Over the course of five seasons, Outlander has woven an intricate tale of love through the ages, bouncing from postwar Britain to 18th-century Paris to Colonial America and back again. Based on the book series of the same name by Diana Gabaldon, Outlander follows the adventures of Claire, a time-traveling former World War II nurse, and her husband Jamie, a Scottish Highlander embroiled in the Jacobite plot to overthrow King George II.

Although Outlander has generally received high marks for its historical accuracy, the show has been known to deviate from Gabaldon’s narrative from time to time. Some of the changes have helped improve the narrative flow, while others have been made to add more dimension and layers of nuance to certain characters. Here are a few of the major changes that make the Outlander TV series work better.

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Frank Is a More Likable Character

In Gabaldon’s books, Claire’s husband Frank is portrayed as a reticent and somewhat chauvinistic partner who engages in a series of extramarital affairs after Claire returns to the present day in 1948. According to Claire, Frank has had relationships with at least six other women over the course of their marriage, all the while refusing to give her the divorce she long ago asked for.

The TV series, in comparison, treats Frank with much more sympathy. Far from the serial cheater described on the page, the Frank of the television show only engages in one affair -- with a woman named Sandy, whom he loves and wishes to marry. These changes help make Frank a more likable, relatable character and allow for a true love triangle to emerge between Claire, Frank and Jamie. When Claire finally decides to return to Jamie, viewers truly feel the magnitude of her decision.

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Yi Tien Cho Is Much More Than a Stereotype

Yi Tien Cho, aka Mr. Willoughby, is a Chinese exile living in Edinburgh and a close friend of Jamie and Claire. In Voyager, the third book in Gabaldon’s Outlander series, Yi Tien Cho is very much a caricature of an 18th-century Chinese immigrant: He’s described as a small, emasculated man who shaves his head, wears silk robes and has both a drinking problem and a foot fetish. Remarkably, he is skilled in the stereotypical Chinese arts of acrobatics, acupuncture and bird fishing, and perhaps worst of all, he has no qualms about betraying even his dearest friends.

Yi Tien Cho’s employer and biggest ally Jamie affirms his deviant nature: “...but ye canna tell what he may try... He’s a heathen.” Even the kind-hearted Claire can’t help but slip into pejorative language, calling him “the little Chinese.”

Thankfully, producers chose a different route when it came time to introduce Yi Tien Cho in the third season of the Outlander TV series. Portrayed by New Zealand actor Gary Young, the Yi Tien Cho of the TV adaptation is a much more three-dimensional character. He’s presented as an intelligent, multilingual scholar who dons a pulled-back hairdo and the latest European clothing styles.

Furthermore, he’s an invaluable help to Jamie and Claire, and is treated with the respect he deserves. Rather than refer to him by his adopted Scottish name, Mr. Willoughby, Claire honors his Chinese heritage by calling him by his given name, Yi Tien Cho.

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Murtagh's Role Is Expanded

Murtagh Fitzgibbons Fraser has long been a fan-favorite from the Outlander TV series; however, his role is considerably smaller in the books. In fact, Jamie’s godfather and loyal kinsman doesn’t make it past the second book, Dragonfly in Amber, having perished in the Battle of Culloden. True to Murtagh’s minor character status, the circumstances of his death remain hazy, with Jamie only vaguely recalling the events of the battle when he regains consciousness in the opening pages of Voyager.

Not only does Murtagh survive the Battle of Culloden in the TV series, but he also goes on to become a key revolutionary figure in the New World, reuniting with Jamie after a chance meeting at his North Carolina blacksmith shop.

According to producers, the decision to expand Murtagh’s role came about organically after they noticed actor Duncan Lacroix’s onscreen chemistry with Sam Heughan (Jamie) and Caitriona Balfe (Claire). It also doesn’t hurt that the ruggedly handsome Lacroix looks nothing like the small, “weasel-faced” Murtagh of the books.

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Claire’s Rings Get Swapped

A stolen wedding ring is a terrible tragedy, but what happens when you have more than one? In both the show and the books, Claire has two rings: A simple, gold band from Frank and a rustic, silver ring from Jamie.

In Drums of Autumn, the fourth book in the Outlander series, the pirate Stephen Bonnet steals the golden wedding band given to Claire by Frank, only for their daughter Brianna to later spot Bonnet with the stolen ring and get it back for her mother.

For the TV adaptation, the producers decided to have Bonnet steal Jamie’s silver band instead. The reasoning was simple: The silver ring, forged from the key to Lallybroch, would be much more noticeable to both Brianna and viewers when it reappeared. Jamie’s ring also holds a much greater symbolic value -- not only was it given to Claire by the love of her life, but it’s also the literal key to his ancestral home.

Season 2 Goes Back to the Future - But Which One?

At the end of both the first Outlander book and the first season of the television show, a pregnant Claire and Jamie are about to embark upon a new adventure in Paris -- which is why it makes perfect sense that the second book, Dragonfly in Amber, opens in… Scotland 1968?

If this sounds confusing, that's because it is. Gabaldon’s decision to open the novel in the swinging ’60s also threw many readers for a loop. In essence, Gabaldon uses the action in 1968 as a framing device, with Claire returning to Scotland with her 20-year-old daughter Brianna before the book jumps back into the action in 1744.

The first episode of Outlander Season 2 also finds Claire in an unexpected setting, albeit one more familiar to fans. “Through a Glass, Darkly” opens with Claire back at Craigh na Dun in 1948, having passed through the rocks back to her own time. Grieving the loss of Jamie, she is forced to confront Frank and share the news that she is carrying the child of an 18th-century Scottish Highlander.

Both Gabaldon and the show’s producers felt that opening in Inverness 1948 would be an easier leap for viewers to make. It's also one that ultimately allows the season to come full-circle when audiences see Claire pass through the rocks before the Battle of Culloden at the season’s end.

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