#I HAVE TO GO BALF

[nosleep83]

I just got the worst fucking haircut of my life oh my god IM COOKEDDDDDD 😭😭😭😭😭😭😭😭😭😭😭😭😭

[thefrsers]

OUTLANDER: 100th Episode Celebration with Sam, Caitriona, David and MBR onset(x)

[wanderingibon]

lorne balfe on the veilguard OST??!?!?!?! LETS GOOOO

[sgiandubh]

Things that make you go hmmm - the Live with Kelly and Mark October 2024 edition

I have long suspected that hostile Anons were, in reality, pre-emptive strikes of sorts.

But never has it been more clear than today.

You can watch C's appearance at the Live with Kelly and Mark Show, in full, here:

Instead of bothering you with convoluted explanations, I took the liberty of clipping the part that made me (and not only me) go hmmm. I will transcribe it for our Spanish girls, who normally use a translator.

It is almost too good to be true and goes to show one can never have 100% control over what one says. Especially when on a packed, tiresome and tedious schedule:

[FYI, this clipped portion's time stamp on the original video is 22:24 - 23:00 - nothing has been altered by me, just extracted with as much context as possible, lest you'd accuse me, or something]

A thing of beauty, indeed (thank God for days off, huh?):

Mark Consuelos (MC): 'And you've recently had a... uhm... a birthday...'

C: 'I did'

MC: 'Yeah... did you guys do anything special?'

C: 'Uhm, I had an amazing day, we were in London and we just had wrapped, like a couple of days before, uhm, so I got to, I went to, my husband took me to an art show, then to a three-hour lunch and then to the theatre.'

Kelly Ripa (KR): 'Oh, that sounds like heaven!'

C:' It was heaven and then his birthday was like five days later and I gave him a card (inaudible- if someone can make something out of it, please step forward, by all means, I feel it's sort of important, in the context). It was....'

[laughter in the public]

KR: 'That's okay. That's alright. You also gave him a son, come on, come on, come on.'

C: 'This is true, this is true. How long can I kind of run on that one?'

MC: 'A long time, a long time'.

KR:' Oh, at least eighteen to twenty-five years.'

C:' Okay, great.'

KR:' Yeah'.

One more time: 'we were in London and we just had wrapped, like a couple of days before'. I mean, this made me stop in my tracks, right?

Who is the 'we' that 'were in London'? The same 'we' who' just wrapped, like a couple of days before?' Did I miss something, here?

Since when was Tony McGill involved in the wrapping of the OL production, mind you? And if not, was it a cast trip, just after 'we' (the cast) 'wrapped, like a couple of days before'? Now that would be perfectly absurd, wouldn't it? The question was about her birthday, an intimate, family moment: why bring a collective we, like a sore thumb, in that context?

In English grammar, 'and' is a coordinating conjunction. It mainly serves to connect two words, phrases or, like in this case, clauses together.

[Source: https://www.learngrammar.net/english-grammar/clauses]

In the phrase ' 'we were in London and we just had wrapped, like a couple of days before ', ' we were in London' and 'we just had wrapped, like a couple of days before' are two independent clauses, connected by a coordinator, 'and' (coordinating conjunction). Therefore, the first 'we' and the second 'we' logically refer to the same persons.

Exactly like in the following example:

'I heard her saying this and I just had to stop in my tracks, almost in disbelief'. LOL

This grammar lesson has been brought to you for free, courtesy of Sgian-dubh, Inc.

I rest my case.

PS: ' I got to, I went to, my husband took me'. Enough said. Bless her heart, she is still a very lousy, unconvincing (yet very endearing) liar.

[cajon-desastre]

Fangirlish Interviews

INTERVIEW: Sam Heughan And Caitriona Balfe On Jamie & Claire’s Growth in Outlander

Outlander Season 7 Part 2 has us in stitches! We sat down with Sam Heughan and Caitriona Balfe in a roundtable interview to talk about Jamie & Claire’s growth. They also discussed the challenges the two face in Season 7, Part 2 and the legacy they leave behind. Ready? 

Here we go!

The return to Lallybroch in Outlander Season 7 Part 2

One of the most special moments in Outlander Season 7 Part 2 is the return to Lallybroch, the ancestral home of the Frasers. For Caitriona Balfe, this location is not only a space full of history in the series but also a fundamental place in the evolution of her character, Claire. 

Talking about Lallybroch immediately brings us back to the moment when Claire shares her secret with her family. Balfe reflected on how that revelation shook the relationship between Claire and Jenny: “When there are secrets between people, it prevents them from fully connecting. For Claire and Jenny, this revelation meant being able to close that shift between them regarding their relationship and friendship. It was wonderful to return to that place where so much has happened for the characters.”

For his part, Sam Heughan highlighted the meaning of Lallybroch for Jamie and the emotional impact of returning to a place that defines so much of who he is. “Jamie has always wanted to return. Although his home is now in America, returning to Lallybroch allows him to reconnect with his family and close important chapters. However, things didn’t go as he expected, as there were many relationships he needed to resolve before he could move forward.”

Both actors agree that filming at Lallybroch is a gift for both them and viewers. According to Heughan, the scenes in Scotland capture the essence of Jamie’s character while also allowing fans to reconnect with the roots of the story.

Beyond the Wedding: The Importance of Marriage

At another point in the interview, a more personal topic was raised: the importance of marriage versus the spectacle of a wedding. This led Caitriona Balfe to reflect on the social pressure around modern weddings and how Claire, with her history of weddings and complex relationships, would have advised a young woman about prioritizing marriage over the event.

“Modern weddings have gotten out of hand. “It shouldn’t cost as much as a house to have a wedding,” Balfe said, with a mix of humor and sincerity. The conversation quickly turned playful when Heughan mentioned Roger and Brianna’s wedding on the show, pointing out that even that celebration reflected the emotional focus over the material. Balfe added that, in her experience, someone gave her a valuable piece of advice that resonated both in her life and in her portrayal of Claire: “Don’t make your wedding about your past, make it about your future. I thought that was a beautiful message.”

The dynamic between the actors was evident when Heughan humorously interrupted to point out how “Outlander” that phrase sounded, generating a moment of laughter between the two. However, Balfe returned to seriousness to conclude that, for her, a wedding should be a celebration of the beginning of a new stage: “Marriage is what matters. The party is not everything, but what you build after.”

Outlander‘s Legacy According to Sam Heughan and Caitriona Balfe

After this relaxed moment, nostalgia took over, and, after more than a decade of playing Jamie and Claire Fraser in Outlander, Sam Heughan and Caitriona Balfe face the challenge of saying goodbye to two characters who have become an extension of themselves. Playing two such iconic characters for more than a decade not only requires dedication but also a deep emotional connection. 

Caitriona Balfe acknowledged that Claire has influenced who she is today: “When I think about who I was at the beginning of this series and who I am now, part of that change has to do with Claire, but also with leading this project alongside Sam and assuming everything that implies. Claire has given me a lot of confidence and has even inspired me to use my voice. Some might say perhaps too much, but who would say that?” she said with a laugh. 

Sam Heughan shared similar sentiments, explaining that the line between him and Jamie has blurred over the years: “It’s hard to completely separate ourselves from the characters, and we’re in the process of doing that now, which sounds like a bit of a…”

Balfe chimed in humorously: “existential crisis?”

“Yeah,” Heughan replied with a laugh, “because you realize you’re saying goodbye to someone you’ve lived with for so long. I think it’s going to take me years to really understand everything Jamie has taught me, but I’ve certainly gained confidence, and experience and grown with him. Plus, he’s given me an incredible relationship, one I never thought I’d have.”

The Evolution of Jamie & Claire in Outlander Season 7 Part 2

From their first meeting to the most recent events in Outlander Season 7 Part 2, Jamie and Claire’s relationship has gone through countless trials and transformations. Including brushes with death, as happened in Outlander Season 7 Episode 15. 

Balfe explained how this journey has shaped the couple, as “they’ve been through so many trials and tribulations, and they’ve learned a lot about each other. Over time, those harsher personality traits have softened a bit, and their understanding of each other has grown. However, when they’re separated, as happens in season 7B, we see that they’re both more capable of moving on without each other, but we know that nothing good really happens when they’re apart. When they finally meet again, there’s a lot of friction because, sometimes, we act from a place of old wounds.”

Heughan also reflected on how the years have changed the couple’s dynamic: “In the early seasons, Jamie and Claire were very intense, with arguments that felt like ‘will they work it out or not? ’ Now they’ve moved past that. They can still argue, but it doesn’t put their relationship at risk anymore. They’ve reached a point where their bond is deeper and more mature. When they’re finally apart and Jamie comes back, that’s a really dramatic moment for them to work through. Until then, we see how much their relationship has grown and matured.”

