***First and foremost, I would like to warn you lovely readers that there will be spoilers ahead and if you do not wish for me to spoil major plot points, I urge you to read no further.***

Whether you have fallen in love with Diana Gabaldon’s series through her books or through the Starz Original TV show, it doesn’t matter because both are absolutely amazing. I myself have been watching the series since it first premiered in August 2014, and after two full seasons I have decided to start reading the book series as well. I am at a constant state of amazement at the way Gabaldon flawlessly weaves in history, romance, badass feminism, exceedingly well-developed characters and a touch of magic into her books. Even though there are nine of them (so far) and they are all around 600 pages long, it still seems incredible to have succeeded at making her books so complex that bookstores have difficulty placing it under a specific section.

Being an English major, there are many literary reasons why I love this book that I could go into but that would be a completely different article. There are also many non-literary reasons that I love this series, including the strong and extremely well-developed narrator and lead woman, Claire, the passionate, loving, and equal relationship between her and Jamie, and the list goes on and on. However, the series has a darkness to it that cannot be ignored and that is what I wish to address in this article. What I want to talk about is the way in which this series touches on rape. To be specific: male survivors of rape.

During the first season or first books, watchers and readers alike are quickly familiarized with the one of the series’ antagonists, Captain Jonathan “Black Jack” Randall. Throughout the beginning of the series we learn just how much of a sadist and sexual predator this man is, having sexually assaulted and raped (both attempted and completed) multiple people, including an attempted attack on Claire. We also learn that he has a strange obsession with Claire’s husband, Jamie, whom he had viciously flogged in the past.

This obsession turns into absolute horror when, in season one’s season finale, Jamie was locked in a dark prison cell, emotionally manipulated, tortured, beaten, branded with Randall’s initials and eventually raped by Jack Randall. This was his cruel and sadistic way of finally getting the strong-willed Jamie into becoming completely submissive to Randall’s will. This episode was quite possibly one of the most intense moments on a television series and as I continue reading the first book, my heart aches for what I know is ultimately to come.

Having the content it did, this episode obviously sparked a lot of controversy. It’s explicit and triggering nature caused enough of that controversy, but it was also brought up that people accused Gabaldon of painting homosexual people in a purposefully negative light. In an article from last spring, Gabaldon clarifies that Captain Jack Randall is not in fact gay; rather, he is a monster, pervert, and only uses sex as a way of drawing terror from his victims. Like any rapist, he does not commit these horrific acts for sexual pleasure, he does so for power and control.

That being said, this moment in the series is one of the biggest and most important turning points for Jamie, Claire, and the general storyline. Rather than being a “super special episode” and tossing it away for the next idea, this torturous moment for Jamie rise up again and again. During the season finale and even throughout season two, Jamie clearly suffers from PTSD and flashbacks. He feels unable to talk about his experience at first, even with Claire, blames himself, feels ashamed and disgusted with himself, and even considers taking away his own life because he feels he cannot truly escape the horrors that occurred in the prison cell.

So, why is this important? Because the society we live in rarely talks about men being victims of sexual assault and rape. There is still a taboo around it that men should be able to be strong enough to protect themselves and that men cannot get raped because they are sexual robots that will fuck anything just to get off (pardon my language). It straight up is not fair. Horrific and hateful crimes like rape and sexual assault do not discriminate and they can affect anyone, male or female, black or white, straight or LGBTQ. Though it was heartbreaking to watch such a lovable and strong character be turned to shatters, I believe that Diana Gabaldon has given her readers and viewers the gift of pure and unrelenting honesty. The honest truth being that there are horrors that lie out there, waiting to snatch anyone who happens upon it, but there are ways to overcome it and find light in the darkness.

Jamie’s struggles are represented beautifully when he carves the initials out of his skin: Though these moments may leave scars, they do not have to own you.