reasonably objective here although it is hard for me to be totally unbiased. I just find this interesting. If you don’t, then that’s totally fine. I get that some peeps are really over this. I would just ask that any comments be as civil and constructive as possible please. Thanks. Enjoy!!