The Season 5 finale of Starz’s Outlander delivered a terrible assault for Claire Fraser (Caitriona Balfe). Because of this, the consequences of it look set to be far-reaching when the show returns on March 6.
The network recently released a new image for Season 6 that showed a smiling Claire alongside her husband, Jamie, which could indicate that better times are coming after the Season 5 finale.
However, according to a recent interview with the actress who portrays Claire, this could take some time to unfold.
Claire suffered a terrible assault in Season 5 of Outlander
After being taken hostage by Lionel Brown (Ned Dennehy) in the Season 5 finale of Outlander, she was then brutally raped by his group before Jamie (Sam Heughan) could rescue her.
During her real, she escaped to her own mind in order to create a fantasy world involving her closest family and friends rather than concentrate on the horrific attack.
Now, when Season 6 premieres, it will be a few months after the event and Claire will be trying hard to pick up the pieces while maintaining a strong facade to those around her.
Catriona Balfe discusses Claire’s trauma
In a new clip released by Starz, Catriona Balfe talks about what to expect from Claire when Outlander returns.
“We pick up this season a few months after the end of Season 5,” Balfe reveals. “Claire, even though she’s putting on a very brave face, I think she’s still very traumatized by what happened.”
Having to deal with all of the trauma will take some time and Balfe speaks out about how this will affect the character who is usually so good at being able to “compartmentalize” where needed.
“It kind of resurges and comes to the fore in other ways. So it’s unusual that we see Claire not be in control and not be able to manage what’s going on with herself. She’s someone that has always been able to compartmentalize different parts of her life, but we see her start to unravel this season.”
The actor then explained that the horrific assault and the resultant way in which Claire deals with it all has been a challenge for her but also is “good material” for her to play.
However, how all this plays out exactly remains to be seen, unless, of course, you’ve already read the books. If that isn’t the case, though, viewers will have to wait until March in order to find out more.
Season 6 of Outlander will premiere on the Starz network on March 6, 2022.