Donas
Another of the prolific Twitter accounts is that of @DonasTheHorse. We haven’t yet been properly introduced to Donas on the show yet, but Donas is Jamie’s horse, and Donas regularly tweets in character from his unique perspective on all things Outlander.
Here’s what both Sue (the human behind the account, who rates the series a nine out of 10), and Donas had to say about their experience with the series thus far.
Sue writes, “I’ve had horses all my life and when you read a book with horses, inevitably they are written poorly. Diana Gabaldon writes horses, as well as human characters, extremely well, and won me over with that. Donas happened one night when I thought how much fun it would be to have an anonymous account that I could be totally obnoxious with. Then I thought about how Donas would act, and decided he’d be highly confidant, have a big ego, and be a taunting/teasing goofball. Soon I started getting more and more followers. Some of them thought Donas was Sam at one point! Then Sam started following Donas as his #666. Then Diana, Outander/Starz, as well as Cait. Donas’ Twitter account numbers exploded and I believe he’s somewhere around 7200 followers now, which is insane. He’s got a big head to begin with but now he’s literally a pain to live with.”
"@DonasTheHorse: @Outlander_Starz @SamHeughan @Writer_DG pic.twitter.com/AzkLgED5z1" @TobiasMenzies I am Team Donas
— Kelly VN (@kvanniel) March 12, 2015
Donas replies to Sue and me, “Well, I’m in Outlander, so you know… I don’t know what the girl is talking about. I’m real! They should’ve brought me in sooner. The viewing demographics would’ve been through the roof. I’m getting tired of Sam getting all the praise. If it wasn’t for me there would be no Claire and Jamie. No future story. Just 50 Shades of Bad Hay…”
As for favorite scenes thus far, Donas is keen on scenes with Brimstone, while Sue loves anything to do with Rupert and Angus. Sue also loves the wedding. On the other hand there are some things she wished were different, “The only reason I didn’t give my rating as a 10 is because I’m perplexed by the ring change. Why do the key? What about the inscription? I guess I am a purist, and I really wanted to see that.”
Both are in agreement that “Droughtlander” could have been shorter. Donas pleads, “Maybe not taunt the humans with such a long wait for season 1, part 2? They are fragile creatures you know… Starz has a bit of BJR in them.”
My Outlander Purgatory
Now, in case anyone thought Outlander love was limited to Twitter, think again. There are a multitude websites and even a Compuserve Forum (that I was personally stunned to know still existed). One of the websites that stands out is My Outlander Purgatory, which is run by co-owners Carol and Tracey.
Believe it or not, the roots of their website can be traced back to Stephenie Meyer’s Twilight series. Tracey explains, “About five and a half years ago, I had just finished the Twilight series and was going through serious withdrawal. My friend Emily suggested her own favorite book, Outlander. As Emily said, ‘You think you liked Edward Cullen? Just wait until you meet Jamie Fraser!’ I’m not the biggest fantasy/time travel/science fiction reader, which is what the book sounded like, so it sat on my nightstand for several months, and when I finally opened it, I almost didn’t get through the first 50 pages. I brought the book on vacation, kept reading, and around page 200… forget about it. Hooked. I got back home, emailed Carol, and said, ‘YOU. MUST. READ. THIS. BOOK!'”
Carol then adds, “I started the My Outlander Purgatory blog on November 1, 2009. I have this need to “talk about it” whenever I read a good series, but I run the risk of driving my friends and family insane. Blogging was a no-brainer. I was able to “get it all out,” AND avoid annoying pretty much everyone I know.”
Both Carol and Tracey give the adaptation high marks. Carol joked that it should be 100 on a scale of one to 10. Her favorite scene was one not exactly in the books. “I have to admit it was the slight tweaking of the book scene where Claire escapes and runs back to the stones. I thought it was borderline genius to simultaneously show Frank on his side of the stones in the 20th century, and Claire on hers in the 18th. I will never get over them yelling for each other, or his realization that the most minuscule part of him might actually be buying into Mrs. Graham’s notion that Claire has traveled through time.”
Tracey chimes in, “If I have to pick one favorite, it’s probably the entire sequence with Claire and Black Jack in episode 6 — honestly, that was just a master class in acting. So well done.” She does have one series suggestion, she’d love more than the allotted number of episodes.
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