With eleven years of history on Outlander, Sam Heughan and Caitriona Balfe have not only brought Jamie and Claire to life but have evolved alongside them. The series has not only been an epic journey for the characters but also for the actors, who carry with them the lessons and experiences that this adventure has left them with. As Balfe noted, “It’s definitely been the role of a lifetime,” and both she and Heughan acknowledge that it will take years to fully understand the impact of this experience, not only on their careers but also on who they are.

Jamie & Claire’s Most Complicated Moment

When discussing the most shocking recent moments from Outlander Season 7 Part 2, Balfe and Heughan reflected on what they thought of the particularly intense moment between Claire and Jamie in Outlander Season 7 Episode 12. Balfe admitted, “When I read the first version of the script, I was like, ‘We can’t do this..’ I felt very defensive of Claire and we worked closely with the writers to find the best way to tell this beautiful but complicated story based on the books. It’s a difficult moment to digest.”

Heughan, for his part, highlighted how surprising Jamie’s reaction was to him: “I didn’t expect him to be so violent. I thought he would be more understanding, but at the end of the day, he’s a flawed human being. He has pride and darkness within him, and that makes him interesting.”

The Past in Outlander Season 7 Part 2

One of the most distinct moments in Outlander Season 7 Part 2 compared to previous seasons involves Roger MacKenzie, who, instead of arriving at the period he expected, ends up interacting with someone unexpected: Jamie Fraser’s father. 

Sam Heughan explained how this unexpected connection adds a new layer to the story, as “it’s a cool moment, the way they’ve done it. Roger knocks on the door at Lallybroch expecting Jamie to open it, but he finds his father instead. It’s a disconcerting situation for him. He has to think fast and adapt. What’s interesting is why he was sent to that period, what the consequences were, and where everyone was at that time. I think Jamie is in France at that point.”

Caitriona Balfe highlighted how this plot twist amplifies the use of time travel in this season because “normally, time travel is a smaller part of the narrative, but this time it has a much more prominent role. This leads to fascinating questions about what changes someone can make by traveling back in time and what the ripple effects of those actions are.”

Exploring Characters Beyond the Books

Throughout seven seasons of Outlander, the writers have taken certain liberties with the source material, something Sam and Caitriona acknowledge as an inevitable challenge when adapting such a rich and sprawling saga. “There have been moments or elements that we’ve left out,” Heughan admitted. “Sometimes I wish we’d done more or gone a little further from the books, but adapting such a dense series of novels into hour-long episodes is almost impossible. We probably could have done 20 seasons.”

Balfe added that despite the limitations, the final seasons have tried to stay true to the spirit of the books: “I think especially in these last few seasons, there’s been an attempt to follow the books closely, but there’s always been a need to tell our own story. And that’s the exciting thing about television, finding the balance between faithfulness to the source material and narrative that works on screen.”

Heughan also reflected on the future of the Outlander universe, referring to the spin-off Outlander: Blood of My Blood, which will explore the Frasers’ story without the direct backing of the books: “It will be interesting to see how they handle that new show, as they don’t have any books to follow. It’s exciting to think about the possibilities.”

Claire’s Double Responsibilities

Likewise, Sam Heughan and Caitriona Balfe shared their thoughts on the dilemmas their characters face. As a time traveler with advanced medical knowledge, Claire has been a crucial figure in almost every season. But is it fair for others to expect her to be some kind of universal savior?

Caitriona Balfe reflected on this constant pressure: “I think Claire feels like she should be able to do more. It’s frustrating for her not to have the tools, the medications, or even enough knowledge to solve all the problems she faces. Although she comes equipped with impressive skills, even doctors today rely on books and the internet. They don’t have an encyclopedic memory of everything. And Claire is no different.”

Sam Heughan humorously added: “I don’t think she’s done enough. And neither does my daughter! They could have done so much more.”

Claire’s relationship with history is also a constant source of conflict. Balfe commented on the gaps in her historical knowledge: “I think what’s fun about the character is that she has a general idea of ​​historical events, but she doesn’t always know the details. There are moments where you think, ‘Claire if only you’d paid a little more attention in class…’”

Despite these limitations, Heughan highlighted Claire’s impressive handling of her situation: “Her knowledge of history, for a non-historian, is pretty impressive.”

The Inevitable Call of War in Outlander Season 7 Part 2

Throughout Outlander, Jamie and Claire have tried to avoid getting caught up in the historical events that shape the world around them. However, as Heughan noted, it seems that fate always drags them back into the middle of the conflict, as we see in the latest episode. “They’ve tried to change history, to avoid it, but it always finds them. This season is no exception. The War of Independence is about to break out, and though they try to stay out of it, they are inevitably drawn into the heart of events. It’s quite dramatic,” Heughan explains. 

The tension between Jamie and Claire’s personal decisions and the weight of historical events is one of the pillars that continues to drive the narrative of Outlander. Balfe added: “It’s fascinating to see how their personal relationships and historical conflicts run in parallel, creating a balance between intimate drama and the magnitude of the events they face.”

And she’s absolutely right because, after all, in addition to their love story, Claire’s constant struggle to help those around her, while carrying the expectations as a time traveler, along with Jamie’s resilience amid historical turbulence, encapsulates the spirit of Outlander. What happened in the last episode is just a taste of it, but the best thing is that there is still more to come because, definitely, that wasn’t the end.

[odessa-2]

Good morning dear,

I have to ask....what is your opinion.

THE SCREAMING IN THE DISABLED BATHROOM DONE BY SAM, HIS SECRET PLACE.

Good morning to you,

I have been seeing a few episodes since the last NYCCOMCON, I wandered as many of you about the disabled toilet Sam spoke about.

Waiting to see the other 2 events still not broadcast namely, PaleyFest media event and Josh's Happy, Sad, Confused to get more details.

Check at 50 mins.+ when Sam speaks about screaming after 11 years in the disabled bathroom being alone where there is still blood from season one.  And he never told Cait it seems. 11 years, retribution, forgiveness finally, end of it all.

He said he used that place when he needed to be alone.  We know season one was epic but can you watch episodes 15 and 16. I cannot and was reminded why there was fake blood in that disabled bathroom, and all the gorry scenes of blood that was shed and shown during episodes 15 and 16. No wonder Sam went there to be alone screaming after RDM had him do these scenes twice and I remember reading how the crew were in tears when doing these episodes.

How sadistic of RDM and even DG as she mentioned to Sophie in this year NYCCOMCON, she is Black Jack Randall, both DG and RDM sadistic in there exploitation of Sam if you ask me. Also how evil of RDM not giving the candidature of Sam that year for Emmy nomination that both Cait and Tobias got. We know the reason now, he was jealous of Sam, his good looks, his goodness and the fact Cait was in love of Sam.

No wonder Sam and Cait are so enamored, I'll say Art imitates Life, Sam suffering so much not being able to be the man he should be with this evil narrative, 2 husbands, 2 wedding rings for Cait, same DOB for Jamie/Sam and Claire/Cait almost. Same initials Claire Beauchamp, Caitriona Balfe, Sam change J in JAMMF for S. Too much, did the stars/STARZ really align, taking two novice individuals with all the evil behind not forgetting Josh reprising the WS/PC incident and all the disgrace done on Twitter on the fandom and personally to many women.

The only good outcome was the love endured by Sam and Cait who got married and now have a family, yes, seeing the dancing back to the stones in last episode of season 2 brings tears, how more to what these 2 individuals had to suffer for FAME and FORTUNE.

I am sure loads are taken off their backs now, praying, hoping their lives will OUTSHINE Outlander in all their endeavours.

Sincerely,

JClovely

Hello lovely. NYCC gifted us with more receipts and insights into SC's situation that we already suspected, but had it confirmed again. The special Disabled toilet comment from Sam surprised me a little as it did Cait it seems! Sam just let rip. The fact that he openly admitted to having and needing a secret hideout place where he could go and "scream" just confirms how much pressure Sam was under. The performing monkey 🐒, the emasculated puppet who was denied his God given freedoms. Denied his right to claim his family, forced into an ungodly narrative. A compromised man in many ways.

I agree that that RDM is a jealous piece of shit that used the rape scene to humiliate Sam. That slime bag had the major hots for Cait and I think everyone could see it, including Terri. Terri is batshit crazy but she had the air of a mistreated woman imo.

I still think we have a couple more years of narrative but somewhere deep down in my intuitive waters, I feel that SC will be free at some point. They will come out.

[brian-in-finance]

Photo courtesy of Caitríona Balfe

Caitríona Balfe on the final season of Outlander

The multi award-nominated actress on leaving behind her career-defining role in the hit series

If I was talking to Caitríona Balfe in the early noughties, the focus of our conversation would have taken on a completely different flavour. This was Balfe’s heyday as one of the most sought-after models of her generation. After being scouted, aged 18, while collecting money for charity at her local shopping centre in her native Ireland, she almost immediately became a mainstay of fashion month, opening and closing shows for high-fashion juggernauts including Chanel, Givenchy, Moschino and Louis Vuitton.

