From THR:
The relatively quiet episode featured major emotional developments for both Claire and Jamie, and Balfe and Heughan were glad to see their characters move forward in such a big way in this episode.
“For Jamie, it’s really bittersweet,” Heughan tells The Hollywood Reporter of the character’s time with his son. “He has always wanted to be a father, and Willie was very dear to him. He had a really great influence on him at Helwater, but now for Willie to be there in his life and he can’t even tell him that he’s his father, it’s pretty tough for him.”
He pauses, then adds, “Thankfully, by the end of the episode, Willie has that realization of who his father is or could be. It’s beautiful. It’s nice for Jamie to finally interact with his son but also [with] John Grey. He’s an important ally and friend.”
While Claire’s interactions with John have always been prickly, finally having an open conversation about their shared love for Jamie means the two former frenemies can become something more like friends.
“As the season goes on, John Grey will play a bigger role as well,” Balfe tells THR. “For Claire, those scenes where John Grey is ill and she’s tending to him, they were really beautiful scenes and very emotional. It was heartbreaking to see this man live with this unrequited love and the heartbreak that that has caused him. And when he tells Claire about this offer that Jamie made, I don’t think there is any part of Claire that is threatened by that.”
A great and indepth article regarding Jamie’s relationship with Willie and Bree. He has two children, one (Willie) not knowing that Jamie is his real father but is brought up by Lord Grey and the other (Bree) who is brought up by Frank. This all tragic for Jamie, as he loves children and family but has missed out on the most important area in his children’s lives where it would mean the most. It is sad that he didn’t have the association with Bree earlier in her life, and the fact that she still regards Frank as her father, she was very close to him. This does cause a few areas of conflict between Bree and Jamie, also the fact that she is from a different time area. And. of course, in situations such as these, it is the Mother that gets caught in the middle, trying to be peacemaker.