Spoilers ahead for Episode 2 of Outlander Season 7, called “The Happiest Place On Earth.”
There’s no denying that Outlander hit the ground running in the seventh season after the events of “The Happiest Place On Earth,” which not only finally revealed who killed Malva Christie after a twisted confession from her brother Allan, but also delivered the fire that ultimately burns down The Big House. The most tear-jerking twist came when Brianna and Roger said an emotional goodbye to Claire and Jamie and took their children back to the 20th century. It was an emotional sequence, but according to stars Sophie Skelton and Richard Rankin in an interview with CinemaBlend, the cast was fighting a case of the giggles while filming it!
What Happened For Brianna And Roger In Episode 2
The MacKenzie branch of the Fraser family had to go back to the future after the birth of baby Mandy, who had a heart defect that not even Claire would be able to safely fix with the tools available to her in the 1700s. As Richard Rankin had previewed, the happy contentment for Roger and Bree couldn’t last! Bree and Roger decided that they had to take Jemmy and their newborn daughter to a future where her life could be saved.
She had a chance to meet her half-brother Willie (played by newcomer Charles Vanderaart, who has shared what his character’s priorities are) and had a sweet Disney-themed chat with a somewhat confused Jamie before leaving the 18th century, but the goodbye at the stones was heart-wrenching to the point that I’m not ashamed to admit to tearing up. Characters were certainly in tears, which – based on what the cast had to say – is a sign of how well the actors were able to keep performing despite a silly behind-the-scenes twist!
Why The Stars Were Cracking Up
When I spoke with the Outlander cast for Season 7, Sophie Skelton and Richard Rankin immediately started laughing after being asked if the MacKenzies’ emotional goodbye was also emotional for them as actors. Skelton quickly explained why they had to laugh at the memory of filming that scene, saying:
The reason why we're laughing is because it was a very emotional scene. Obviously, we're all very teary, and then there's one take where, as you've seen, Richard gets the gems out of his pocket. So Richard goes to get the gems out of his pocket and all of his snacks from the day come out, all these chocolate wrappers and everything! [laughs] So we're all trying not to giggle whilst we're supposed to be saying goodbye.
While Roger was preparing to say goodbye to the Frasers and return to his own time to save his infant daughter, Richard Rankin was dropping some very non-18th century snack wrappers out of his pocket! The actor went on to share why the mishap wasn’t caught directly on camera, telling CinemaBlend:
The camera's not on me! I think it was on Caitriona and Sam.
Who knew that in the scene of Claire and Jamie saying goodbye to their daughter, son-in-law, and two grandkids, Caitriona Balfe and Sam Heughan had at least one take while Richard Rankin was scattering snack debris just off-camera! While I got a laugh out of Jamie talking to Jemmy about meeting a “very large mouse named Michael” in the future, the stars had something different to laugh about. According to Sophie Skelton, Balfe and Heughan did have to struggle a bit with keeping a straight face, but the scene was still emotional for the cast. She explained:
It was hilarious, and you could just see them shaking. It was brilliant. That's why we were giggling. It was a very emotional scene. It's kind of like when we will say goodbye to each other at the end of the season. We are all such a family now. We've worked together so long that goodbyes aren't always easy. I'm not good at goodbyes. I'm terrible. I will milk that all day long.
It remains to be seen how Outlander will handle the family being split apart in Season 7 (and whether it will stick). Executive producer Meril Davis previously opened up about having a super-sized Season 7 with more episodes than any season since the first, so there is still plenty of time to see more of both sides of the family, even if they are in different centuries.
Plus, Jamie and Claire may not have the free time to fret too much on Bree and Roger’s absences moving forward, now that The Big House more or less exploded due to Claire's ether, Bree's matches, and another time-traveler's home invasion! The fire did seemingly put an end to the sticky issue of Wendigo Donner, but at a great cost. We also can’t forget that the American Revolution is approaching very quickly, so I for one am extremely glad that Outlander got more episodes for Season 7!
See what’s still to come for Roger and Bree in the 20th century and Claire and Jamie in the 18th with new episodes of Outlander on Fridays at 8 p.m. ET on Starz, and available streaming on the Starz app on Fridays at midnight E.T. You can also find earlier seasons streaming with a Netflix subscription.
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