‘Outlander’ Writer Matt Roberts On The Betrayal Of ‘Best Laid Schemes…’
Outlander mostly follows the books of the same name by author Diana Gabaldon, but even so, the show’s writers find it necessary to deviate from the books in some ways for dramatic effect and for telling a better story in the television medium. Outlander writer Matt Roberts recently opened up about the writing process for “Best Laid Schemes…” and how decisions made by characters in that episode may have long lasting repercussions for Jamie Fraser (Sam Heughan) and Claire Randall (Caitriona Balfe).
Outlander Creates An Impossible Situation And Risks Forever Altering The Future
Whatever else may have come to pass in this week’s episode of Outlander was instantly trumped by the final scenes of “Best Laid Plans…”, when Jamie defied Claire and broke his promise to stay his hand against Black Jack Randall (Tobias Menzies). Claire understood Jamie’s need for justice, but the Outlander character also recognized that killing Jack would prevent him from fathering a child with Mary Hawkins (Rosie Day), essentially extinguishing the family line from which Claire’s future husband, Frank Randall, would eventually be born. In asking Jamie to vow not to harm Jack for a period of one year, Claire was hoping to ensure the Randall family line.
Outlander deliberately avoided providing any exposition on why Jamie chose to betray Claire so soon after the promise had been made and Outlander writer Matt Roberts suggests that full disclosure will come in future episodes of Outlander, but, be that as it may, the duel between Jamie and Black Jack seemed unavoidable from the start. Claire raced to stop the fight as soon as she heard of it but arrived only in time to witness the fight in its final throes. Forced to watch, Balfe’s Outlander character could only stand by and ponder the consequences, knowing that one of her husbands would die. Either Jack would defeat Jamie and murder him on the spot, or Jamie would be victorious, slaying Jack and ending the family line and Frank’s existence.
The battle was eventually interrupted, as police arrived to take both participants into custody for dueling, but not before Claire collapsed from the stress the fight had caused. Bleeding and unconscious, the Outlander episode ended with the possibility that Claire may lose her own child, as well as one of her husbands.
Outlander Writer Matt Roberts Predicts An Emotional Journey For Fans
Roberts says Outlander fans won’t have to wait long to discover what happened to Claire’s baby. The next Outlander episode will start out with a focus on Claire, her medical condition, and the news of her pregnancy. Even so, Matt says Claire will embark on a new emotional journey and will deviate from the books, so all Outlander fans will find something new to spark their interest in the show.
“We’ve been trying to do things just a little bit differently from the books in each episode even though the main, expected events still happen so there’s an element of surprise for everyone,” said the Outlander writer.
There’s still the matter of betrayal to be dealt with between Claire and Jamie, which is an issue that has always been a big part of the Outlander plot, says Roberts. He points out that early on in Outlander‘s first season, Jamie spanked Claire for deceiving him and breaking her promise to him. Matt says it was the breaking of the promise, not the act itself, that hurt and angered Jamie the most in that incident.
“So this is such a betrayal for Claire. In the next episode, she’s unwilling to even deal with why he even did it,” says Outlander writer Roberts.
Outlander fans may be in the dark where Jamie’s motives are concerned at the moment, but Matt reveals that Jamie’s reasoning won’t be a mystery for long. As early as the next Outlander episode, fans will come to understand his actions and his motives for betraying Claire.
“Ultimately, in the next episode, we do discover why he did it. There was a little sprinkle of it in this episode where we hint at why, where Jamie goes to the brothel to take care of Prince Charles’ debts, and he brought Fergus along with him. Fergus went into a room to ironically to steal some perfume for Claire, and the door shut behind him. That is the prelude to the reason why Jamie did what he did. You’ll see that, in flashbacks, what actually happened. If you’re paying attention, you’ll get a pretty strong hint of what happened. It’s so heart-wrenching.”
While Black Jack did suffer a serious injury in the duel with Jamie, fans can rest easy that Frank still exists, though the Outlander writer does suggest they should be wondering how history hasn’t been changed. Roberts says the questions among Outlander fans shouldn’t begin with “if” but with “how,” adding that their ability to provide suspense and thrills lies in the writers’ skills to provide twists while remaining true to the Outlander books and to the history of the story.
“That’s how we keep the audience and book readers coming back for more. We are changing things to keep things fresh but we’re staying with the spine of the story.”
The next episode of Outlander airs Saturday, May 21 on Starz.
[Image by Starz]
