{"id":1784272,"date":"2026-02-17T15:00:00","date_gmt":"2026-02-17T12:00:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/?p=1784272"},"modified":"2026-02-17T15:00:00","modified_gmt":"2026-02-17T12:00:00","slug":"caitriona-balfe-and-sam-heughan-on-the-end-of-outlander","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/?p=1784272","title":{"rendered":"Caitr\u00edona Balfe and Sam Heughan on the End of \u2018Outlander\u2019"},"content":{"rendered":"

[analyse_image type=”featured” src=”https:\/\/assets.vogue.com\/photos\/699379259b21c23f1007b1e5\/16:9\/w_1280,c_limit\/OLS8_012826_05_0105_a.jpeg”]<\/p>\n

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TV & Movies<\/span><\/div>\n<\/div>\n

Caitr\u00edona Balfe and Sam Heughan on the End of Outlander<\/em><\/h1>\n
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By <\/span> Reshma Gopaldas<\/span><\/span><\/span><\/div>\n

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Photo: Jem Mitchell<\/span><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/header>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n
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Diana Gabaldon\u2019s story was simple enough: English girl in the 1940s visits the Scottish Highlands and is transported to the 1700s. Boy in the 1700s dislocates his shoulder. Girl fixes boy\u2019s shoulder. Boy and girl marry and plunge headlong into a torrid, 200-year romance.<\/p>\n

From that 1991 novel, Outlander<\/em>, eventually came a television adaptation, starring Caitr\u00edona Balfe and Sam Heughan as Claire and Jamie Fraser\u2014and with it, a ferocious cult following that has measurably impacted Scottish tourism. Now, 35 years after Gabaldon\u2019s first book was published and 13 years after filming began on the show, Starz is gearing up to air Outlander<\/em>\u2019s eighth and final season.<\/p>\n

As for what fans can expect from the grand conclusion to Claire and Jamie Fraser\u2019s epoch-spanning love story? In a way, not even Balfe and Heughan know for sure: They shot multiple endings, and neither has actually watched the finale. (The season premieres on March 6.)<\/p>\n

Last month, after the actors reunited for their first photo shoot since wrapping over a year ago, they sat down with Vogue<\/em> to discuss everything: their chemistry, their friendship, Balfe\u2019s directorial debut in season eight, Claire and Jamie\u2019s first love scene\u2014and the scene they wished they had an intimacy coordinator for. Read excerpts from that sprawling conversation below.<\/p>\n

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Photo: Jem Mitchell<\/span><\/div>\n<\/figure>\n

Vogue:<\/em> For almost 13 years, you two created one of television\u2019s greatest love stories. What were your favorite parts, and why do you think it resonates so much?<\/strong><\/p>\n

Sam Heughan<\/strong>: I always loved the very Outlander<\/em> scenes where Jamie and Claire hash it out together. In the early years, they were quite emotional and passionate. They\u2019d disagree but find a resolution. And then in later years, they become codependent and need each other.<\/p>\n

Caitr\u00edona Balfe:<\/strong> Maybe not codependent\u2026<\/p>\n

Heughan:<\/strong> Jamie needs her. They work things through together, and I just love that.<\/p>\n

Balfe:<\/strong> They also know when to give each other the time to get through whatever they need to and allow each other the space to figure things out, while still being there for each other\u2014which they didn\u2019t do in the beginning.<\/p>\n

Heughan:<\/strong> But now they know each other so well. It\u2019s that beautiful thing.<\/p>\n

Balfe:<\/strong> Obviously, there was so much passion and so much of that new love that people were so attracted to. It\u2019s exciting when you see two people falling in love. That\u2019s so inspiring. But maintaining that and also allowing something deeper to grow\u2014we constantly fought for that, didn\u2019t we?<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n

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Heughan:<\/strong> Absolutely. They know each other\u2019s weaknesses, strengths, and share every side of themselves. Jamie shares his troubles and thoughts with Claire, and she does the same, so they depend upon each other. They realize what they\u2019ve got in each other.<\/p>\n

