Season 2 opening theme and title sequence
Here is the opening theme and title sequence from OUTLANDER Season 2.
*** SPOILER WARNING! If you haven't yet seen the first episode of Season 2 and you don't want to know yet, don't read this post! ***
I think the new opening sequence is very good. I like it more every time I watch it, which is probably a good sign. <g> I'm glad they didn't veer too far away from the Season 1 opening sequence. This feels to me like a gradual and very natural evolution of the original theme, very much in keeping with the original, but incorporating bits of the Paris scenes, French lyrics, and a slightly different musical score, to illustrate the fact that the first half of Season 2 will have a completely different feel to it.
I like the way it starts off very similar to the Season 1 opening sequence. Reassuringly similar, even as the music has changed subtly, with strings (viola?) used to give more of a French flavor to it. And then at about 00:26 into this video, we start seeing brief bits from Season 2, including:
- someone winding a clock
- an overhead view of a carriage moving through a cobbled passageway (it took me a while to work out what that was, given the unusual camera angle)
- a woman (Louise?) holding a fan
At about 00:32, we see what appears to be the scene from DRAGONFLY IN AMBER where M. Forez demonstrates how to numb a leg by driving a nail into it at a specific location:
He reached into his capacious pocket once more, this time coming out with a small brass pin, some three inches in length, with a wide, flat head. One bony, thick-jointed hand tenderly explored the inside of the patient’s thigh near the groin, following the thin blue line of a large vein beneath the skin. The groping fingers hesitated, paused, palpated in a small circle, then settled on a point. Digging a sharp forefinger into the skin as though to mark his place, Monsieur Forez brought the point of the brass pin to bear in the same place. Another quick reach into the pocket of marvels produced a small brass hammer, with which he drove the pin straight into the leg with one blow.Interesting use of the French lyrics, and I like it more every time I hear it. <g>
(From DRAGONFLY IN AMBER by Diana Gabaldon, chapter 14, "Meditations on the Flesh". Copyright© 1992 by Diana Gabaldon. All rights reserved.)
[UPDATE 4/16/2016 7:39 am] Here are the French lyrics (thanks to @ms_sassenach on Twitter!):
Chante-moi l'histoire d'une fille d'autrefois
S'agirait-il de moi?
L'ame légère elle prit un jour la mer...
So, as you might expect, the words are more or less the equivalent of "Sing me a song of a lass who is gone...."
Notice the snake, at about 00:48. That has to be the serpent from the Star Chamber scene with Master Raymond and the Comte:
"The Holy Bible says, 'They shall handle serpents unharmed,' " he thundered. “ 'And by such signs shall ye know the servants of the true God!' "I love the fact that they ended with the ship sailing off "over the sea". Very appropriate!
I thought it was probably a small python. It was nearly three feet long, a smooth, gleaming length of gold and brown, slick and sinuous as oiled rope, with a pair of disconcerting golden eyes.
There was a concerted gasp at its appearance, and two of the hooded judges took a quick step back. Louis himself was more than slightly taken aback, and looked hastily about for his bodyguard, who stood goggle-eyed by the door of the chamber.
(From DRAGONFLY IN AMBER by Diana Gabaldon, chapter 27, "An Audience With His Majesty". Copyright© 1992 by Diana Gabaldon. All rights reserved.)
UPDATE 4/13/2016 7:02 am: Check out composer Bear McCreary's blog post about the new main title sequence for Season 2.
My French boyfriend and I can't for the life of us work out the second phrase though, before it goes back to the English. A mix of clearly-not-French pronunciation and also deviating from the original (as far as we can tell) makes it impossible to work out. We literally just spent an hour listening to it over and over.
We love the change of instrumentation - viola, or maybe even viola da gamba (an old instrument!), as well as the lyrics switching in to French. Also, Claire and Jamie's French is very good, especially considering they had to learn from scratch for the season. Go them!
Hope that helps. Would love to find out what that second phrase is...it's going to drive us crazy each episode now!