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Outlander's Caitriona Balfe and Sam Heughan Answer Every Question (Well, Almost) About That Season Six Finale
The pair reveals the hardest part of the episode to film, and where the series is most likely to pick up when it returns.
Outlander's season six finale just left us with one hell of a cliffhanger. It's going to make however long this next Droughtlander lasts even harder to get through. At least knowing that production is well underway on the new season is of some comfort. With any luck, we'll be getting answers before spring 2023. (Now is a good time to point out that if you haven't watched the season six finale yet, bookmark this page and come back once you have.)
So let's get to the good stuff, shall we? The episode—titled “I Am Not Alone”—opens with the theme song, and not a cold open as is usually the case. We soon understand why: Claire—or if it's not Claire, it's a woman who looks nearly exactly like her—is seen at a diner in the late '50s or so with a fellow companion (most likely a young Bree) ordering a Coke, burger, and fries. That's really all we get before we shift back to the late 1700s as Claire is about to be arrested for a murder she didn't commit.
Richard Brown, the head of the Committee of Safety, says he will leave the Ridge only when he has Claire in his possession. Jamie is not about to let that happen, and neither is Claire: She shoots one of Brown's men who tries to capture her. All hell breaks out in the form of a shoot-out, and we see that brief moment from the opening credits where Claire purposefully walks out of her house with a rifle and takes aim. Meanwhile, Jamie says Claire being mistakenly arrested for Malva's death is only an excuse for revenge on Marsali for killing Richard Brown's brother Lionel (from the season five finale).
Much further away, we take a break from all the chaos and see Roger and Bree as they travel to Edenton. They discuss if and when they'll eventually tell Jemmy about time travel and what they went through to be together.
Back at the Ridge, there's a break amongst the violence as everyone regroups, but Claire and Jamie know they have a huge battle ahead of them. All I can think of (aside from their safety, of course) is their poor house and the mess they'll have to clean up. Of course, they'd be only so lucky to have that problem; at this rate, survival is all that matters.
Hundreds of miles away, with Jemmy asleep, Roger and Bree get busy while talking dirty about cars (you had to be there). But in all seriousness, it's a lovely moment between the couple.
As that's happening, Claire and Jamie start talking about what they'd want for their last meal; Claire votes for a cheeseburger, fries, and a Coke from Carmi's, a diner she used to take Bree to when she was little. “That was our regular order,” she tells her husband, and now that opening scene makes a lot more sense.
Meanwhile, Claire wants to know where their friends are, like Ian, to help them out of this predicament. Jamie says he doubts they're coming because they would have been there by now. Claire starts to spiral and thinks no one wants to help her because maybe they think she really did kill Malva. It's a harrowing thought, but my attention quickly turns to Adso, who is alive and well and walking in front of the fireplace.
Jamie then tells Claire about several of his near-death experiences over the years as they reminisce about days gone by. Jamie says a psychic of sorts once told him he was a cat and he saw the number nine, so Claire thinks that means he must have nine lives. (Appropriate.) We then see Adso (again!) eating his meal, and I really hope the writers are going to write this little guy in more in season seven. What a scene stealer!
OK, back to the real story: It's now the middle of the night, and Jamie must wake Claire up to tell her that the fisherfolk are coming. They've been sent to the Ridge to negotiate on behalf of Richard Brown. Things quickly escalate and talk turns to the possibility that Jamie killed Malva, not Claire. Then Richard Brown appears and says Claire must stand trial because if she's really innocent, what is there to be fearful of?
Eventually Lizzie and several of Jamie and Claire's allies show up, but Jamie says he and Claire have no choice but to leave with Brown and stand trial. Tom Christie then appears and says he will travel with them to make sure no further evil will be done. “Surely justice is mine if it be anyone's,” he declares. Jamie agrees, and I can only hope that Lizzie will take care of Adso, but I'm going to need some sort of confirmation.
Before Jamie and Claire leave, Tom says they should stay one more night at their house, in their own bed. Jamie thanks him. While Tom is far from the typical Outlander villain, there's something to be said for his kindness in the face of such turmoil.
On their last night in the house (at least for now), Claire reiterates to Jamie that they have a beautiful home, as if this is the last night they'll ever spend there. Jamie says this won’t be the last time they see it. In bed, Claire says she’s scared. They caress each other’s faces and have one more intimate lovemaking session before they embark on the unknown. It’s so very Mr. and Mrs. Smith with the shards of shattered glass and bullets and broken furniture around them even though they aren't each other's enemies.
The next morning Claire and Jamie are in a wagon as they prepare to say goodbye to the Ridge. On the journey, Tom Christie comes over at a resting point to give Claire some food. They will soon continue on to Wilmington, which is 200 miles away. One of the men wants to go to Cross Creek, but Richard says Jamie’s aunt lives near there and there’d never be a fair trial. Meanwhile, Richard condescendingly says Jamie need not worry, as Salisbury doesn’t have a court, but he let everyone know Claire is guilty. Tom is sitting nearby and seems to take pity on Claire for what she's having to go through.
