Charles Vandervaart also addresses William’s misguided motivations this season.
STARZ’s Outlander has often visited well known historical events. From the battle of Culloden to WWII nurse, Claire (Caitriona Balfe) who has traveled back in time, Outlander has flirted closely with history. Once more, the show is propping up yet another event of the past, the American Revolutionary War is about to be fought. While it will tear the British Empire from its American colonies, it’d also pit a father against his son.
In the latest episode titled Singapore, Jamie (Sam Heughan), his wife Claire, and their allies flee Fort Ticonderoga as the British advance, the concept of war is one well known to the Frasers. “He’s been through many wars. He’s faced history,” Heughan says of Jamie in the series, while speaking to TV Insider. “[He] and Claire tried to change history, but this time it’s completely unstoppable.” For a couple that have weathered many storms, this is unlike any they’ve faced together. “They are in the eye of the storm. It’s the biggest hurricane they’ve ever met. The War of Independence,” Heughan says
A Father and Son Torn
For Jamie, protecting his family has been one of his driving factors, however, despite having such a strong wife to lean on, the American Revolution will test that commitment. “They’re trying to protect their family, the people that they care for, most of the people that Jamie is responsible for. It’s overwhelming,” Heughan admits. The war will ultimately bring Jamie into confrontation with his son, William Ransom (Charles Vandervaart) who having parted with the Hunter siblings is set to rejoin the British army. Vandervaart describes William as having “some strong morals and ideas that were instilled in him in England, and that’s definitely hard to shake.”
As the penultimate season ties up loose ends before the war, it would seem Jamie might be forced to face his son across the barrel of a gun – something he swore not to do. Given that William isn’t aware of his parentage, war might teach him a different lesson altogether. “He feels very patriotic and ready to fight. That might be a bit misguided cause he’s quite naive. He’s never seen those realities before. So we’ll see what happens,” Vandervaart adds. Then warns, “You’ll feel worse for him later on. It doesn’t get better.”