But mention Caitríona Balfe now and most will immediately reference one thing: Outlander.

The Starz show, based on the series of books by Diana Gabaldaon has become a cult series, beloved by fans worldwide. It follows the journey of Balfe’s Claire Randall, a former WW2 nurse in post-war Scotland, who finds herself thrust back in time to the highlands of the 18th century. The hugely popular show is currently broadcasting the second part of its penultimate season and the cast has just wrapped shooting the very final series. It will mark the conclusion of more than a decade of Balfe’s professional life as an actress.

“It’s been such a strange year,” Balfe admits, calling me from London, where she lives with her husband, the band manager Tony McGill, and their young son. “Knowing that it was coming to an end, we all definitely felt heightened emotions at various times throughout the process. Finishing up was so emotional.” After the show’s final days, both Balfe and her co-star Sam Heughan embarked on solo, somewhat spiritual, adventures. “I went away and did a yoga and meditating retreat and Sam's about to go on a trek in the Himalayas,” she says. “I think we're all finding something to put our energy into. That's a very long-winded way of saying, 'I think I'm OK!'”

Photo courtesy of Starz

The role of Claire Beauchamp Randall Fraser is, one might say, the role of a lifetime – or several in fact. Balfe’s decade-plus relationship with Claire has been an actor’s gift, allowing her to traverse time periods and cross the genres of period drama, action, war and fantasy epics. The emotional arc alone has stretched Balfe’s artistic muscles such that she has been laden with plaudits, including Golden Globe and Bafta nominations, throughout the show’s run.

“My relationship with Claire has completely evolved over the years,” she says. “In the beginning, you were filling in all of these blank spaces of her history and her memories and then, as the years went on, you're living it, you're creating them in real time. And so, in a way, you know, without sounding weird, she lives within you. I think more than anything what I realised is, for me, personally, what an amazing teacher Claire has been.”

Indeed, before taking on the role in 2013, Balfe might perhaps have been known as that loaded phrase ‘model-turned-actress’ – with largely just an uncredited role in The Devil Wears Prada and a small part in Spielberg’s Super 8 – to her name. Yet Balfe’s talent in Outlander is unavoidable, right from her earliest appearances. “Oh my resumé was so short and sweet before Outlander,” she says, laughing. “But the great thing about this genre is that it can be so many different things, and it has been so many different things. So as an actor I've been brought to a really incredible depth of emotion.”

And there is much, Balfe says, that Claire taught her on a personal level. “She taught me how to be responsible, taught me how to use my voice, how to stand up for myself and for other people, about compassion and empathy,” she says, pausing – already sounding slightly nostalgic. “I hope I brought some of those qualities into it, anyway.”

Claire taught me how to use my voice and how to stand up for myself.

Photo courtesy of Starz

If Outlander was the perfect advertisement for Balfe’s considerable talent, it was the 2021 film Belfast that gave her recognition on an unprecedented level. She received a Bafta and Golden Globe nomination for her role as Ma in Kenneth Brannagh’s critically acclaimed film. It served as a reminder that, really, Balfe’s acting is only getting better and bolder. Between breaks in Outlander, she took roles in the films Ford v Ferrari, Money Monster and The Cut and next spring will see her opposite Rami Malek in The Amateur.

She has avowed to take a break following her decade of Scottish time travel, but after having directed an episode of the show, this may prove another new direction for the multi-talented Balfe. “I was asking our producers for a little bit if I could, and in season seven, I got the opportunity to do some second unit stuff,” she recalls. “That was amazing as a first foray into it. When I got to do a whole episode, it was just so much fun, so I would love to do more.”

“I am going to try and have an actual break though,” she says, sighing. “And then I have a project I'm trying to write myself…” She won’t be drawn on more, so I ask what legacy she thinks her landmark series will have left. “Honestly,” she says, “I think the thing I'm the proudest of is that after 11 years, we're all really great friends, and we all have such a love for each other. There are just so many amazing moments I will cherish.”

Outlander S7 Part 2 is now available to watch on MGM+ in the UK & on Starz in the US.

Harper’s Bazaar

Remember… I think more than anything what I realised is, for me, personally, what an amazing teacher Claire has been. — Caitríona Balfe

[p-redux]

Loved seeing both Sam Heughan and Caitriona Balfe having fun with their long time Outlander drivers at the Outlander Season 8 wrap party!

Sam with Davie Stewart. 👇

And Cait with Andy Finnie in the middle. 👇

Seeing Finnie is such a blast from the past. Who here was around from the very beginning? Remember this?: Both drivers interacting on Twitter with fans and posting pics of picking up Sam and Cait from their respective apartments in Glasgow to drive them to set. SamCait shippers baiting the drivers into giving them info to try to prove Sam and Cait were a real couple. An OG shipper from the US going to Glasgow to try to get on set and Davie getting assigned to keep her away from Sam. I DMed with him back then and he told me the whole story. The drivers finally getting sick of shippers' shenanigans and turning on shippers. Shippers then turning on the drivers and taking it as far as trying to report them to Outlander production. Finnie dating a fan. And shippers getting into a fight with said fan because of shippers' harassment of Finnie when he confirmed Cait wasn't dating Sam. Finnie and the fan broke up and I don't think he's on social media anymore. At least not on his original account. Davie is still around on social media, of course.

What a ride for all of them all these years, no pun intended hahaha.

Ah, memories...

[bcacstuff]

It’s the end of an era: Sophie Skelton has starred as Brianna in Starz’s Scottish historical fantasy drama, Outlander, for 10 years. How does she feel about it all coming to an end? Mixed emotions, from the five stages of grief to feeling positive about ending on a high. For us viewers at home, however, there’s still plenty of time to say goodbye: the season 7B finale will air on 17 January 2025, while season 8 is slated to air in the second half of 2025. We sat down with Sophie to hear all about it – plus what the actress will star in next.

Interview: Sophie Skelton

Hi Sophie, how’s life going at the moment?

Good, thank you. I’m still processing 10 years of the end of an era! Caitríona [Balfe] and I have been talking about it for a while, because you go through the five stages of grief a little bit when you finish something like this. It’s such a rare occurrence for TV to go that long, and there’s no manual of how to deal with the end, so I think it was quite a roller coaster of, well, the grief process. But we’re both feeling quite at peace now. I for one feel like I’m in a good place – just winding down for Christmas so I can hit the ground running in 2025!

It’s the end of an era! How did it feel when you kind of got the news that Outlander season eight would be the end?

I think originally season 7 was going to be the end, and I’m just speculating here, but maybe part of the reason they split it into two is because they knew that season 8 was going to come. Maybe they were trying to bridge a gap with the strikes… I don’t know! But I feel like Brianna is in a really good place. I feel like I’ve done everything I can do with that character. She has been through more than most people would go through in multiple lifetimes. 

I think it’s always good to tap out while you’re ahead and not to milk something, so hopefully we’re ending on a high. Season 7B is great, but season 8 is honestly the best season – so I think it’s good to leave it there.

Are you all wrapped on season 8, too, then?

Officially, yeah. We were holding on by an emotional thread for a while, because we were sort of finishing, and then there was a second unit going, and then we had press, and then we had reshoots. But we are officially done. I think we’ve all had three wrap days, but the last one was really sweet. Caitríona wrapped and then she came in for my final scene, and then she hugged me, and that made me break down crying. Then she and I went to the next stage over for Sam [Heughan]’s final scene, which was the last one. Then we had a little hug, the three of us, so it was a really nice way to close it off. It felt very peaceful in the end. 

How would you describe Outlander season 7b?

For Brianna, honestly, quite lonely. It was an interesting season for me. We shot it about two years ago, so thinking back, I spent a large amount of the time with the kids. As they say, acting with animals and children are the two most challenging bits, and on Outlander we have a plethora of that going on! In terms of storyline, it’s one of the sides of Brianna that I really admire. She’s really come into herself as a mother, and seeing her click into action mode and the lengths she’ll go to to save her children is really admirable. Sometimes when she has to defend herself, she’s not as brazen, but as soon as it’s for someone else, especially her children, we see a side of Brianna that we haven’t seen before.

Rosa Morris (“Mandy”) and Sophie Skelton (“Brianna Fraser MacKenzie”) in Outlander season 7. (Starz)

You’ve played Brianna for a decade now. Is there anything special you do to get into character?

