7 times Outlander deserved an Emmy but didn’t get one

Tobias Menzies for Outstanding Supporting Actor in a Drama Series

Tobias Menzies definitely deserved some recognition during his time on Outlander. He played two characters and made it look easy, for goodness sake!

Some may remember Menzies playing the role of Edmure Tully in Game of Thrones. On Outlander, he played Frank Randall, Claire’s first husband. He’s the type of guy you want to root for, fall in love with, and simply can’t wait to spend your life with. The same, however, cannot be said about Frank’s ancestor, Black Jack Randall, aka the worst human in the world. Menzies also played him, and did one heck of a job.

The fact that Menzies had to go back and forth between drastically different characters is mind-boggling. He was so good at it that after watching an episode with Black Jack Randall, you could never look at Frank in the same way. He was that good.

There’s a long list of episodes that Menzies excelled in, but a couple stand out. One is the season 1 episode “Wentworth Prison,” which I mentioned earlier in Sam Heughan’s section. He made us believe that Black Jack was pure evil. It was uncomfortable, but only because Menzies was so good at going there.

Another episode that comes to mind is the third episode of season 3, “All Debts Paid,” which marked Menzies’ exit from the series. Earlier in the episode, Frank and Claire get into a heated argument over the state of their lives. For nearly 20 years, Frank had to accept that Claire was in love with Jamie, and she would never ever let him go. In that time, Frank entertained relationships with many women until he met someone he actually fell in love with. When he told Claire that he was moving away with her and planned to take Brianna (Sophie Skelton), Jamie and Claire’s daughter, with him, things got pretty bad.

This argument is forever seared in my mind because of Menzies’ terrific performance. He conveyed the hurt and pain he had been carrying for so long, including the fact that he stepped into the role of Brianna’s father despite her being someone else’s kid. This whole situation wasn’t his fault, and at that moment, Menzies played Frank’s hurt and pain so incredibly well.

This Outlander episode would break out hearts. After their argument, Frank storms out of the house on a rainy night and dies tragically in a car accident. Menzies gave one hell of a performance on his way out, and it’s the one episode (out of many) I wish Emmys voters would have paid attention to.

Or what about the season 3 premiere, “The Battle Joined,” where the horrendous Black Jack Randall falls to his death during the Battle of Culloden courtesy of Jamie Fraser? Honestly, any Menzies episode would have sufficed, but the Emmys refused to acknowledge any of them. This is why I was so happy to see Menzies get some awards recognition for his role in Netflix’s The Crown as Prince Philip, aka the Duke of Edinburgh. I’m glad someone finally took note of his talent!