‘Outlander’ Star Caitriona Balfe Drops Season 3 Spoilers, Reveals Jamie And Claire Reunion Secrets
Claire Randall Fraser has been through a lot over the past three seasons of Outlander. From having to adjust to life in a new century to finding new love and eventually losing it with Jamie Fraser (Sam Heughan), there’s little that Caitriona Balfe’s character hasn’t overcome. With Season 3 currently in production, Balfe took time away from her busy schedule to discuss what’s ahead.
When speaking to Variety, the actress revealed that she hasn’t filmed many scenes with Heughan. At the end of Season 2, Claire traveled back through the stones to raise her daughter with Frank (Tobias Menzies) while Jamie stayed behind to fight in the Battle of Culloden. Although the couple is expected to reunite this season, fans will watch as they live separate lives for twenty years.
“We’re almost halfway through [Season Three]. It’s been great. Obviously, Sam [Heughan] and I — our storylines are quite separate for the first few episodes, so I’ve been filming a lot with Tobias [Menzies] and Sophie [Skelton]. And it’s been quite interesting,” Balfe revealed. “We’re trying to tell sort of vignettes of a person’s life over the space of 20 years, and it’s been really fun. But I think we’re all ready to get back to the Scottish Claire of it all.”
Season 3 is based on Diana Gabaldon’s third book in the series, titled Voyager. In the books, Jamie and Claire venture across the ocean to exotic places. Fans can expect more of the same when the show returns to Starz next year.
“Yes, South Africa, which will be standing in for Jamaica. We go there next year, so that will be interesting,” Balfe explained. “I don’t know what all of us are going to do when we have sunshine on tap.”
Speaking of new set locations, Balfe told Entertainment Weekly that producers used parts of Glasgow for scenes in Boston. She also revealed that they are currently filming episodes six and seven, which means they are already halfway done with the season.
That being said, Balfe admitted that she still doesn’t know how the season will end. In fact, she has only read scripts for the first half of the season and is still waiting to learn what happens between Claire and Jamie.
As far as filming Outlander scenes with Heughan is concerned, Balfe has only shot one complete episode. Unfortunately, this could mean that fans will have to wait a bit longer than expected for the couple’s epic reunion.
“We’ve shot a little out of order, so Sam and I have shot one episode together. So [this week] Jamie and Claire will be together from now on,” she explained. “So Sam and I will be on set together as we go forward. We’ve mostly shot the first stuff up front, but we had to pull one episode forward because of different actors’ schedules, so yeah. We’ve done a little bit together.”
According to International Business Times, Balfe’s comments confirm that production of the Print Shop scene is well underway. This means that the memorable moment from the books will probably be featured in episode 6 or 7 of Season 3.
With Claire having to wait through three decades before reuniting with Jamie, Express is reporting that Claire’s survival mentality will help her through the tough times. “And again, when she comes back into the 20th century, even though she’s lost the love of her life (as far as she knows), she doesn’t just disintegrate. She gets herself together,” Balfe explained. “So it’s just this strength that she has inside – no matter what befalls her, she will find a way to draw on the best of herself.”
Season 3 of Outlander is expected to premiere on Starz in early 2017.
[Featured Image by Starz]