One thing we’re lucky with on Outlander is that the sets are so magnificent and vast. Whether we’re on location or they’ve built a fake village, as soon as you’re on set, you feel halfway into it. It’s the same with me having an American accent and the wig and the clothing – you’re halfway in already, so that does a bit of your prep for you. I know Brianna inside out now, so honestly, it’s quite easy to just stream into set. But to stop myself from coasting, I do research. And there were a lot of things I felt I could channel from my own life into Bri this season, so that helped.

Is there anything in season 7B you’re really excited for people to see?

I really enjoyed the scenes with Chris [Fulton], who plays Rob Cameron. That was a really fun dynamic. And as I say, because I spent a large amount of the second part with the kids, it was nice to have some adult energy. I really like his way of working. He’s quite similar to me in that you just don’t know what you’re going to get, and every take could be completely different. We really bounced off each other, and it kind of felt like being in a play, especially because some of our scenes were quite physical. There are a few more modern day action sequences from Brianna, too, which was a different form of stunts than we’ve done before. So I’m sure people will enjoy a little injection of 80s fight scenes.

Is there anything you can tease about Outlander season 8?

As ever with Outlander, there will be some reunions. There are probably going to be some deaths. The heartstrings are going to be a little bit torn… One of the most exciting things about it is that you’ve got so many old and new faces back. It just feels like a really big ensemble, and I think that that’s such a magnificent way to go out. It’s like a big bang.

Any standout moments from rehearsals or filming?

It’s quite rare that a lot of us get to do scenes together, so the dinner scenes where we have a large amount of the principal cast together are really fun. It always feels quite sentimental because they’re rare, and we never know if that’s going to be the last one. That wasn’t necessarily different, but season 8 had the extra layer of upcoming loss. But they’re always just lovely because Outlander is heavy, you know! We work in really tough weather conditions. We do long hours, we do long weeks, and we’re pretty much just in the dark, wind and rain of Scotland all the time. So when we get these indoor scenes where it’s really intimate, there’s candles, it’s all of us together, they’re really fond moments. It feels like you can really just relax and enjoy the day a little bit more, as opposed to battling all the elements constantly.

Are there any locations from filming that have stood out as a favorite, or anything that you would go back to in your own time?

The Clava Cairns are so beautiful. When you go there, honestly, it sounds quite corny, but you can feel the weight of the land. The air is dense. Not in a heavy way, but you can almost feel the energy of the history there. And the land is just so quiet. There’s always a beautiful moon or a beautiful sunrise. We actually had one scene there where the moon looked too fake. The real moon looked too fake! They had to blot it out and put a fake moon in, because they were like, ‘no one will believe this is real’. It’s always windy and icy cold and it’s brutal, but it’s absolutely stunning. Especially when we do night shoots there, the calm and the quiet and the stars… It’s just surreal.

Outlander is coming to an end, but the universe is going to continue in a different series. Are you excited to watch it? How did you feel about that when you heard the news?

It’s a funny thing with the prequel coming out, because we were on our final season when they filmed, so it was very different energies, having the two side by side. They’re all coming in fresh, whereas we’ve done 10 years of this. We want to make sure that we see it through and do it justice. We really wanted to make sure that our attention wasn’t split, so I don’t know too much about the prequel. 

I know that there are rumors of some other spin off series, too, and I know Diana might have written some other spin off books. It’s one of the biggest shows in the world, so I’m sure that those series will do super well. It’ll be exciting to see if there are any mini Briannas that spin off. It would be very interesting to see who takes her over at some point. 

Sophie Skelton (“Brianna Fraser MacKenzie”) in Outlander season 7. (Starz)

Looking at future projects, are there any genres you’re craving?

It’s not necessarily about genre for me; I think it’s more that I’m looking for completely different characters. A different accent, a completely different time period for a while, let’s get rid of the corset for a bit! But honestly, loads of different things. I started in musical theater on stage, so to do something in that realm would be amazing. I also love really gritty dramas – psychological stuff. Something like Black Swan would be the perfect merge of everything.

Have any of your other projects stood out to you as a career highlight?

I just finished quite a tricky shoot during the strike, a small independent movie called Row. It’s about the first team crossing the Atlantic Ocean, and semi based on a true story before it goes a lot more thriller-y. I’m playing this blonde hippie-ish girl from Surrey and filming was going to be in Malta, so I was like, ‘Yeah, cool, this is different to Outlander. Different accent, I’m on a boat in the middle of nowhere, but it’s Malta, great!’ There’s one scene where she’s in a bikini on the boat. Sounds fantastic! Then a couple of weeks before shooting, they said, ‘because of the strikes and everything else, we’re actually going to film it in John o’ Groats’ – which is pretty much the most northerly part of the UK. We had super bad weather – 100 mile per hour winds – so we had to stop shooting a lot and we got behind. We were just on a rowing boat in the middle of a water tank right next to the ocean on a cliff. It was intense. But honestly, I think the film is going to be beautiful. It looks really gritty. It’s so fun to play something different. I’m excited to see it.

Who has been your favourite actor to work with in the past?

I worked with Nick Cage ages ago, which was great. He was so lovely to me; that was a good shoot. On Outlander, working with Tobias Menzies was amazing. It was great to work with quite a lot of seasoned actors like Maria Doyle Kennedy, too.

Which co-star did you learn the most from?

Caitríona is amazing. She knows how to fight for her cast and crew, she will make sure that everyone’s looked after. There’s often a lot of hierarchy in TV and film. She’s number one, and she could easily stomp that around, but she doesn’t. She puts everybody on a level playing field and treats everyone the same. I really respect that.

Do you have a dream role?

I love biopics. I love going down a rabbit hole of research and having to perfect little tics that the real person has. I was thinking about La Vie en Rose the other day, the Edith Black one with Marion Cotillard. Something along that route would be really cool. And hey, if there’s ever an Audrey Hepburn biopic, I would love to do that.

Who is a writer or director you’d love to work with?

Jesse Armstong and the Duffer Brothers. I think their writing is just so smart. It flows beautifully, and it’s just so gritty.

How do you find balance in your personal and work lives?

Not sure if I’ve mastered that yet! I’ve always been a very hard worker. Even as a kid, I’d be in ballet every day, and 1000 hobbies. I’ve always managed to fit more in a day than most people. I’m not very good if I’m not busy, so I am trying to manage the shut off between the two now by writing music, doing art and playing piano.

How can we all live a little bit better?

Do small acts of self care for yourself all the time. Someone said it to me recently, and I hadn’t really realised it was a thing. They were like, ‘you’re very good at doing little things that set you up for success for your future self’. It sounds so silly, but it’s the smallest things, like putting stuff away the night before so you don’t wake up to a dirty kitchen in the morning, or just biting the bullet sometimes because you know that it’s going to matter more to your future self than it might do now. Small acts of kindness to yourself. Career wise, it’s so easy now to look on Instagram, for example, compare yourself and just feel shit, frankly. I just have this daily reminder: put on your blinkers and win your own race.

Sophie Skelton Recommends…

I’m currently watching… Shrinking

What I’m reading… The Best Minds by Jonathan Rosen

The last thing I watched (and loved) was… Poor Things

What I’m most looking forward to seeing… Gladiator II and Conclave

Favourite film of all time… Good Will Hunting and Uptown Girls

Band/singer I always have on repeat… Taylor Swift

My ultimate cultural recommendation… Talking to different cultures about how they celebrate the festive season.

Cultural guilty pleasure… Going to the pub for a roast every Sunday – the bottle of red with it is the guilty part!

[outlanderskin]

Every time I see a picture of or clip of Sam with Caitriona, I see him with the woman in London. I can’t erase that. Maybe it was the hand holding? I don’t know. His appeal has gone downhill considerably. Not because he’s dating, it’s who. And walking down the street flaunting. She certainly wasn’t going to be missed by any passerby’s. Not the best judgement me thinks.

Dear Anon, Do you believe this paparazzi walk was a real thing?

Should we then consider that everything Caitríona and others said about him are big lies?

Shall we remember some of these lines? Let's go

"We're both going through the same experience, so that's great, we both really understand that. I hope I’m as good support as he is to me.”

"Sam's just so kind.  He always checks in.  I don't know, he has one of the biggest hearts and smallest egos that I know."

“Sam was cast in June, so he was already, you know working out, building those big muscles he has. I walked in and Sam was just this calm center and there was zero posturing, zero ego."

“We have a similar approach to life and a similar approach to acting and it just works. Sometimes you just get lucky. Sometimes the stars align. ”

" When I first met Sam at our chemistry test, which I always think is quite funny, he was the nicest guy and he just put me at ease. I was a little nervous and he's just that kind of solid, grounded guy".

" From the moment we met, we got along. Sam is one of the most generous people you’ll ever meet. Such a great guy, no ego involved.”

"You know, I’ve had the honor and privilege of acting next to him and with him for almost 10 years now, and I know how amazing Sam is…”

Or should we ask Priyanka Chopra Jonas?

