Geillis Duncan

[Athena]

They say she's a witch.

 

Played by the enigmatic Lotte Verbeek. 

 

What are your first impressions?

[chysalis]

They say she's a witch.

Played by the enigmatic Lotte Verbeek.

What are your first impressions?

She is off. She seems nice and mysterious but she has crazy eyes and is off. I love her already. I think she might bring a lot to the table.

[SonofaBiscuit]

Yes, I think mysterious is a good description.  She seems to delight in the fact that people say that she's a witch.  I think it will be good for Claire to have an open-minded friend that she can confide in.  Maybe some of the voice-overs will be replaced with discussions with Geillis instead.  I've never seen the actress in anything before, but I took an instant liking to her, so she must be doing something right.

[WatchrTina]

I think they hit the ball out of the park in casting Geillis.  I'm finding the on-screen version much more intriguing than her book counterpart.  I loved the up-beat "Uh huh!" she said when Claire protested that Jamie was injured.  You could tell she didn't care, she found the whole thing amusing.  I also loved the dreamy way she said "They say I'm a witch."  As someone else said, she's just a bit "off" -- in the best possible way.

[magdalene]

I love this actress. She was fantastic on THE BORGIAS where she played the mistress of Jeremy Irons character, the Borgia Pope. She has the kind of beauty which lends itself really well to period roles. She played a kind and decent woman on The Borgias. I have no idea what kind of person she is on OUTLANDER but I know Lotte will make her interesting.

[BizBuzz]

I don't know the actress, but I felt she helped me out in understanding what the heck was going on.  So I appreciated her part very much.  If she is supposed to be a witch (I didn't catch that, but I have only seen it once so far, and with no subtitles), then she played that part well.

[peacefrog]

Lotte really did a great job. She delivers her lines with an inflection or something that you can't tell if she is teasing or is there a little edge? You can't be sure, she makes me uncomfortable yet I'm drawn to her. She also speaks either over her shoulder or twirling her hair, like she is flirting! I'm either gonna love her or love to hate her.

[Kat From Jersey]

She is gorgeous, devious, and perfect for the part!  Just like I pictured Geillis.  And it's nice to know that I've been pronouncing her name correctly.  It's so hard with the Scots/Gaelic names.

[BlueberryJane23]

I am loving this character.  She's a bright light among so many dark and brooding characters.  

 

An interesting bit of trivia regarding Geillis Duncan:  During the mid-90's, I was a grad student studying English literature.  I took a course in Jacobean Drama where we read plays of the period.  My professor would supplement the dramatic readings with historical texts and primary sources.  One of those was an account of a woman named Geillis Duncan who was accused of witchcraft and put on trial.  I was a huge fan of the Outlander series at the time and remember being fascinated to learn that the character was based on a real person.  Just further proof, in my mind, of Diana Gabaldon's brilliance.   

[nyxy]

Lotte really did a great job. She delivers her lines with an inflection or something that you can't tell if she is teasing or is there a little edge? You can't be sure, she makes me uncomfortable yet I'm drawn to her. She also speaks either over her shoulder or twirling her hair, like she is flirting! I'm either gonna love her or love to hate her.

This is a perfect description!  We're a few episodes in after you posted, and the Geillis mystery remains and the way Lotte plays the character still has everything to do with that. 

 

My current theory (they change every few minutes) is that Geillis will turn out to be Claire's great great great (etc) grandmother or something.

 

And that is so interesting about the historical reference, blueberryjane- thank you! It made me wonder how well-researched the show was--whether the history they're linking it to is obscure (so that Gabaldon would have to dig) or not. Had to google the character after that There's some intriguing info out there. Heads up if anyone else is planning to google:  those sites could contain mild spoilers if the show decides to follow her history closely.

Edited September 7, 2014 by nyxy

[LilJen]

New watcher. I think Geillis needs a haiku

I <heart> BPC.

Kill husband, kill Doug's wife, bear

babe for Scots. . . oops! Burnt!

[Hanahope]

Recently started watching the show.  I’m sorry Geillis didn’t “accidentally“ show Claire her upper arm much earlier.  The conversation they might have had.