There is no denying that Claire Fraser (Caitriona Balfe) had a rough time of it in Season 6 of Starz’s Outlander.
Part of this was a result of a horrific attack that occurred in Season 5 and involved Lionel Brown (Ned Dennehey) and other members of this group.
Now, Caitriona Balfe opens up on just how difficult it was to play Claire in Season 6.
Claire Fraser had a difficult time in Season 6
Season 5 of Outlander saw a brutal attack on Claire before she could be rescued by her husband, Jamie (Sam Heughan). This led to plenty of conflict in Season 6 as the character grappled with what happened to her.
Season 5 also saw Marsali (Lauren Lyle) kill Lionel Brown for what he had done but this didn’t stop Claire from seeing visions of him that led to additional torment.
To deal with these visions, Claire resorted to using ether as a way to block out these images.
On top of this, Claire also had to deal with a couple of very messy situations at the end of Season 6. First up, Malva Christie (Jessica Reynolds) accused Jamie of being the father of her child.
This led to plenty of conflict within the community at Fraser’s Ridge as people gossiped about the scandal of it all, even though Jamie insisted he wasn’t the father.
Then, Malva wound up dead and Claire was accused of her murder before being taken away for “justice” by the Committee of Safety, which is headed by Lionel’s brother, Richard (Chris Larkin).
Caitriona Balfe reveals playing Claire was hard
According to a recent interview with Gold Derby, Caitriona Balfe opened up about how difficult it was to play Claire in Season 6 of Outlander.
“I had to dig deep with Claire in a way that I hadn’t before,” Balfe revealed.
“Last season we really got to explore a different side of Claire that I was kind of shocked that we were doing,” she added in reference to the ether storyline.
At first, Balfe didn’t know whether Clarie would do such a thing but then she realized that using a crutch such as drugs or alcohol is quite often what happens when people are faced with incredible trauma.
“It was a really interesting way of showing with severe trauma how that can absolutely just blow someone’s psyche apart and when that happens, how does that person heal from that and come back from that? It was a really big challenge.”
Balfe was glad for the exploration of Claire’s darker side but was more excited for the journey that her character made and how it was resolved in Season 6.
“Exploring what her deepest, darkest fears were was very interesting, but what I love the most about it is that we came out the other side and showed that from these kinds of trauma, you can really explore growth and show growth and show healing.”
Of course, for viewers, it was a fascinating journey that also bought out a much-loved scene in the Season 6 finale between Claire and Jamie that really exposed just how vulnerable Claire was at this point in time.
Outlander has been renewed for Season 7, but, as yet, no premiere date has been released by Starz.