Balfe:<\/strong> We always hear from fans, \u201cWe want more love scenes\u2014we want the Jamie and Claire moments!\u201d Sometimes people think it\u2019s just the sex that they want, but we\u2019ve always felt it\u2019s the romance, moments of intimacy\u2014and intimacy doesn\u2019t always have to be physical. We fought to have those moments where it\u2019s not just jumping into bed, because that passion can\u2019t sustain.<\/p>\n

Heughan:<\/strong> They\u2019d burn out!<\/p>\n

Did you ever say, \u201cHey, what\u2019s the point of these love scenes?\u201d<\/strong><\/p>\n

Balfe and Heughan:<\/strong> All the time!<\/p>\n

Heughan:<\/strong> We had to question it to find out the motivation behind it. What does it say about the characters and their relationship? Otherwise, it\u2019s gratuitous.<\/p>\n

Balfe:<\/strong> Ron [Moore, who developed the show], in the beginning, his pitch to us about the sex scenes was, \u201cWe want to tell story through this.\u201d The show went out, and those scenes resonated so much with people. But we constantly wanted it to remain part of the storytelling. It has to tell us something about where they are emotionally. As Sam said, we were able to get there.<\/p>\n

Heughan:<\/strong> There are moments in this final season where Jamie needs Claire physically, but he needs her because he needs solace and comfort. And they\u2019re always physical, aren\u2019t they? That\u2019s how they reconnect with each other, certainly in moments of stress or trauma. We always pushed for something deeper to show about their relationship.<\/p>\n

You\u2019ve shown how a couple can keep falling in love across different incarnations of their lives. What are your top three favorite moments for these two?<\/strong><\/p>\n

Heughan:<\/strong> One of the most celebrated, but most horrific, was the wedding, because we had to film it twice. You\u2019re in that dress, which is stunning, but\u2014<\/p>\n

Balfe:<\/strong> It was like wearing Sam! That\u2019s how heavy it was.<\/p>\n

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Heughan:<\/strong> She wasn\u2019t allowed to walk, sit down, or go to the bathroom, yet there\u2019s this magical moment and very beautiful wedding. For us, it didn\u2019t feel as romantic as maybe the fans felt about it.<\/p>\n

Balfe:<\/strong> That was really special.<\/p>\n

Heughan:<\/strong> The other cast weren\u2019t very helpful. They were supposed to support us.<\/p>\n

Balfe:<\/strong> A lot of taunting. They did their best to ruin every take by laughing, heckling.<\/p>\n

Heughan:<\/strong> The vows, especially. We first shot it in the church, then in the studio with lots more candles.<\/p>\n

Balfe:<\/strong> About a thousand more candles. A sad moment, but also very beautiful, would be the dance back to the stones.<\/p>\n

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Photo: Steffan Hill<\/span><\/div>\n<\/figure>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n
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Heughan:<\/strong> That\u2019s a big one. It was that place, Schiehallion. So pretty. The snow had fallen, and we did this goodbye dance.<\/p>\n

Balfe:<\/strong> It was so romantic. We need our third one.<\/p>\n

Heughan:<\/strong> One that makes me laugh is crossing the threshold with his wife in America, and his wife starts to wear trousers! [Balfe laughs.<\/em>] It\u2019s for one episode and never again.<\/p>\n

Balfe:<\/strong> That\u2019s a random one to call out. Being washed up on the shore of America was good!<\/p>\n

Heughan:<\/strong> It wasn\u2019t really romantic. It was soggy, I had sand in my boots.<\/p>\n

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Photo: David Bloomer<\/span><\/div>\n<\/figure>\n

What the fans love is very different than what you two have lived through. Let\u2019s go through your roses and thorns for some of the show\u2019s most iconic scenes. First up: the fight in \u201cThe Reckoning,\u201d by the river.<\/strong><\/p>\n

Balfe:<\/strong> It was the audition scene.<\/p>\n

Heughan:<\/strong> The audition was twice as long! Very physical.<\/p>\n

Balfe:<\/strong> It was very physical.<\/p>\n

Heughan:<\/strong> I pushed you over. I pushed you very hard. I think you fell on your ass.<\/p>\n

