The Outsider on HBO was based on the Stephen King novel of the same name about a small-town little league baseball coach who gets arrested for the murder of a young boy. The situation takes a strange turn as evidence shows he was somewhere else at the time yet his DNA was at the scene.
The miniseries wrapped up in early March, leaving the door open for a season two starring the wonderful cast. And while the story on the series followed the book for the most part, there were a few changes.
What changes did viewers like and which ones did we wish never happened? Here’s a breakdown.
Holly’s Appearance: Changed
Holly is one of the most interesting characters in the story, and her appearance changed dramatically on the series versus in the book. In the book, she was described as an older white woman with bangs. She was eccentric but not to the same degree as the series version of Holly.
In the series, Holly is played by Cynthia Erivo, a black woman who is much younger than the Holly in the book. And she seems to have some form of autism with strange memorization and observational skills while Holly in the books simply has some odd habits.
El Cuco Early Introduction: Wish It Hadn’t
We understand the reason that the series needed to introduce El Cuco earlier so viewers understood what was going on. But in the book, El Cuco isn’t even so much as mentioned until far into the story.
Having the same sense of mystery would have been harder to do on a series than on pages in a book. But we wish the series would have kept viewers guessing for a bit longer before blatantly revealing that the real perpetrator might not have been human.
Andy Katvacage: Changed
Andy didn’t exist at all in the book, and his addition to the series added a sweet twist to the story. He served as a romantic interest and confidante to Holly as well as someone helpful to the case.
A mall security guard, he was a former police detective with connections on the force and valuable investigative skills. And having him on the series allowed Holly to share some of her feelings to someone else versus as an internal monologue as she often did in the book.
Terry’s Last Words: Wish It Hadn’t
In the book, Terry’s death scene went down pretty much the same way as it did on the show. Except with one small yet significant difference. On the series, in his dying breath, Terry pleads with Ralph to believe him that he didn’t kill that boy.
In the book, it’s Ralph who, seeing that Terry is about to die, urges him to confess to the murder before it’s too late. Terry sticks to his guns that he’s innocent. In both cases, the final words convince Ralph that he needs to do some further investigating. But we would have liked to have seen a more troubled Ralph who desperately wanted to be proven right by convincing Terry to confess in his last words.
Ralph’s Son Derek: Changed
In the book, Ralph and Jeannie’s son Derek is away at summer camp. In the series, he has actually passed away from cancer. This might seem like an insignificant change, but it actually added a lot to the story.
Because Ralph and Jeannie are dealing with the grief of the loss of their own son, the grief eater takes a special interest in them and presents a specific threat. Plus, the loss of his son drives Ralph to pursue the case more vigorously, feeling as though he must defend this young boy who could have been his own and understanding what it is like to lose a child.
El Cuco’s Appearance in the Visions: Wish It Hadn’t
Both Jeannie Anderson and Jessa Maitland had dreams and visions of a hooded figure that we came to know as El Cuco. Both drew these figures and Ralph and others examined them noting the similarities.
Yet no one really made much of a fuss at the fact that the drawings looked like Claude Bolton but for Ralph’s one call to the station to ask them to look into Claude’s alibis during the time of the murders. In the book, it made it very clear that the drawings bore an uncanny resemblance to Claude, and that the person who visited Jeannie wasn’t dark and disfigured but looked just like Claude.
Jack’s Mentality: Changed
The portrayal of Jack was much more forgiving in the series than in the book. In the book, Jack is taken over by El Cuco, but he is all too happy to oblige. He has had a vendetta against Ralph and almost sees El Cuco’s mind control as a great excuse for killing him.
In the series, we sympathize more with Jack as we see him struggle with having to do things he clearly does not want to do. In fact, he even tries to go against El Cuco a few times with dire consequences. At the end of the series, in his final act of defiance, he kills himself after revealing to the group where El Cuco is so they can take it down.
Holly’s Presentation: Wish It Hadn’t
Holly’s presentation of her findings in the series was fairly succinct. She went through the chain of events and the various other murders that happened, committed by people who were seemingly in another place at the same time. It made things sound ridiculous yet also make sense.
In the book, she used a movie to help guide her theory. The film is a Mexican monster movie called Rosita Luchadora e Amigas Conocen El Cuco. The reactions she gets in the book are similar but the description of the movie in the book might have provided some extra context for people like Detective Yunis Sablo, who knew of El Cuco from stories he heard as a child.
Holly Getting Scratched: Changed
The book’s ending did not include that little tidbit where Holly reveals a scratch on her arm. Was the scratch from El Cuco? Jack? Did it happen in the cave as rocks were falling to the ground after Claude shot El Cuco? Or was it simply a meaningless teaser to whet our appetites for a potential season two?
The obvious reason we’re OK with this change is that it sets things up for a season two which may or may not follow the writings of King.
No Bill Hodges: Wish It Hadn’t
The character of Holly Gibney actually appears across several books in Stephen King’s universe, from the Bill Hodges trilogy. She works with Hodges as a private investigator. But in the series, Holly is sort of a lone wolf, working on her own and sought out for her amazing skills.
While we love the Holly from the series, we would love to have seen the retired mentor, of sorts, on the show. Perhaps he might show up in a season two.