"He’s such a fun and funny guy, and he’s nice. For someone who’s a Sam fan, they’d be really excited to know that he doesn’t just play a good guy in this movie, he’s a really, really good guy, a complete gentleman and super thoughtful as a co-actor as well"

I won't name other co-stars, but it's easy to find on the Web what people close to him say about him. Another important point to consider: the woman who most publicly praises him (aka Caitríona Balfe) is a feminist (like me). And normally women like us don't become (or stay) friends with men who treat other women like dirt, firstly because we can't stand toxic masculinity and secondly because they can't stand our questioning about their attitudes. So, does it make sense to you that this Sam mentioned above is the same one from Pap Walk?

[margareth-lv]

🏳️‍🌈 Every girl needs a gay best friend 🏳️‍🌈

Last week, I wrote a post here about the morbid shyness of a certain music manager.

My text was based on an interview Caitríona gave in mid-February 2018, shortly after her so-called 'engagement' and after she'd just won the Irish IFTA for her work on Outlander.

In the interview, Caitríona talked about how she met her fake fiancé. In the February 2018 version, Caitríona met her PA through one of her best friends.

So I decided to look into the subject of this "best friend" who brought the unfortunate music manager to Caitriona.

What I'm going to write today is, I think, 100% obvious to veterans of the fandom. But for those just starting out, I hope it'll be news. And I, well, I'm somewhere in the middle, between newbie status and more than three years of wading through the facts and the myths.

For me, the fun part has been reconstructing the chronology of events. The dates are interesting.

*** *** ***

The beginning of my story is quite surprising. Because we reach Caitríona's 'best friend' by clicking on a link in an article published in 'People Magazine' on 15 August 2019.

The article is entitled: 'Everything to Know About Caitriona Balfe's Super Private Relationship with Husband Tony McGill' and it tells us that: 'the couple tied the knot in England last weekend'.

😱

What excellent investigative journalists People Magazine have (bravo, bravo!), that in a twelve sentence article they could link to a post from Donal Brophy's Instagram.

👏🏻👏🏻👏🏻

And look at this description:

"It’s unclear exactly when Balfe and McGill started dating, but the earliest evidence of their romance dates back to 2015, when a friend posted a video of her sitting on his lap at a bar in Ireland on Instagram. (McGill was not tagged and does not appear to have any social media accounts of his own.)"

🤯

Isn't that brilliant work from Starz/TPTB/whatever's PR Dept?

*** **** *** From the above it seems fair to conclude that the 'best friend' who brought Caitriona bad luck in the form of an unfulfilling music manager was Donal Brophy, because who else could it be?

*** *** ***

And now, let's take a quick look at the Instagram post (dated 1 January 2015) linked to the 'People Magazine' article. We all know it, of course! Here is the irrefutable proof of the passion between our two lovebirds: the rhythmic (and how sexy!) patting on the hip.

🥱

Well, hip-slapping is boring (and not at all sexy).

Far less boring, however, is the look on the music manager's face, the look that seeks Donal's approval (tell me I'm patting her well, do tell!). Could it be that, like the People Magazine link, this video was made to show? I wouldn't rule it out.

*** *** *** Now let's talk about dates: the sexy (not 🤢) slap on the hip was posted by Donal with a date of 1 January 2015, but two days earlier, on 30 December 2014, Donal shared another photo on Instagram featuring both the hapless music manager and Caitríona. ⬇️⬇️⬇️

Perhaps the decidedly less seductive and sensual appearance of the 'fiancée' in the December photo was the deciding factor in "People Magazine" not publishing a link to it?

Who could know?

*** *** ***

It certainly wasn't love at first sight. The new boyfriend seems rather tired of Caitriona's presence. 😉

I know this is a mischievous conclusion. I am so, so sorry, my friends.

❓

But one thing is for sure: Donal is an old friend of Caitríona.

I haven't done too much in-depth research, but the oldest photo I've been able to find of both Caitríona and Donal is… a photo in a Flickr album belonging to Caitríona's ex-boyfriend, Dave Milone. The photo is dated… 2002.

😨

You get the idea - Caitríona's ex (and real) boyfriend, Dave, Donal, and after many, many years a new 'fiancé'. It feels like my brain is exploding. 🤯🤯🤯

*** *** ***

But back to Donal: I have a feeling that Donal may have been Caitríona's +1 at times when she did not have an official boyfriend.

*** *** *** And let's not forget: Caitríona has a sweet and tender relationship with Donal.

June 2013, Miss you babe!

December 2013, Caitríona on IG:

December 2013, Donal on IG:

April 2014: They even went hiking together in the Scottish Highlands.

I wonder, by the way, who was their mountain guide? Was it an unfortunate music manager? I think not.

I would rather point to someone else, someone who loves (and knows!) the (S)cottish (H)ighlands. But I won't name him.

⛰️🧗🏻‍♂️

*** *** ***

For those who are unfamiliar with the name Donal Brophy, here are a few words about his professional profile:

You know, it works for me: "While in New York, Donal was also known for epic parties. Everything he organized automatically became a “must-attend” event for New York’s most with-it residents."

You know, that kind of vibe (2007):

😵‍💫😵‍💫😵‍💫

*** *** ***

Had he been Caitríona's false fiancé, it would have been easy for us to believe in the beautiful, loving bond that existed between them. But he was only the messenger of bad news. What wouldn't you do for your best friend?

❓

PS. Unless something has changed, Donal was married to Emrhys Cooper, a British actor, singer, dancer, and filmmaker. Together they run Idyllwild Pictures, an entertainment company.

Taken in July 2023:

[January 23, 2024]

[thefrsers]

Sam and Caitriona on Good Morning America(6.06.23)

[alleiradayne]

I haven't said much personally about Veilguard besides sharing my Rook and a few other silly things, but I do have a couple thoughts now that I'm so very far into my playthrough (halfway at about 50 hours).

I know the music hasn't hit like some hoped it would. I agree that it is not as good as Inquisition. That's still my favorite OST of the series. I understand BioWare wanted a new composer for the next game because each game has had a different composer. But given how very connected Inquisition and Veilguard are, I disagree with that premise and thought they should have stuck with Morris, and not only for that reason. He's a fucking musical genius.

All that said, I do enjoy Zimmer's and Balfe's work on this OST. It's not bad. I was shittalking the main theme for weeks after it came out but when you mash it up with the actual opening of the game, it fits. And I like all the softer versions of it, the less complicated takes with less instrumentation. And there are other tracks that call back to Inquisition. No, I'm not referring to the cameos where Morris's actual tracks were used. I'm talking about Zimmer/Balfe's new content where they threaded callbacks to Inquisition. Once I finish the game, I'm going to do a much deeper analysis of the Veilguard OST, but for now, I'm enjoying it as I play the game (I don't want to listen to the OST before I finish the game itself).

A couple other thoughts in shorter form:

The combat is fun. Compared to previous games, it's dynamic enough that, while there are patterns, you still have to be on your toes. Yes there's the rock, paper, scissors of get rid of armor, get rid of barrier, then spam left click/spells. But you know what, compared to the previous games, I'm enjoying that. It's a nice change of pace. I'm also playing a Mourn Watch Death Mage, so there's some nice flavor there.

Skin texture sucks. It's too smooth. It gives everyone a cartoonist look. I hate it.

Hair is fucking gorgeous. I just wish there were more styles I liked.

The story and quests are fantastic.

I find the dialogue to be a fun balance between seriousness, camp, and exposition.

Now on to my biggest fucking complaint about the game so far and given what I've read (without spoiling anything), I'm ultimately going to be disappointed in the long-run by the romances. My mage committed to Emmrich and I love him. He's wonderful. Read on for some spoilery-ish facets of his romance.

SPOILERS

He's an artist. Both with his magic and his words. He's sophisticated and overly romantic in such a respectful way. Rook's interest in him takes him by surprise because I believe canonically there's an age gap (that I headcanon away), but it's adorable. Plus, graveyard dates. He's very Gomez Addams but without all the public displays of affection (which I also headcanon away because fuck that noise).

END SPOILERS

My last point in the spoilers section about Emmrich's romance is my biggest complaint of the game. There's very little actual romance! And it's because you can't roll up to your companions at any given time and open a dialogue with them. There's no open conversation option. You only get to talk to them if they have a time-sensitive marker or a quest marker on their icon on the map. No free smooches on the ramparts!

And the romance moments we do get are so few and far between in a game that is absolutely massive, not in terms of map size this time, but in terms of content. There is so much good content (as opposed to the shit side quests of collecting 10 bear asses in the Hinterlands of Inquisition). The side quests all feel directly tied to the area's story so they all feel worth doing. We're never doing dumb shit like drawing constellations in the sky or finding shards through tranquil mage skulls (don't ever forget that they used the skulls of mages forced into tranquility specifically for this purpose).

