Live, Laugh, Love ❤️

I need to circle back to something I wanted to write about earlier, before I got distracted by... well, everything else.

As we know, the 'Creator to Creator' podcast featuring Karolina Wydra and the Main Heroine was heavily edited before it was released. As I pointed out back in June, the Name-That-Must-Not-Be-Spoken isn't uttered a single time during the entire fifty-something-minute conversation.

After watching the additional footage that was released later, I'm now convinced that the Name-That-Must-Not-Be-Spoken was mentioned. It was simply... Snip. Snip. Snip. The name that survived the edit? Tobias. Let's listen together.

But it was such a learning curve. I remember, you know, I'm so grateful I had the first two weeks were with Tobias. And Tobias was such a seasoned actor and had so much experience. And I remember just watching how he conducted himself in the meetings and watching the sort of questions he asked and all of those things. And I was like okay right it's okay to ask that, it's okay to do that. And just sort of he set such a great bar. Also he's such an incredible actor that it sort of just set a really good bar for everything and for what he was striving for.

. . . My first reaction to this rather lavish praise of Tobias was that it fits a narrative the Main Heroine has been presenting publicly for quite some time now: that filming Season 1 with Tobias was this beautiful, enlightening, sun-drenched experience, complete with scenic drives through the Highlands in vintage cars. Then came filming with Sam. Cue the biblical rainfall.

After weeks of beautiful, sunny weather during filming with Tobias, the first day of shooting with Sam was a real downpour. And it just kept on raining, a real deluge. It just didn’t stop bloody raining.

I don't think this story is really about the weather. I don't question Scotland's rain. Or Tobias's professionalism. Or the charm of vintage cars.

What I question is the ongoing insistence that nothing life-changing happened during those months once filming shifted from Tobias to Sam. Because I believe something did. She hopelessly in love. Not with Tobias. With Sam.

That's why I find the whole Tobias anecdote genuinely sad.

The Main Character wears his metaphorical chains around his neck, on his wrists, and on his fingers (and occasionally slung over his shoulder whenever the #PurseHolder function kicks in). The Main Heroine wears hers in her mind. I don't see two villains here. I see two people imprisoned in different ways by the same (love)story. Perhaps that's why I can't help but feel for both of them.

Sam & Caitriona

❤️‍🔥❤️‍🔥

These two pictures popped up on my Tumblr dashboard in completely different posts, and my immediate thought was:

Let's play Spot the Difference.

Seriously, go ahead—I dare you to find a single meaningful difference in the chemistry, dynamic, or energy between these two protagonists.

One picture is on screen. The other is off screen.

And no, I'm not buying the argument that everything we saw in Seasons 1 and 2 somehow stopped mattering because the Main Heroine 'married' 🧛🏻‍♀️, while the Main Character appears to be enthusiastically auditioning for the role of stepdad to a little girl who already has a perfectly good father—and seems remarkably comfortable with the prospect of becoming the Third Husband.

The whole 'they loved each other, but then they moved on' narrative simply doesn't hold up for me.

Because here's the question I always come back to:

If you'd found the love of your life, would you really leave them to marry someone who barely seems to notice you? Exactly.

Just a quick side note, to tell you the negative Ride Galloway review that is all the rage in DMs and elsewhere made its way to Trip Advisor, too:

[Source: https://www.tripadvisor.com/Profile/ladyb387?fid=875abdbb-0423-48ff-8d36-1039053e1f13 - posted June 28, 2026]

That is still just one (!) negative review, but the woman is definitely angry and determined to spread it around. Unlike the relatively obscure Google Maps, this is taking the discontent to another, more visible, Internet reviews tier. However, realistically speaking, it will be easy for the masses to take it like a personal glitch, unless more will come out.

And yes, Madam Mao dropping the bike in the middle of the ride seems to confirm my - perhaps mean - prior speculation that she probably inflated her own riding abilities, in order to be included.

I am also told there is a second review on Google, that being said, where Madam Mao is portrayed as her usual haughty and entitled self. Never a surprise.

A few things stood out to me from what she wrote.

First, leaving people standing in the sun while he gets photographed in the shade is not a great look. It’s not just poor organization, it comes across as dismissive, especially when people made the effort to attend, and when many of them were not exactly young riders looking to stand around in the heat for hours. That’s not how you treat people who showed up to support your event.

In general, the whole thing sounds less like a regional event meant to promote Galloway, the distillery, or the actual riding experience, and more like a PR video for Sam and co.

And that seems to match the content that came out of it. Sam with people. Sam talking. Sam riding. Sam posing for fan photos behind a rope, like some kind of museum exhibit. It felt more like a Sam fan meet than a family or community event.

Imagine for a second that this was a distillery owned by someone completely unknown. Would the owner still be the main product being promoted all weekend? Would most of the footage still revolve around him, his face, his ride, his interactions, his image? Probably not.

And that’s exactly the point that comes through in the rider’s review too. From what she describes, the focus seemed to be on him far more than on the actual product, whether that product was supposed to be the distillery, the ride, or Galloway itself.

Honestly, I’m still not sure I understand what the event was actually meant to be.

The other thing that really stood out to me was the motorcycle issue. If Steph genuinely couldn’t handle the bike, whether because she exaggerated her abilities or not, then to me that proves two things before anything else.

First, Sam has clearly never actually ridden with her to know what her abilities are.

