When the pilot of Outlander premiered on August 9, 2014, fans were transported through the stones at Craigh na Dun for the very first time (unless they were lucky enough to see the premiere at San Diego Comic-Con, where it aired for fans ahead of its release). It was magical (quite literally). It was foretelling. It was sexy. And now I've decided to revisit the Outlander pilot "Sassenach" with the benefit of 20/20 hindsight.

When the show first aired, show creator Ronald D. Moore had given a heads-up to fans that his adaptation wouldn't be an exact replica of what was in the books. "There's a lot of things we did in the first 30 to 40 minutes [of the pilot] that aren't in the book or are compilations of things that happened in the book," Moore told Entertainment Weekly in July 2014. As it turned out, those additions included flashbacks to Claire's life that gave viewers insight into the type of person she was then.

Even though "Sassenach" devotes more screen time to Claire and Frank than Claire and Jamie, it was all essential to establish the story. As I went back in time to the beginning of Outlander, driving in the Highlands with Frank and Claire on their second honeymoon, here are all the thoughts I had.

1. Ah, The Highlands

America is great and all, but it was beautiful to see the Scottish countryside in all its glory again. Yes, the show still films in Scotland, but the landscape gets to be Scotland rather than pretending to be colonial North Carolina. Take in that mountain fresh air!