Now I'm not through the whole game yet, but I'm hearing and seeing that there's next to no nudity. Given that on top of the lack of open convos and sparse romantic content, I'm bummed. I still love Emmrich, and I know I'll enjoy the others when I do get to them (because I plan on it). But damn. I was hoping for Desk Scene (iykyk) levels of spice outta this crew.

That's it. Halfway through the game and this is how I feel so far. I'm thoroughly enjoying the game and will continue to binge it. I have Rooks planned for the rest of the companions, too. Femme elf rogue crow to romance Davrin, femme qunari warrior lords of fortune to romance Harding, femme human shadow dragon rogue to romance Neve, femme elf warrior veil jumper to romance Bellara, masc elf mage grey warden to romance Lucanis.

I'd like to see your thoughts!

[sgiandubh]

Delulu vs. trululu

As expected, promo for the overall stodgy TCND just started in NYC, including with this released and then quickly deleted Instagram pic, shared by the Sassenach Spirits' account:

Not the cleverest marketing & sales move, if you ask me. Knowing this fandom's usual bigot and/or scoffing triggers (which I tend to think S & team do, and rather very well), why even entertain lurid speculation and, by the same token, an unnecessarily juvenile image of The Co-founder? Oh, how I wish they'd step up their game a bit and perhaps be more coherent with that fresh, witty sales approach that first caught my eye!

Why. A rhetorical question that never grows old, as far as SC are concerned. Take for example the latest interview released yesterday by the Fangirlish.com website, which is barely a blurb in the great Instagram tapestry. 6k followers do not a great media outlet make, I believe and they've been around since 2011 (!).

Perhaps on design or perhaps because both of them DGAF anymore, we were treated to these parallel public statements on a rarely brought about and carefully censored calibrated topic: personal lives.

[Source: https://fangirlish.com/2025/01/12/interview-sam-heughan-and-caitriona-balfe-on-jamie-claires-growth-in-outlander/]

While C ambiguously mentions what Claire's character brought to who she is now, she is probably throwing to the scrapheap that constipated but convenient braggadocio that she was 'totally able to separate between Claire and herself'. Something we kept on reading ad nauseam from EFH to the Remarkable Week-end and beyond. She now readily acknowledges she has led 'this project alongside S', all the while - which is even more telling - 'assuming everything that implies'. For some reason, I doubt she simply meant the rather decorous EP functions, but also the entire emotional burden of it all, to which this damned fandom is not exactly a stranger. As we have long surmised, they are in this thing together and they did it together (been together, loved together, lived together, lied together...) all along this tortuous path. Cue in the usual venom that they can't stand each other anymore, I don't really care, at this point in time.

S dutifully obliges as C's sounding board and takes it the needed (but completely unnecessary, Narrative-wise) extra mile: JAMMF has given him 'an incredible relationship, one I never thought I’d have'.

Surely he does not mean Flukenzie Floozy or the entire Fitness Harem panoply, Ha-wa-wee 🐰and Dubai Burlesque included. And she could have rectified on the spot or poked fun at him or anything in between. Yet, she did not: surely Tracula is again the 'very understanding' character of that plot!

Why even bring it up all of this now? Why even mention personal stuff both of them have a rather appalling PR management of, from unnecessary exposure to gaslighting an entire fandom and probably also the kitchen sink?

For the sake of an ending series?

Oh, come on - give me a break, here. We are neither delulu, nor stupid.

PS: Thank you for the pic. You know who you are ;)

Later edit: I am told with good reason that is was not Sassenach Spirits which posted that pic, but the Instagram user @stevieme88 - a bartender at that last SS event in the US. He then proceeded to go private again, but the pic was downloaded and shared by that very well informed vigilante account, which then chose to tag Sassenach Spirits (why?).

Gracias a ti, siempre.

[cajon-desastre]

Celebrating Outlander's 10th Anniversary with a special interview ft. Matthew B. Roberts and Maril Davis - Enjoy!

Season One

Hello Sassenachs of Reddit!

We hope you’ve been enjoying our celebrations in honor of the ten year anniversary of Outlander! This subreddit has been such a phenomenal resource and community for Outlander fans that we wanted to do something special for you all. So this week during the production of Season 8 we pulled both Matthew B. Roberts and Maril Davis from their busy schedules to do a quick Q&A about their early days on the show. The resulting answers are transcribed below for a bit of bonus reading material. -XO, Bestie

Let’s talk about the premiere episode, “Sassenach,” which is turning 10 years old. When you look back, what do you remember that fans might not know?

Maril Davis: Well, I don't know if this is a fun fact, but our first shot of that episode was Claire in the scene where she comes out after treating the soldiers and the war is over and she drinks the champagne. That was literally our first scene that we shot from that episode. We took a picture of the clapboard and all kinda looked around and felt like, oh, this is the start of something special. I didn't know it was gonna be this special. I didn’t know it would be this many years. That was my first memory of it.

Caitríona Balfe on her first day on set.

The day the magic began!

Matthew B. Roberts: Going back to the first episode, everybody was new. In a weird way, we were all Sassenachs. We had this group from Los Angeles that came over here and even though everybody spoke English, it was like being in a whole new world. And then we had a cast that was new to a big, American television show - certainly Caitríona and Sam. So, there were a lot of newbies, so to speak. I know a lot of people had worked in the industry for a long time but it just felt like we all stepped through the stones in that first episode. The first day was a little weird because it was not in Scotland, it was in “France,” because we did Claire being a nurse in France for our first day. And I believe we even did a little side unit of Claire learning how to smoke with Uncle Lamb. So, we were all over the place but it was really exciting. I remember the group of us being so excited to hear the word “action” and get going, you know? 

Do you remember the first time you ever watched the finished episode either in edit or among fans at the first premiere?

Maril Davis: I remember the first two episodes because they were kind of like a pair… watching those and just being so excited because, as a fan of the books, seeing that come to life was very special. I knew so immediately that we cast this series so well. I knew in that moment, “Wow, this is gonna work!” I remember having that feeling in the edit.

Matthew B. Roberts: I don't remember the day but it's like this: we've all watched premieres. We've all watched pilots. But when you watch something and you go, “Wow. We have a show…” I remember the feeling of watching it. “Wow. This is something I have not seen.” You congratulate yourself but you never know if you’re ever gonna get a back 9 or if you're ever going to get a second season. You're always hanging on a thread. We didn't know. And it wasn't broadcast television, so you still didn't know. I don't think we were quite done when we started airing. So we got some feedback and we were living in the days of social media really gearing up so that instantaneous feedback was something new. I'll tell you, that was weird! ... I didn't really get it until around the end of the second season how impactful the show had been to a lot of people. We put it out there but the fans bring the characters into their homes each week. They fell in love with them, they fell in love with the show, and they wanted more. And I know how I felt when I would watch my favorite shows and they would go on hiatus and you're like, “Oh god, please come back!” You wanna spend more time with these people that are now your friends and family that you care for.

As for the fan events… we had a really big premiere in LA for Season 5. So many people came up to me and said how much it meant to them. They didn't say it was good. They didn't say they liked the show. They said how much it meant to them. And that to me is different than, “I like the show.” That means a lot to me. 

The Season 5 Premiere in Los Angeles.

The story goes that Matt gave Maril the books around 2011/2012 because she was looking for a new project with Ronald D. Moore. Matt, how did you come upon the books?

Matthew B. Roberts: In one of my first jobs in the industry, a long time ago, I was a reader where you read scripts and books and do coverage on them. The production company I was working for handed me these books and they wanted to make TV movies out of them. I read the books and I liked them but I passed on them. I said, “They're just too big, there's too much in them. There's no way you could do it.” … I just couldn't imagine Outlander, any one of the books to tell you the truth, in an hour and forty minutes. You’d lose so much. So, I passed. And I literally made the note, “But it would make a great television show.” … Then Maril was outside my office one day talking to another friend of ours… she was looking for something epic. I just so happened to have the books on my shelf still. I kinda carried them along, they were too big, so I kept them in my office. I brought them out to her and I said, “Here, read these.” And she read them and fell in love with them. As the quote goes, the rest is history!

What stood out about the books that let you know this would be a fantastic TV show? 

