The seventh season of Starz’s historical-fantasy behemoth Outlander ended on a cliffhanger, with Claire (Caitríona Balfe) telling Jamie (Sam Heughan) that she believed their daughter Faith, long believed to be stillborn, actually lived.
That suspicion was confirmed in the first episode of Season 8. Jamie and Claire learn that not only did Faith indeed survive, but she also grew up to have two daughters of her own—one of whom is actually Fanny (Florrie May Wilkinson), the young girl that Jamie’s son, William, rescued from destitution and asked Claire and Jamie to raise. How Faith was brought up, Jamie and Claire still do not know, but a man confesses to having killed her at sea. (Claire, in turn, takes this man out with a knife.)
A departure from the action in Diana Gabaldon’s original Outlander novels—to which the Starz series has otherwise been largely faithful—the revelation rocked the show’s fans and actors alike. “It's really sad, because you find out that there was this whole other life that could have been lived,” Balfe says, speaking to Vogue with Heughan from London. “And then to only find out after she's already gone is really tough. As an actor, you're trying to understand, then, where that grief sits, because the grief over losing a child will never leave you. To then add a new component to it… it was hard to find it.” Turning to Heughan, she adds: “But you're amazing in that scene.”
“I think when we first read it, we were like, ‘What? How can this be?” Heughan recalls. “And I still don't know if I know the truth. But Florrie just imbued it with so much.”
This week’s episode, titled “Prophecies,” came with a different sort of twist, marking Balfe’s first time directing. And what a time it was: Not only was the episode densely plotted—featuring a birth, a funeral, and a wedding—and Claire in most scenes, but it also included a bear, dropped into the story just three days before filming. (The cougar the production had wanted at the outset was no longer available.)
Her co-star is not shy in his praise of the result. “She’s why there are some really strong performances in this episode,” Heughan says, before addressing Balfe directly. “Everyone’s amazing, and you’re the conduit to that.”
“Caitríona was thrown into the deep end,” Sophie Skelton—who has played Claire and Jamie’s daughter Brianna since Season 2—tells Vogue. “They say kids and animals are hard to work with, and she got a big ol’ handful of both.”
Skelton goes on: “It’s always wonderful to have an actor’s director, but Caitríona is on another level. Not only does she know these characters better than most, but she also has such a quiet empathy and air of security about her. It wouldn’t have been out of the ordinary for some people to treat having one of our own in the director’s seat like a school snow day, but she has such a warm authority and is so loved and respected, that everyone was just rooting for her. I felt so proud of her.”
Next week’s episode, titled “Abies Fraseri,” involves Claire and Jamie revisiting a past point of contention. Last season, when Jamie was presumed dead at sea, Lord John Grey, his best friend (and not-so-secret admirer), married Claire to save her from being imprisoned as an English spy. Then, grief-stricken and alcohol-laden, Lord John and Claire slept together.
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When it’s later revealed that Jamie did not, in fact, die, Lord John tells him about the incident, and what should have been a joyous reunion between Jamie and Claire quickly sours. Eventually, the two get past it—or so Claire thinks. When Lord John and Claire’s moment comes up again this season, she and Jamie have it out. (The scene recalls Season 1’s “The Reckoning”—the fight, yes, but the impassioned reconciliation afterward, too.)
Both Balfe and Heughan relished that back-and-forth, and feel that Jamie and Claire thrive in those moments, too. “It’s because it's not make or break, is it? Their relationship isn't over,” Heughan notes.
“And there's no fear of it being over,” Balfe continues. “I think it's justifiable that Jamie is still upset about this. It’s quite funny—Claire is like, ‘I'm so over this.’”
As for her and Heughan’s opinion on Lord John and Claire’s indiscretion? Balfe offers: “I think it's one of the most bizarre things that’s happened in the show!”
“There’s been a few bizarre things,” Heughan counters.
“Well, for Claire, very bizarre,” Balfe replies. “Look, I guess we’ve all been there, haven’t we?”
Balfe and Heughan filmed multiple endings together, but as of the Season 8 premiere in New York, neither one had seen the finale. With any luck, they’ll eventually do that with their castmates. “Caitríona did mention us having a watch party, but I'm not quite sure how we're going to do that, because we're all working or somewhere else,” Heughan remarked. “But we'll have to document it, won’t we? Maybe we’ll find a way of all getting together.”
At the same premiere, Outlander author Diana Gabaldon revealed that she, for one, had seen the finale—but that her own ending for Jamie and Claire’s story would be even better. (The tenth and final book in the series, A Blessing for a Warrior, is yet to be released.) Two great Outlander endings? Sounds like the best of both worlds.