WE HAVE BREE!  Starz announced the casting of one of Outlander’s most important roles today! Sophie Skelton is going to play Brianna Randall Fraser the daughter of Jamie and Claire Fraser.  She is described as a newcomer and I have to say I’m glad to not have a lot of other roles competing with her portrayal of Bree. I read her IMBD and was tickled to find she has older brothers named Sam and Roger. LOL, it’s kismet! I was impressed with the fact that academically she could have chosen any course of study and chose to act.  I think that bodes well for us fans and for her suitability to play Bree.  It was exciting to put Sophie’s picture side by side with Rik Rakin who plays Roger Wakefield MacKenzie.  We’ve waited a long time to see them together!

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This couple’s casting has been almost as eagerly awaited as Jamie and Claire (gotta admit I’m pretty excited to see who will be cast as Lord John and wee Ian too).  Bree and Roger are so very important to the rest of the series. So, I’m feeling pretty grateful that they didn’t rush to cast Bree! They took their time with Claire and look how well that turned out!

Funny, but today, when I thought of upcoming scenes, it wasn’t the great scenes between Roger and Bree or even Claire and Bree that came to mind. Instead, it was the scenes between Bree and Jamie.

My mind kept running scenes and dialogue of the two of them together. The delicate dance of those two trying to build a relationship was fascinating, so many mixed up feelings and longings. In fact, in my opinion some of the most moving scenes in the books are between and about those two. At least one left me choked with emotion and several others left me beaming with my eyes filling with tears of joy. Have I told you how surprised I am by how much these books resonate? Amazing.

Perhaps my own difficult relationship with my father contributed to my fascination with the relationship between Jamie and Bree.  One the most poignant scenes I have ever read, in any book, is the scene where Jamie looks at Brianna’s pictures.  He is so moved by what he sees that he is unable to even hold the pictures steady.  With Claire’s help he makes it through the miracle of seeing the child he thought he’d lost forever.  He then turns to Claire and falls apart in her arms.  The depth of feeling revealed in that scene moves me to tears. He believes that Bree is a gift and blessing from God.  When he learns his sacrifice bore the fruit of his daughter he is overwhelmed.  This man loves his bairn just because she exists.

When Jamie is finally given the chance to be a father to Brianna she is an adult.  She comes from a different time with different social and cultural mores and has loved another man as her father. We see Jamie navigate his way through these complications. Sometimes he gets it right and sometimes he doesn’t, but always he is motivated by his love and dedication to his child. She is aware of her father’s sacrifices for her and I believe she wants to love him. The scene when she first sees him says it all. At first, he isn’t as big as she thought he’s only man sized, but by the end of their first moments together she realizes he is everything she had hoped he would be … Her Da.  Bree wants a close relationship with Jamie and she struggles to make that a reality.  The specter of her late “father” Frank often stands between her and her Da and as a result they tread lightly and carefully always concerned about the other’s feelings.

The scene that left me choked with emotion was the scene where Jamie takes his devastated daughter into his arms.  He holds her on his lap and croons his love, reassurance, and protection as if she was his little girl.

She hadn’t cried when she told me, either.  But now she clung to him and wept, as much from relief, I thought, as from grief.  He simply held her and let her cry, stroking her hair again and again, his eyes on my face.

Diana Gabaldon   Drums of Autumn

So many happy scenes of the two discovering their similarities and differences to see, moments when their pride and delight in each other shines through.  I want to see all the moments when their Fraser tempers and stubbornness get in the way and the tender moments when they swallow their pride and apologize because their relationship is more important than being right.

Welcome Sophie to our crazy clan.  Bree is a wonderful character full of contradictions and charm. I can’t wait to see you bring her to life!