In Outlander, Brianna Randall is the daughter of Claire and Jamie, who was conceived in 18th-century Scottland but raised in 20th-century Boston. She is meant to have all the best characteristics of her parents, with her adoptive father, Frank, mixed in there as well. She is smart, brave, enthusiastic, and spirited; everything a vibrant character needs.
However, not all viewers have been able to get on board with Brianna’s character. She is not malicious, evil, or anything else that should make her particularly unlikable, but all the same, several Redditors have shared their unpopular opinions about Claire’s time-traveling daughter.
Brianna Is A “Mary Sue”
“Mary Sue” is a literary trope used to describe a character who is just too good to be true. They are overly talented at anything they do, charismatic, and the center of all attention. This makes them unbelievable as real people, and therefore results in an ironically unlikable character.
Redditor Snugglepug17 feels that Brianna is a Mary Sue. She is meant to be the perfect combination of her parents, and that unrealistic perfection makes her annoying to some viewers. “It’s disappointing,” Snugglepug17 wrote. “She is supposed to be a strong supporting character, the writing just isn’t there.”
Brianna’s Romantic Scenes Are Cringey
Brianna and Roger very quickly met, fell in love, and started a life together. They also faced a lot of tumults early in their time together. All of this had made their relationship very difficult for viewers to invest in.
Redditor Laulaf stated that all of Brianna’s romantic scenes, which should have been their most iconic scenes in Outlander, felt “cringey” to them. While this improved as Roger and Brianna got past some of the sticky points of their marriage, their relationship is still not one Redditors enjoyed, likely because Roger himself can also be a rather unpopular character.
Brianna Is Indecisive
Some of Brianna’s decisions were difficult for audiences to follow. Redditor Zillabirdblue shared the example of her response to Roger’s initial proposal. “Her first reaction to that was the perfect reaction,” they wrote, “then all of a sudden she changes her mind next time she sees him?”
Brianna continues with this trend. She changed her mind about her college major, her feelings about her mother and Jamie, being with Roger, staying in the past, and more. No viewer expects a character to always make the right decision first, but doing this every time can get old fast.
Brianna Isn’t As Smart As She Thinks
Brianna is frequently praised for her intelligence. She excels at everything she tries and always has a smart argument for anyone she disagrees with. However, Redditor Xillabirdblue felt that she frequently made decisions that did not support her supposed intelligence.
An example of this is when she prepared to travel to the 18th Century. “She brought nothing with her,” Xillabirdblue said, wondering how a single sandwich was supposed to keep her from starving on a trek across the Scottish Highlands.
Brianna Is Too Difficult To Portray
Redditors made a variety of complaints about the performance of Sophie Skelton, the actress that plays Brianna. However, many Redditors argued that Skelton’s acting was the best that it could be for such an unclear character.
Redditor Designsavvy said that it wasn’t just the casting that went “horribly wrong” but the fundamental aspects of Brianna’s character. Skelton simply did the best she could with what she had to work with, and as Brianna’s character improves and solidifies itself, Skelton’s believability in the role improves as well.
Brianna Is Childish
Redditor Battleborn5 used an example from the Outlander books to support their dislike of Brianna. They explain that Mrs. Bug once commented on Brianna becoming pregnant, while Brianna and Roger had been struggling to conceive. As a response, Brianna “flies off the f—ing rails.”
This Redditor went on to explain that the situation got so bad that Roger had to physically remove Brianna kicking and screaming. They felt that this behavior was completely unacceptable, even if Mrs. Bugg’s comments were inappropriate.
Brianna’s Relationships With Her Family Are Confusing
When Brianna is first introduced, she resents her mother for never being in the present, and she idolized her adoptive father, Frank. After Frank passes, Brianna’s resentment grew. She loved her mother, but their relationship was not a strong one.
While everything Claire and Brianna went through together helped them grow closer, their relationship still had a disjointed feeling. Redditor LuckyScwartz felt that this also extended to her relationships with Jamie and Roger, stating that they just “don’t understand Brianna’s relationships” in general.
Brianna Is Secretive And Deceitful
A good thing about Claire and Jamie’s relationship is that they are always honest with one another. There have been plenty of times that they could have been deceitful, but they chose to keep their communication clean, which is part of why Claire and Jamie are Outlander‘s true soulmates. However, Redditor LuckyScwartz felt that Brianna muddled up that dynamic.
“Brianna asks her mother to withhold valuable information from Jamie,” LuckyScwartz said, feeling that Brianna was bringing her “mini-Frank,” secretive behavior to the considerably more healthy marriage of Brianna’s biological parents.
Brianna Is Spoiled
Redditor Meme-me-up-scotty159 pointed out that Brianna had been spoiled by Frank and Claire “for their own individual reasons.” They tried their best to give her the best childhood possible, but the result was that they overcompensated to keep her happy throughout all of their issues.
This Redditor felt that this was not Brianna’s fault, as she was born in an impossibly difficult situation. However, it does not contribute any to her likability. She is used to the love and affection of her parents and therefore does not always react well to criticism, making “spoiled” a good word to sum up Brianna Randall’s personality.
Brianna Is Under-Developed Compared To Other Characters
The first season of Outlander spends a lot of time developing Jamie and Claire’s characters as well as the characters of their families. When Brianna was added to Outlander after season 1, she and Claire had had 20 years to develop a relationship that was not shown on screen, so the sudden existing relationship might have felt a little disjointed to audiences.
Redditor Alleylcat44 felt that Brianna’s character is “flat and doesn’t have the same depth as the other characters.” It may not be that there is anything wrong with Brianna herself, but when she is compared to characters that have gone through a lot more development, hers just doesn’t hold up.