Back at the Ridge, Lizzie tells Ian that Claire and Jamie have been taken. More on that later.
While in the wagon, Jamie tells Claire that Brown is losing control of his men and this is more trouble than it’s worth. Claire says Tom is very tired and wants to know his purpose in all of this. So do I.
Before we can get answers, people in the nearby town start throwing rocks and stones at the wagon, which hits Claire in the head. Tom yells at the townspeople to stop, that this isn’t justice. He tires to get Richard Brown to get a hold of his men, but that's not quite working so Tom shoots at them. Tom also looks really ill, and I'm truly worried that if something happens to him then Claire's life will really be in danger.
Back to Roger and Bree, who are traveling through the most gorgeous of green landscapes. I need to know where this magical setting is. Jemmy is super cute and tells Bree’s pregnant belly that he loves his future baby brother or sister so much. He also scratches his head, which causes Bree to notice he has lice and they'll have to cut his hair. You know there's something more to this, and there is: Bree notices a mark on her son's head, which Roger identifies as a nevus. It's nothing bad, he says, and doesn't usually develop until kids are two or three. Roger then nonchalantly says he has one as well and they're hereditary. Ding dong! Bree realizes that Jemmy is for sure Roger's son, and Roger immediately has Bree cut his hair, too. What a moment!
In less happier news, Claire’s hands are bruised and bloody from the rocks and stones that were thrown at her in the wagon. Jamie says Richard might regret all of this since the act of just getting Claire to a place to put her on trial is more than he bargained for. Later, Jamie goes outside to relieve himself and sees none other than young Ian! And he's not alone: Ian brought help! Jamie is thrilled but cautious and advises Ian not to act on anything yet and just stay close. Jamie says he if he tries to escape, it will look like an admission of guilt. Ian says he'll keep an eye on things and follow along.
Later, one of Richard Brown's men dies, but Richard doesn't care. “We ride on,” he says. But when Jamie is told to get out of the wagon to get water, Richard's other men start beating up on Jamie and take him captive. To his and Claire's horror, Richard orders his men to ride off with her. Richard says he’s not doing this for revenge on his brother Lionel because he knows he wasn’t a good man and what he did to Claire was awful, but this is because she’s a murderer. Then Tom rides up and says, “What the meaning of this? You promised not to hurt them.” Tom, have you not learned anything? Anyway, Tom will go supervise Claire because he promised Jamie he wouldn’t let her out of his sight. But Claire is beside herself. Even so, Claire says—via a voiceover—that Tom is right, because without him, she would be good as dead. Her only small hope is that if news of her arrest reaches Wilmington ahead of her, then maybe it will reach Roger and Bree in Edenton as well.
Much later, Claire is scared that Jamie is dead and Tom won’t admit it if he is. She then looks outside the wagon and sees she's in New Hanover. She’s placed in a prison block and locked up by the town sheriff without any food or water. But Tom, who really is looking out for Claire, comes by with some sustenance. But most important, he says, “Believe me, your husband is alive. Trust in God. He will deliver the righteous out of danger.” She responds by asking if he thinks she's righteous. He says he won't leave town and to trust in that too. You have to wonder just what Tom knows about his daughter's murder. Anyway, Richard Brown walks by Claire's cell and says he'll see her at the gallows. Yikes.
And then, as if this jam-packed hour couldn't be any more intense, we see Jamie tied up near the water. Brown's men are going to put Jamie on a ship to Edinburgh, Scotland. One of those men, Oakes, tells him he'll never see Claire again. Just as Jacoby is about to pummel Jamie with a large log, young Ian kills Jacoby from a hilltop above with his bow and arrow. Jamie is saved!
Well, not yet. As young Ian and the fellow members of the First Nation use their weapons to kill the rest of Brown's men, they take aim at Oakes, who still has Jamie tied up. Jamie tells Ian and Chief Bird not to kill Oakes because he knows where Claire is. Then Ian says, “So do we, uncle.” Chief Bird shoots Oakes with his rifle and the bullet goes straight through Oakes's hand into his eye socket. This has to be the most gruesome killing we've seen in some time, right?
Chief Bird walks up to Jamie and says, “I told you I would fight with you, Bear Killer.” Ian releases Jamie, and I'm so elated, I can't stand it. Then, in one of the most gorgeous establishing shots we've seen on the show, Jamie, Ian, Chief Bird, and the other good guys ride off in the sunset to rescue Claire.
