Bree and Roger MacKenzie (Sophie Skelton and Richard Rankin) are living happily ever after in 20th Century Scotland (Well, for now. This is Outlander after all!) In the latest Inside Outlander aftershow, we talked with the actors about Episode 3, which featured the welcome delivery of a box of centuries-old letters from Bree’s parents Claire and Jamie (Caitriona Balfe and Sam Heughan) chronicling what happened after the MacKenzies left the 1700s and traveled through the stones.
“The more [Bree] reads the letters, to live the life through them — it’s a rebirth of her parents,” Skelton says. “It’s wonderful because it feels like a parallel timeline as well. It’s not like you lose a parent and read their diary; it feels like these letters are coming in tandem rather [than from] the grave. It’s really emotional to Bree.”
The couple also discuss when (if ever) to tell their son Jemmy about his past and ability to time travel and what Jamie meant in his letter saying that Jem would know the secret hiding place for the Jacobite gold. “[Jem] is at an age where we would talk about that — and would [then] think twice,” Rankin offers. “Talking about it at school, telling his classmates [who would] ask questions. That could get hellish and complicated.”
Things do get complicated when Bree, in future episodes, gets a job that utilizes her education and intellect. A new colleague Rob Cameron (Chris Fulton) will eventually cause problems. Skelton shares some intel: “[Chris] is a great new addition and I loved working with him. It creates a cool dynamic in the storyline. Brianna feels like they are actually close friends, and she can confide in him and have someone to talk to about her job in engineering. Obviously, she is faced with so much misogyny [at work]. She takes it in a stride — and she kind of gets bullied.”
Check out the video for more from Skelton and Rankin on their characters’ ’70s/’80s looks; welcoming new child actors in the roles of the MacKenzie kids; and more.
Come back next week when we break down the fourth episode with the trio of David Berry, who plays Lord John Grey; John Bell, as Young Ian; and new cast member Charles Vandervaart as Jamie’s son, William.
Outlander, Fridays, 8/7c, Starz