Matthew B. Roberts: The shows that I loved and really bonded with had love stories that endured and it could be different kinds of love stories. There are friends. It could be husband and wife. It could be boyfriend girlfriend. Girlfriend girlfriend. Boyfriend boyfriend. It didn't matter, they were love stories. And when you start reading Outlander and you get into it, you start to realize, “Wow, this is an epic story!” When you start getting into over the course of time, you go, “Oh, it could be very episodic too. It's not only episodic, but it's serialized.” You can kind of come into it at a different time because there's time travel. If you started Outlander in Season 3, Season 3 kind of stands up on its own and then you go backwards and you go, “Oh, that's how they got there.” Oddly enough, when they handed me the books, I just took the top book off and read it and it just happened to be Dragonfly in Amber. I didn't read Outlander first. They didn't tell me there was an order. So I just read Dragonfly in Amber and it held up perfectly fine. Then I went back and read Outlander, and I was like, “Oh, that's how all that happened” but it still held up perfectly fine. You could tell Outlander in 50 different ways–pick a spot, start there and go backwards and forwards. As a storyteller, in television terms, you realize there's so much material here but there's also so much emotion over the course of this journey. And isn't that what we hear stories for? It's to be afraid, or to fall in love, or to fantasize, or to travel somewhere you can't go. Well, Outlander does all that.

Was there anything about the first season of the show that you fought for—for example, casting, certain lines or plot points, characters, etc.—and are proud to have in the show? 

Matthew B. Roberts: You know, that first writer's room was fun. It was fun to bring all the ideas and favorite parts because everybody had different things that they really liked about the book. And, to tell you the truth, that's how it works. You bond with certain parts of the story. I think the one thing that we felt very strongly about was can we tell this book the way it's meant to be told in the sense that Claire's narrative and inner journey is very big in these books. We had to go with the conceit, be bold and go, “We're just gonna do voice over.” It’s something that we don't keep up with all the time now because Claire has people to talk to. It's one of the reasons why, not only did we love the Murtagh character, but Murtagh gave Claire and Jamie someone to talk to when you're trying to get out of the head. We always say you can't film a thought and because so much of Claire's emotional journey is in her internal dialogue and monologues, we had to figure out how to get that out. We just dove into the conceit. But we learned our lesson in the first season. We had probably too many and they were too long, so we'd have to pause shooting and the actors would have to just stand around because we knew 45 seconds of voice over would come and we went, we can't do that anymore. So, we had to struggle and figure out, alright, what's the best way of doing this? Let's just play the action and see where it fits. So rather than make room for it, we kind of calibrated it in the timings.

Maril Davis: You could say I fought for Caitríona but I wasn't the only one. I remember we were about three weeks away from filming. We had potential other choices and we could have easily made the call to pick one of the other actresses for the role because production was really on us. It's very unusual to start in 2-3 weeks on a shoot this big and not have an actress. And Costume needed a Claire. I just remember saying to Ron in our office, if we don't get these two right, if we don't get the right Jamie and Claire, if they don't have the right chemistry, we're never going to succeed. So, I felt very strongly that we had to wait for the right person. And literally the next day, Toni Graphia sent me an email saying I found this woman named Caitríona. We got so many casting tapes. She was in an area we hadn't seen, maybe overlooked, or maybe that hadn't been presented to us for some reason. We all watched her and instantly knew and flew her out to Los Angeles. It went very fast from there.

What has been the most difficult thing about adapting Outlander for the screen?

Matthew B. Roberts: The challenge is to take what is meant for a book, that medium, and bring it to life. We simply cannot do certain scenes the way they're written just from a sheer time and budget standpoint. And you know it as soon as you read it, you go “God, I wish we could do this.” And you know you can't. We can't get this many people, or they can't build this many costumes in this amount of time. So, we pick the moments. … Oddly enough in Season 3, the Battle of Culloden technically isn't in the book. We find Jamie after. On the first pass, Culloden was really big and we realized we couldn’t film it, not the way it was written, so we had to figure out a way of bringing all that emotion to the screen but still have the feeling of a battle. That's what I think we've done really well. I think the group has done such a magnificent job because we don't need to show all the battles, we need to show the emotion and why it matters to Jamie and Claire. Once we went, “It's not about the fighting and the blowing up... It's about who we care about in these battles, focus on them,” then we brought down the scale a little bit and filmed what was important. 

Sam Heughan filming the Battle of Culloden (Episode 301).

Maril Davis: I think a lot of seasons have been challenging. I actually think this last season has been the most challenging. Every season has its challenge but some seasons just work out so well. I’m incredibly proud of Season 7. We didn't know if we were ending with Season 7 so we took two books and had so much material to choose from. The first season was also very easy because it was so easy to follow the books. … Season 8 has been challenging not only because we're ending before the books (so that is its own challenge) but it's also the last season. There's a lot of pressure. I feel like this book is a set up for the next book and its finale. So it's been challenging to try to go out on a season when you don't have the ending at hand.

Maril Davis and the crew on the set of Season 8 (from her Instagram @nightmaril)

Looking back at when you first started production, what were the main challenges or surprises of shooting Season 1 in Scotland?

Maril Davis: When we first started here, we were told that everyone shoots 11 day fortnights. So, for the first 3 months, we were in 11 day fortnights. For Americans who don't know, we shot the full week through Saturday and only had Sunday off, basically. It was very difficult and I think we were all dragging. Then we found out they do 11 day fortnights in the UK but usually on very short runs, shows that are 4 or 5 episodes long. About 3 months in, we went back to a more traditional 5 days a week and that was a huge relief. It was also very challenging in the beginning with the weather in very remote areas. But I honestly look back on those days and those are some of my happiest memories. I think we felt like we were all in it together and doing something really special. Even though it was tough, I really cherish those first seasons.

Sam Heughan and Caitríona Balfe during the filming of Season 1.

Matthew B. Roberts: It’s been a pretty amazing transformation, I'd say. When we started out, the studios that we have now manufactured parts for cell phones or something. It was just hollowed out empty warehouses and we transformed it over a decade. Now, it's essentially a working studio. We have construction. We have a mill. We have costume warehouses. We have prop warehouses. We can fabricate almost anything there. We also now have seven stages. We started off with two. And they weren't soundproofed! When it rained really hard we had to yell “cut” and we had to open up the doors to get the smoke out because we used real candles. Now we have extractors. It's soundproofed. It's a modern studio. We've really come a long way! Also with the crews. The first year, we brought crews up from different parts of the UK and once Outlander became established, so many of the Scots who had had to leave home to work came back and they got to go to their homes and families every night. They could work on a show that they were proud of, or I think they're proud of.  

Our cast of characters have become so iconic! Do you have any favorite memories from seeing any of the cast embody their characters for the first time? 

Matthew B. Roberts: We started in the writers’ room a year before we started filming. We had lived with these characters for a long time. I'd read all the books up to that point multiple times before we even started. So, I was fighting what I'd already imagined. And then you have people stepping on the stage and you go, “Is that Jamie Fraser? Is that Claire Fraser?” … You get something that you didn't expect and that you didn't even know you wanted. I didn't know I wanted Murtagh to live on but after seeing Duncan play him, I did. And that just happened over and over and over. I mean, think about what Lauren Lyle did with Marsali. She brought her to life and then you just keep writing to that. You dig those stories out of the books and go, “Let’s tell those stories.” That happened over and over again. Jamie and Claire were always going to be the through line. The more Caitríona and Sam embodied them and brought their own take to the characters, we found that current in the river. You go, “Let's take that path because that's the way they're taking the characters and those are the stories you want to tell.” So you mine those out of the book.

Maril Davis: Caitríona and Sam, obviously… seeing them together for the first time in Los Angeles. They met for the first time at Sony Studios. They have a very small screening room that's outside one of the office buildings and that's where they first met the first time. We all just were like, “Oh, this is really going to work. That was amazing.” Also, we cast Sam first, so Sam was able to read with some of our other cast besides Caitríona. I was in London once with him and got to see him read with Graham McTavish for the first time. It was really exciting seeing their chemistry. It came down to Graham and another actor, and their chemistry really popped on the screen. What was also interesting about that casting session is that we had Sam read with Laura Donnelly. At the time, she was a potential Claire contender. As soon as we saw her we all were like, this is our Jenny. She was fabulous, so she could’ve easily done any part, but just seeing them together and realizing “we have Jamie's sister” was also really special

What has been the most surprising thing that has happened to you, or to your careers, because of Outlander?  

Matthew B. Roberts: I don't know if I can answer “surprising.” I can answer that Outlander's given me a lot. I've gone from Producer to Showrunner and it's given me the ability to do a lot more in my career than I might have imagined ten years ago. It's given me a new family in Scotland that I didn't know that I could have. I've built lifetime friendships. We talk a lot about Outlander being a family. We've established this place, this studio, and so much of our crew that's worked from the very first episode are still here. Some have gone out, but they come back. I think it's because we built a really caring family. That's why we've had so many babies born. If Outlander ever comes back in ten years, we have a full crew just ready to go!

