Claire’s (Caitríona Balfe) penchant for ether as a means of escaping her PTSD was just one of the secrets that meant that Jamie (Sam Heughan) and Claire didn’t have the best relationship in season 6 of Outlander, and their road was made even more rocky when Claire didn’t immediately tell Jamie she believed him (the scene in the barn) when Malva (Jessica Reynolds) accused him of siring her unborn child.
But by the end of the season, they had worked to overcome the tension caused by the secrets they were keeping, and they were on the road to revisiting the closeness of their relationship when Claire was arrested for Malva’s murder.
“They both needed to speak more and to touch base,” Sam told Parade in an interview. “Their relationship, I think, it’s paramount. It’s the most important thing. This season they realize that life isn’t worth living without the other. We’ve known that for a while now, but certainly this season it feels even more paramount that they have to fight to stay together.”
Initially one of the things keeping them apart is Claire is being held prisoner on a ship, caring for the governor’s wife during her pregnancy. But she is also waiting to be tried for Malva’s murder and there’s nothing Jamie can do to free her without agreeing to commit his men to fight on the side of the Red Coats, which he is unwilling to do.
It takes Tom Christie’s (Mark Lewis Jones) willingness to sacrifice himself for Claire to set her free, and that’s just not something that sits well with Jamie. He wants to be the man to save her. “I think in the past he wouldn’t have been able to [accept Tom’s offer]," Sam continues. “But it’s a different Jamie. He normally would recruit someone else to help him [rescue her], but in this situation [he’s alone].”
So, while Tom’s offer is very unexpected, the two men have come to a grudging respect for each other over the years they have known each other since Ardsmuir Prison and Tom's coming to live at Fraser's Ridge. “I think there’s obviously a great deal of honor and trust and compassion there,” Sam says of the Jamie/Tom Christie connection. “I think it’s a very interesting relationship. And an interesting way to also end that story that was kind of the most part of Season 6.”
Of course, the American Revolutionary War is upon them, which may also separate Jamie and Claire once again. And it’s not just that Jamie could be killed. Claire is also in danger as she insists on accompanying him to the battlefield in her service as a doctor.
“Jamie has gone from being a young warrior to a leader of men,” Sam continues. “And later on this season, I guess without giving it away, even becomes a general or certainly in charge of a great number of people. Responsibility weighs very heavy on him. But it’s actually Claire that always supports him in her own way. They both go to war together in different capacities, but that’s how they complement each other.”
For Sam, who was raised in Scotland and taught the war from the British perspective, he understands that Jamie’s dilemma is a difficult one, despite knowing the outcome of the war because of Claire’s knowledge. Even as he wants to be on the winning side, it puts him at odds with his illegitimate son William (Charles Vandervaart) and good friend Lord John (David Berry).
“Even looking back to past seasons it split loyalties,” he says. “Jamie’s loyalty with Murtagh [Duncan Lacroix] was really tested being on different sides. Jamie is a man of his word and a man of honor. And this season is no exception. He finds himself – not a spoiler, but being on the opposite side to the people that he cares for, the people that he loves. So, it’s complicated and it tears families apart, and essentially tears a whole country apart, as well. It’s really interesting to see the creation of modern America."
New episodes of Outlander are available to stream weekly on Fridays at midnight on the STARZ app, all STARZ streaming and on-demand platforms, and internationally on the Lionsgate+ premium streaming platform in the U.K. New episodes will air weekly on the STARZ linear platform on Fridays at 8 p.m. ET in the U.S.
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