Here is a NEW Interview with Caitriona Balfe and Sophie Skelton from Vogue
From Vogue:
This season, we’ve seen numerous compelling storylines: Jocasta getting married, the death of our beloved Murtagh, Roger almost losing his life, and the villainous pirate Stephen Bonnet finally getting what he had coming to him. But while Outlander remains an addictively plotted show, that doesn’t mean it’s easy to watch. “I keep saying just because there’s a bullet in Bonnet, it doesn’t mean that the problem has gone away,” notes Sophie Skelton, who plays Brianna MacKenzie, of the Frasers’ season 5 antagonist. And there has been perhaps no more challenging episode than the season’s finale, which aired on Sunday night. “[The finale] is brutal,” Skelton says. “I feel bad that we’re leaving people in isolation with this ending.”
More after the jump!
In one moment towards the end of the season, we see much suffering and sorrow. Jamie is on his deathbed with a high fever—though he’s quite literally pulled back to life by Claire’s healing touch. Not too long after, the Frasers’ neighbor Lionel Brown discovers that Claire has been distributing medical information, like how to prevent pregnancy, under the pseudonym Dr. Rawlings. Claire then experiences an extraordinarily cruel fate at the hands of a group of vile men, largely because she’s a self-possessed woman operating in a world where women aren’t viewed as much more than property, and science isn’t to be trusted. It’s a harrowing ordeal that’s sure to have many viewers looking away—and perhaps reignite old questions of the show’s use of sexual violence as plot point.
Caitriona Balfe, who plays Claire, acknowledges that there is a lot of sexual violence in Outlander, and notes also that its recurrence in the show is based on how prevalent it likely was in the 1800s. “That is something that we have to reckon with as a show. Sexual violence when used as a weapon is still incredibly prevalent today. One of the saddest things about this lockdown is that you’re hearing about these soaring rates of sexual violence and abuse,” she says. “One in four women will probably experience some kind of sexual assault throughout their lifetime, and that’s an insane statistic. I think that it is unfortunate that it’s so much a part of our story. But I also think that we try to add something positive to that conversation as much as we possibly can. I feel like what we dealt with in season 1, showing a male rape, which is rarely ever discussed or shown, that was a brave and bold way to handle that. We try very hard not to empower the rapists.”
Brilliant interview. It proves that each individual handles issues in their lives in different ways – and that we are all vulnerable at times. The conversation between Brianna and Claire was the closest that they have ever been – it was so beautiful and meant so much to Claire who needed that support so desperately. Thank you for sharing.