Outlander Star Sam Heughan Says One Episode Was 'Really Draining to Film'


Outlander Season 6 is coming in a few weeks, and now, star Sam Heughan, who plays Jamie Fraser in Star's show, has reflected on his time. Looking back at the first run of episodes, Sam detailed which episode was the hardest not only for him to film but also the crew filming.

Jamie had already been through a lot before meeting the time-traveling doctor Claire Fraser (Caitriona Balfe) and was a wanted man in Scotland, butt there was much more torture coming for him.

In the finale of the the first season of Outlander, titled To Ransom a Man's Soul, "Black" Jack Randall (Tobias Menzies), the monstrous rogue officer in the British army occupying 1700s Scotland, ruthlessly pursues his goal of manipulating his longtime sexual obsession, Jamie Fraser into having sex with him after Jamie asked him to let Claire go in exchange for his freedom.

Randall used different ways to break Jamie's resistance, making him vulnerable. At one point, Randall coerced a disoriented Jamie into marking himself with his brand, dehumanizing him completely, so he can become Randall's property.

Randall went on to rape and torture Jamie to the point he wanted to die, but Claire and Jamie's men eventually broke into the prison to rescue him but he went through a long recovery journey. Looking back on filming that episode, Sam explained how difficult it was for both himself and the crew.

“Episode 16 is one of the most challenging things I've ever filmed,” Sam admitted in the Outlander Forever Collector’s Issue (via Express). “Jamie's torture was extreme and really draining to film for cast and crew, not only for the viewer to watch."

Eventually, Jamie was able to get revenge when he faced Randall on the battlefield at Culloden with the military leader killed.

To the contrary, Sam said he loved Season 4, Episode 9, The Birds and The Bees, which sees Jamie come face-to-face with his daughter Brianna (Sophie Skelton) after believing they’d never meet. Brianna travelled back to the past to warn her parents that they were in trouble and would die in a fire.

“Jamie and Brianna finally meeting was such an iconic moment, and Sophie is so fun to work with,” he said. “We laughed a lot while hunting bees and this episode is where we see father and daughter really bond.”

Related: Outlander Season 6: Bree and Roger's Story is 'Sort of Starting All Over Again" as They're Forced to Settle in the Past

Heughan will return in Outlander Season 6, which is is set to premiere on Sunday, March 6, on Starz in the U.S.; fans outside the U.S. can watch it on Netflix globally. For more details, check out everything we know about Outlander Season 6 here. If you're wondering where to watch the previous seasons of Outlander before the new season comes out, check out our guide here.

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