Maril Davis: I was talking to Diana Gabaldon the other day because we can see the light at the end of the tunnel, although that's not an appropriate way to describe this ending because light at the end of the tunnel means you're almost done and you're pleased about it. It's such a bittersweet ending. We're all incredibly sad. It's been a tough season because of the emotions of it all. But I was just thanking her because I truly feel like I'm not sure I'll have this experience again on another show. I have other shows, and I will have other shows, but I feel like this was, in a weird way, my first, along with a lot of other people's first—Sam, Caitríona, Toni, Matt… so many of us. This was the thing that really launched us all and we did it together. The TV industry has changed and now there's so much more saturation that this is just a very special one. When you're involved with something like this and you get a crew, cast, and writers you love… we all realized how special this was. That's one of the reasons it's hard to leave it, because it feels like such a defining moment for everyone's career at the same time and you don't often get that in this industry. You certainly don't often get 10 years of making a show.

After all these years, is there anything that you haven’t been asked about Outlander that you’d like to talk about?

Matthew B. Roberts: We get asked a lot, you know, what are funny moments or what are your favorite moments? I don't have favorites. I think that every episode is supposed to do the thing it's supposed to do and if you take one away, then you can't get to the next one… So many of us care about this show and I mean deeply care about it. We put our hearts and souls into this show for 10 years, 12 years for some of us that started on day one, and we want to see it all the way through. Is it important that people like it? Of course. But I think it's more important that it means something to them.

Maril Davis: Oh my god. What question have I never been asked? I will say, when you're not an actor, you get asked the questions that are a little more dry. You don't get the fun things, like, who cracks up the most in the writers' room? Actually, I'm not sure anyone totally cracks up. I don't know if that would be me. But we don't get asked the fun questions. We get asked: What's the tone of this season? Can you describe this season in 10 words?

Okay Maril, here’s one fun question to close us out then… obviously, the costumes on Outlander have been amazing. If you could steal any of them, which would you steal?

Maril Davis: Claire, in the first season, had this amazing riding coat with fur trim that she then gave to Brianna and that Brianna wore. I love that. And, I mean, the Dior suit. It feels like you gotta go with that.

The riding coat and the "Dior Suit."

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[thetruthwilloutsworld]

If anyone knows a thing or two about sex scenes, it’s Sam Heughan. Over the past decade, the 43-year-old Scottish star of Outlander, the cult-hit historical drama, has filmed hours of notoriously raunchy footage in his role as Jamie Fraser, the dashing 18th-­century Highland rebel, with his wife, Claire – a time-traveller from the 20th century, played by ­Caitríona Balfe.

Yet two years ago, Heughan, as one of the executive producers (with Balfe), introduced an intimacy co-ordinator to choreograph such scenes, which had been criticised by many as excessively violent.

“The industry’s completely changed since Outlander started,” Heughan says, sitting in a Soho bar on a visit to London from his home outside Glasgow. “Not just our show but also shows like Game of Thrones were very graphic, with no room for the imagination, in a way that’s quite jarring now. As young, keen actors, we were just expected to get naked and go at it. Caitríona and I formed a bond and trusted each other, but there were times when we were pushed too far.” He was especially troubled by a scene involving full-frontal nudity in ­season one, when Jamie was tortured and raped by his rival, Black Jack Randall (Tobias Menzies). “That really didn’t sit well.”

Everything changed following the MeToo scandal, leading ­Heughan to employ Vanessa Coffey to choreograph the sex scenes. “So now everyone knows what the boundaries are, like in a football or rugby match. It’s been so helpful and freeing, and it was because I didn’t want younger actors to go through what we’d gone through. Now, the scenes are sexually charged, but not gratuitous.”

Despite his heartthrob status, Heughan – who’s 6ft 2in, with the strapping physique his role necess­i­tates – is modest and thoughtful company. He also had Coffey enlisted to co-ordinate his latest pro­ject, Channel 4’s erotic thriller The Couple Next Door, filmed during the short break between Outlander’s seasons nine and 10, in which he plays Danny, a policeman living in a Leeds suburb in an open marriage with Becka (Jessica De Gouw).

“We didn’t want to make a salacious or seedy show about swingers,” Heughan says. “It’s about the psychology behind it – what is it to be in an open relationship where two characters love each other so much that they can invite people into that relationship? I think it’s possibly the greatest form of romance to allow your partner this, if it’s the itch they need to scratch. My character struggles with it.

The couple’s (initially) strait-laced neighbours are played by Alfred Enoch and Eleanor Tom­linson, who in 2019 finished five seasons as Demelza in Poldark. With Outlander about to start ­filming its final season, she and Heughan compared notes on moving on from a huge, long-running costume drama.

“It’s emotional. For me, the prospect’s hugely bittersweet. It feels like getting out of an institution. Outlander’s like a family, it literally defines who I am.” After all, Heughan has created an empire of Outlander spin-offs, including books, television travelogues and his spirits brand, The Sassenach – named after Jamie’s nickname for the English Claire – not to mention his charity, My Peak Challenge, which has raised nearly £5 million to fund a variety of causes, including ­hunger relief and blood-cancer research. “I’m ready for new challenges, but also nervous about what it’s like in the real world,” he says.

Still, he felt now was the right time to wrap. “Outlander could have finished after the ninth season, but, personally, I felt we hadn’t quite got there. So now we have the problem of pushing the writers to do something that’s hopefully satisfying for the audience, but also exciting.” So Heughan doesn’t yet know how Outlander ends? “No idea, and it’s really tough because Diana [Gabaldon, the author on whose novels the series is based] has written so many books.”

The show has a vast international fanbase; VisitScotland has cited a 67 per cent rise in visits to the show’s locations, such as Culloden and Inverness. “I do feel like I’m an unofficial ambassador for Scotland, and sometimes I don’t think the show is given enough credit for what it’s done for Scottish tourism,” Heughan says. “I think the numbers are even bigger than they say, because reams of Americans are just making their own itineraries. Doune Castle’s numbers are up 800 per cent, it’s been completely renovated as a result.”

The show has also transformed the local film industry. “For 10 years, we’ve been employing ­people at over 200 Scottish locations, we’ve started an intern scheme, we’ve built a studio with five sound stages where there was nothing before. So it’s going to leave a legacy.”

The son of an artist single mother (his father walked out when he was a baby), Heughan spent his early childhood in the Borders, his teens in Edinburgh, before studying at Glasgow’s Royal Scottish Academy of Music and Drama, where his mentor was third-year student James McAvoy.

Having worked in London and Los Angeles, Heughan fell back in love with Scotland when he was cast in Outlander. Initially against independence, filming the first ­season in the run-up to the 2016 ­referendum transformed him into a vocal advocate. “Scottish politics right now is a bit of a mess, which is a shame, but maybe they’ll find a new rallying cry. We’re a great wee country with amazing resources, most of which are controlled by the British. Similar small European countries have great identities.”

Initially, Heughan is hesitant to discuss the issue, aware taking either side will provoke a social-media backlash, but then he decides: “Why can’t actors have opi­n­ions? The problem is you have to come down on one side, there is no room for deb­ate. Everything has be­come so aggressive and then social-media algo­rithms mean you only get to see one side of the argument.”

He had his fingers burnt when last month he signed an open letter from Artists for Palestine UK, alongside the likes of Tilda Swinton and Steve Coogan, which accused the Government of “aiding and abetting” Israeli war crimes, but failed to condemn Hamas’s terrorism. The following day, Heughan rescinded, saying he hadn’t ���fully understood” what he was signing.

“I was maybe naively calling for peace, which is what we all want, but, unfortunately, that situation is so complex, I can’t understand it all,” he says now. “As an actor, you have a platform, but if you put your thoughts out there, you upset ­people, but you’re also damned if you don’t say anything.”

Heughan’s taking time to navigate a potential post-Outlander career path. “I’m a workaholic, but I have to be discerning. Whatever I do next, I have to feel really passionate about.” Possible plans include directing and exploring a different side to Scotland than misty heather and bagpipes. “I think that underbelly you see in [Ian Rankin’s] Rebus and Irvine Welsh is very interesting, there are still pockets that are very hard and gritty.”

Back in 2005, he auditioned for James Bond in Casino Royale – the role that eventually went to Daniel Craig. Now, there’s a new vacancy. “I’ll throw my hat in the ring,” he says, grinning. “I’d be a brilliant Bond, I’m good at action and I’d bring a lot of ­emotional intelligence.”

There might even be space for a personal life. Heughan’s mystified by “facts” he reads about his private life online. “There’s so much ­nonsense that’s completely false – apparently, I have a daughter. News to me!” he says, flushing. The truth, he says, is that Outlander leaves no time for relationships.

“It’s insane hours and takes over everything. Caitríona’s carved out a beautiful family for herself that she protects very well, but I’ve seen how hard it is for her to do that. I want a cat, but I’m too scared even for that, how would I look after it? One day, maybe,” Heughan says, dreamily.

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