Outlander Season 6 has been rolling right along quite nicely, with the drama already delivering a speedy pace. There’s been lots of tension between members of the Fraser family, with that intimate birthing moment with Marsali and Fergus soon turning into her having to forgive him, Jamie and Claire dealing with a bit of a wedge in their marriage, and their new tenants, the Christies, already beginning to stir up trouble. But, one thing that many fans were definitely glad to see in the most recent episode was Jamie back in his kilt. Now, Sam Heughan has revealed why Jamie’s kilt made its triumphant return.
Why Did Jamie Bring Back His Kilt On Outlander?
With the action of Outlander having originally been set in Scotland in the early 1740s, there was no dearth of kilt-wearers who populated nearly every scene. This included Sam Heughan’s Jamie Fraser, who (if I recall correctly) was always in one if he was wearing clothes at all. However, that stopped after the Battle of Culloden, and Outlander has been largely kilt-free until Season 6, Episode 3, when Jamie wears his Fraser kilt to go fishing.
After watching the episode, a fan asked Heughan (who admitted previously to missing not wearing a kilt) on Twitter why the classic item was brought back, and for that particular duty, and he replied:
It was still illegal to wear a kilt at that time,punishment would be huge. Jamie can’t risk it in the presence of the crown, especially potentially working for them. However, when he’s alone, on his own land with no risk, he can reveal who he really is…. https://t.co/elIVp1XstmMarch 22, 2022
With this being a show that does bring in a lot of real historical events, there is a very clear reason why Jamie and other men began leaving their kilts at home and started sporting pants. As Heughan noted in his response, it was basically their only option after Jacobites lost at Culloden in 1746, because the English government outlawed both tartans (the patterned cloth) and kilts (the clothing item made of tartans), for 35 years.
But, seeing as how Jamie was at Fraser’s Ridge, away from the main part of the settlement and off on his own to go fishing during this point of the episode, Heughan added that Jamie felt safe enough that no one who’d be likely to tattle on him for wearing his kilt would see, so he wore it. Though, if someone had told on him, Jamie would have been subjected to six months in prison, and that really wouldn’t have looked good, especially with where his loyalties seem to lie right now.
Once again, Jamie is embroiled in a brewing revolution, as trouble between the colonists and England have been growing. With Jamie already not totally cool with the English and their policies (for obvious reasons), he’s also trying to continue to build a life for himself, his family, and keep everyone as safe as possible. He accepted the land grant from Governor Tryon which turned into Fraser’s Ridge, and has already been pressed into service when the British needed men to fight because of it.
He’s still riding the line between not liking working closely with them (or wearing their dreaded redcoat uniform), but has now become an Indian Agent for the crown. On top of all of that, obviously, we now know that the Boston Tea Party has officially happened, so the American Revolutionary War is way closer than ever before, and Jamie is still trying not to end up on the wrong side of history.
It’s a lot, right? No wonder Jamie wanted to get out and do some fishing in what is said to be a comfortable and practical item of clothing, which seems to only have one big drawback. Time will tell if we get to see Sam Heughan (and Jamie) in a kilt again soon, so keep watching Season 6 of Outlander, Sundays on Starz at 9 p.m. EST to find out! For more to watch, check out the 2022 TV schedule!