What an episode, right?! But will Tom still be alive by the time Jamie gets to Claire? He's also been through the ringer, and while he has vowed to protect Claire, I don't have the same faith that Richard feels the same way about Tom. When Jamie does get to Claire (because obviously he has to), what kind of shape will his wife be in? And will the show follow the books in regards to revealing Malva's killer?
That's where Caitriona Balfe and Sam Heughan come in. They hopped on Zoom from Scotland to try and answer my questions. Take a deep breath and read on.
Glamour: I got Mr. And Mrs. Smith vibes watching Claire and Jamie battle it out against Richard Brown and the Committee for Safety in the first part of the episode.
Sam Heughan: Am I Angelina?
Caitriona Balfe: You're definitely Angelina.
How hard was that to shoot? Because no pun intended, but you're literally shooting at everything, and everybody's shooting at you.
Caitriona: It was fun. It was sometimes hard for me to get off the floor. [Laughs.] I was six months pregnant, and I was a little concerned about what my child was thinking was going on out there. But we had fun, right?
Sam: We did. Interestingly, we shot all the exterior stuff first, so any conversation out of the window [that Jamie has with] the guys we shot maybe weeks before, and then we did all the interior scenes. It was kind of a bit of a jigsaw, but it was fun. I think that scene—the last supper—is beautiful. Caitriona, you spent the whole scene lying on the floor.
Caitriona: Yeah. But then I would have to get up at the end of it. We did multiple takes and they're like, “Can you get up?” I was like, “Oh.” [Laughs.]
Sam: And then we're blowing the house up. I think at one point they did have to redo it, didn't they? They had to reset a room. But anyway, we had to schedule all the interior stuff until the end of the shoot.
Jamie and Claire have a bittersweet last night in the house. What stands out for you about doing those scenes?
Sam: One of my favorite shots is Jamie and Claire's intimate scene when they're upstairs. When they're by the fire and the camera pans out and you see the destruction, the bits of the house that's completely broken, I think it's a metaphor for their reputation and for their whole world, right? It is being blown apart.
Let's talk about Tom Christie. He's not necessarily the best guy, but he's clearly looking out for Claire's wellbeing. Is it because she helped save his hand or might it be because he knows she really didn't kill Malva?
Sam: Or is it C, something else?
Caitriona: I think you're going to have to keep watching to find this all out. What has been lovely is that Mark Lewis Jones (Tom Christie) is amazing. Over this whole season, we've been able to see all of these layers under Tom. When we first met him, I think we can all agree that he was a bit of a pain in the ass. As we've gotten to know him more, he's a complex and complicated guy. There is a lot of heart there, I think.
When season seven premieres, will the storyline pick right up from where we leave Claire in the season six finale? Or will there be a bit of a time jump?
Caitriona: I don't know what we can say. They didn't actually tell us, so we can potentially just tell you everything.
Caitriona: Very soon after. Should we say that?
Sam: It's either A, directly after, B, fairly soon, or C, something else.
Well played, Sam. That last scene where young Ian comes in with Chief Bird and rescues Jamie had me cheering. What did you appreciate about that moment, for both the character of Jamie and you as an actor?
Sam: Firstly, working with those actors, you have a beautiful arc there, a beautiful story of Jamie not being sure which side they would be on and being reluctant to give them weapons. And then eventually he does and ultimately they're used to protect and to save Jamie. Working with our First Nation, they were such fun. We had a total blast with them. They really brought a lot of their culture and heritage to set. Outside of shooting, as well, there was a lot that we were talking about our different cultures and they were really fun. It's a beautiful ending and it's up an upbeat one as well. There's a chance that Jamie's going to come back and find Claire and rescue her.
Sam: There's a chance. He might. He might.
We've got to find out who killed Malva. We still don't know.
Caitriona: We'll never know.
We better know. I have to know.
Sam: A, you'll know. B, you know where I'm going with this.
I already know the title of this piece. It's going to be called multiple choice with Sam Heughan.
Well, thank you for making the time while you're in the middle of filming. Although since Sam had the day off, maybe he's drunk right now. I don't know…
Caitriona: A, he is. B, he's not. Or C, something else.
Sam: C, something else. I'm high. No. [Laughs.] I'm normally I'm drunk on these. So this is a first. We're learning something here.
And happy birthday too. By the time this piece runs, it'll be the day after your birthday. I hope they're throwing a big surprise party for you.
Sam: Oh, they are? Oh great.
Caitriona: Yeah. The Mariachi band is ordered, balloons are coming.
Jessica Radloff is the Glamour West Coast editor and author of the soon-to-be-published book The Big Bang Theory: The Definitive, Inside Story of the Epic Hit Series (October 11, 2022). You can follow her on Instagram @jessicaradloff14.
https://www.glamour.com/story/outlander-season-six-finale-recap
Remember… working with our First Nation (actors), they were such fun. We had a total blast with them. They really brought a lot of their culture and heritage to set. — Sam Heughan
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