And second, he doesn’t seem particularly concerned about her safety.

Many people will still try to either focus on the situationship, or showmance, or - what the hell -🎪, or find various excuses for S's behavior. Which is fine by me, as long as this is an open and assumed choice, not to be followed by the usual wailing in DMs and my inbox, every single time things go awry.

Rose-tinted glasses are fine, until they prove useless to explain or excuse everything. And I believe using our critical thinking abilities does not equate with gratuitous hatred, as long as we keep a constructive POV. If this is not your cup of tea, that is absolutely ok with me, and you will surely find your daily dose of cuteness in all the blogs that heavily rely on AI-generated 📸 or superficial content. This corner's collective ability to generate thoughtful and superbly written opinions and to bring interesting things to the table made all the difference. It is also the reason why many of us are passionately detested by people focusing on social media gossip details, but offering very simplistic explanations like 'if he did not like her, he wouldn't date her' to what is a complex tomfoolery, and not the first one.

Circling back to @lallybroch-pr-watch's excellent comment, I will simply add that there seems to be no excuse for what is clearly poor organization of an event that seems to be a whimsical endeavor, rather than part and parcel of a well-thought marketing strategy. I explained why I thought, with evidence, that Madam Mao's bike was evidently not paid for, but comped by the local dealership on a barter basis. Which emphasizes the inexplicable absence of her own bike for what was - one final time - a difficult ride for a beginner, in unfamiliar territory.

And before you blame the foreign fan, just think for a moment: if that was your time and your money, how would you feel, if your experience was frustrating?

I know I would never push things that far as that fan did -the Landcon, then the Macbeth Mommies' debacle were eye-opening experiences, for me. But that is a moot point, here. Time will tell if this is just an accident, or the sign of an ambitious project left to incompetent hands.

Someone on X (formerly Twitter) shared a photo of a short piece about the Main Character from the July issue of Good Food.

There's nothing particularly new in it. It's essentially a recap of everything we already know, presented at a fairly introductory level.

But one sentence made me pause:

. . . For reasons I can't quite explain, my first thought was that whiskey bottle ⤵️⤵️⤵️

Of course, I could be wrong. Of course, my associations may well be colored by my innate sarcasm and incurable tendency to mock things. Then again, maybe not.

😉

. . . For context, here's the full article:

❤️

Didn’t someone else go to Nepal end of 2024? Am I crazy and making this up?

Oh, my dear Anon... If you're wearing the tinfoil hat, I'm sitting right next to you wearing the deluxe edition. So thank you for asking, because I've been meaning to document the Great Nepal Coincidence of 2024–2025 for quite a while now. So, what do we actually know? In several interviews, The Protagonists revealed (well... mostly The Main Heroine did) that, as a sort of ritual farewell to Jamie and Claire:

The Main Character went climbing in the Everest region (December 2024).

The Main Heroine went off for yoga and meditation. She never said where, but she did emphasize the whole ritual-cleansing aspect.

⤵️⤵️⤵️⤵️

. . . Then, in one of the March interviews, CMB showed a handful of photos. I think they were brought up while discussing Tenzing, although I wouldn't swear to it in court.

For the record, according to Wikipedia, CMB joined the cast in May 2025. Filming also began in May, with location shoots in Kathmandu and the Everest region, and the Nepal schedule was expected to last about a month.

Which provides a perfectly respectable alibi.

But...

Let's return to the photos she showed in March 2026.

. . . The structure behind Sunglasses CMB is Boudhanath Stupa, arguably Kathmandu's most iconic tourist attraction.

Meanwhile, we also have SRH's photos from Tibet in December 2024. This one ⤵️⤵️⤵️⤵️ [Look at that tan. Practically matching CMB's Kathmandu glow.]

. . . And this one, in which he very thoughtfully identifies the helicopter departure point for Kathmandu.

. . . Now, back to the yoga-and-meditation angle ⤵️⤵️⤵️⤵️

. . . According to every travel website ever, Kathmandu is well known for its yoga community, but it's even more famous as a broader spiritual hub, where yoga exists alongside Buddhist meditation, Hindu philosophy, and traditional healing practices. If you're looking for an authentic spiritual experience rather than a luxury wellness retreat with overpriced smoothies, Kathmandu is apparently an excellent choice.

So...

Does that fit The Main Heroine's comments about ritual cleansing and yoga? Quite nicely. Do the dates line up? Suspiciously well.

What you do with that information is entirely up to you. Maybe those Kathmandu photos were simply taken while filming Tenzing. Or maybe The Main Heroine and The Main Character were wandering around Tibet together in December 2024.

As always...

Proceed with whatever level of delusion feels appropriate.

Lookie, lookie, even Outlander_Starz and Starz have become shippers! (Finally!)

Outlander _Starz says "MOM AND DAD"

Starz says "No matter the century, they serve"

So I read that as Sam and Caitriona are MOM AND DAD not only in the film (18th century) but also in this century! 👀 💙💚💍

—

Anonymous

So here is Cait remarking that she doesn’t get recognized by fans when she’s out and about with Sam in her day to day, outside of work life. which is really an admission that she is going about with Sam in her day to day, outside of work life…

And OMG that “you always look glamorous” from Sam….When a guy finds you attractive even in everyday clothes and no make up those are the words of a partner in love, not of just a friend