[This interview was conducted prior to the SAG-AFTRA strike authorization.]
Being the new kids on the loch with a hit show like Outlander could be intimidating. Not for Izzy Meikle-Small and Joey Phillips, who debuted in last week’s episode as peaceful Quaker siblings Rachel Hunter and her physician brother, Denzell. The actors say they received a warm welcome from stars Caitriona Balfe and Sam Heughan, who’ve played Claire and Jamie Fraser since the time travel romance first won our hearts in 2014.
“They were like, ‘How’s it all going? We want to hear your experiences, is there anything we can help with?’ They’re great leaders on set,” Meikle-Small told us when we spoke with her and Phillips about the harrowing fifth episode.
Like many on Outlander before them, the Hunters survived a brutal betrayal and attack that could have left both dead. And, also like many before them, they were saved by someone with brave Fraser blood: Jamie’s son William (Charles Vandervaart), who Denzell had treated in the previous episode.
William is clearly smitten with Rachel, as is Ian (John Bell). So, who will she choose? Meikle-Small hints, “She loves [William] more as a friend, maybe. They have a lot in common. Maybe he just seems a little more lost to her. Ian is confident and knows himself. She’s really drawn to that.”
Either way, Rachel will grapple with how falling in love clashes with her devout faith. “Rachel is discovering who she is as a young woman. Sometimes being religious and being romantic don’t go hand in hand; that’s a struggle,” the actress reveals.
So, will Rachel’s handsome doctor brother get a love story? “As much as he’d love a couple of dates, he’s a little bit busy at the moment,” Phillips says. Denzell will be consumed by caring for the war’s sick and wounded in partnership with brilliant doctor Claire (Balfe), who he met and instantly clicked with in this episode. “There is such a meeting of minds. There’s this instant connection, this instant allyship, and they know that they’ve got each other’s backs and they can work together,” Philips says. The evacuation from Fort Ticonderoga in the final moments is just the beginning of their dangerous journey together.
Check out the video above to hear more from the pair about joining the Fraser clan, plus the hazards Rachel will face (“There’s a couple of moments in this season where you see her really being treated like a piece of meat,” Meikle-Small says) and Phillips’ take on those scenes of 18th Century medical procedures. The actor confesses, “Everything is so realistic — almost too realistic sometimes!”
Outlander, Fridays, 8/7c, Starz