Balfe:<\/strong> No, that was a different time. When you broke my coccyx.<\/p>\n

Did he really break it?<\/strong><\/p>\n

Balfe:<\/strong> I don\u2019t know! It was painful for a while. The river fight was actually one of those we rehearsed a few times, and then once you get into it, it had a lot of energy.<\/p>\n

Heughan:<\/strong> Passion! They\u2019re almost tearing bits out of each other. That line, \u201cYou\u2019re tearing my guts out, Claire\u201d\u2014there\u2019s always these fan lines that they\u2019re waiting to see. I\u2019d get quite nervous about it. Oh, God, I have to do that and get it right.<\/em><\/p>\n

Balfe:<\/strong> Oh, that\u2019s the same episode\u2014the knife scene!<\/p>\n

Rose and thorn for that scene?<\/strong><\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n

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Balfe:<\/strong> Lots of carpet burns.<\/p>\n

Heughan:<\/strong> Big carpet burns for both of us.<\/p>\n

Balfe:<\/strong> It was on a very threadbare carpet on a floor. That was very intense. It was pre\u2013intimacy coordinators. We definitely could have used one.<\/p>\n

\u201cA. Malcolm,\u201d where Claire returns to the past. She and Jamie see each other for the first time in 20 years.<\/strong><\/p>\n

Balfe:<\/strong> When you fell\u2026so gracefully!<\/p>\n

Heughan:<\/strong> Again, one of those Outlander<\/em> moments where you go, \u201cDiana, why? Just why?\u201d He walks around without trousers for some reason.<\/p>\n

Balfe:<\/strong> There was a lot of pressure to get it right. It\u2019s so beloved in the books. Everyone, not just us, felt the pressure.<\/p>\n

Heughan:<\/strong> We also hadn\u2019t really worked together for a while\u2014<\/p>\n

Balfe:<\/strong> For ages, like half a season.<\/p>\n

You also had one of the longest love scenes on television.<\/strong><\/p>\n

Balfe:<\/strong> It was upstairs in the brothel. We were in that room for a very long time.<\/p>\n

Heughan:<\/strong> Very hot, and not a very nice brothel, as far as brothels go.<\/p>\n

\u201cFirst Wife,\u201d with that fight scene.<\/strong><\/p>\n

Balfe<\/strong> [to Heughan<\/em>]: We go back to Lallybroch. I find out you\u2019d married Laoghaire.<\/p>\n

Heughan:<\/strong> Is this a different show?<\/p>\n

Balfe:<\/strong> Season three. We have that big fight in the bedroom, and Laura [Donnelly, who plays Jamie\u2019s sister, Jenny] comes in and throws water on us, because we\u2019ve been fighting like cats and dogs. In the fight, you push me. And literally I rose up in the air and landed on the floor about five feet away, on my arse.<\/p>\n

Heughan:<\/strong> Oh, that one. They\u2019re passionate! I don\u2019t think you ever injured me.<\/p>\n

Balfe:<\/strong> No.<\/p>\n

Heughan:<\/strong> Just internally, psychologically.<\/p>\n

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Photo: Jem Mitchell<\/span><\/div>\n<\/figure>\n

Caitr\u00edona, you revealed for the first time in 2021 that you wanted to direct but hadn\u2019t gotten the chance. Five short years later, you\u2019ve directed an episode in season eight.<\/strong><\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n

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Balfe:<\/strong> [Laughs.<\/em>] Five short years. I\u2019m not nervous about it coming out, but maybe I should be! I was nervous prior to filming. I was especially nervous about working with\u2026. [She points at Heughan, who smiles.<\/em>] My first day was that seven-page scene with you and Richard [Rankin, who plays Roger Wakefield MacKenzie].<\/p>\n

Heughan:<\/strong> Cutting the wood. We laughed a lot. I remember trying to kick the tree down.<\/p>\n

Balfe:<\/strong> Such a great day. Sam was like, \u201cScrew this saw. I\u2019m going to use my foot.\u201d I was so grateful to have been given that opportunity and to work with all these guys in that way.<\/p>\n

Heughan:<\/strong> She was amazing. Working with you, seeing you prepping and the things you were trying to deal with\u2026. I can\u2019t wait for people to see it. They should have made that the first episode.<\/p>\n

Balfe:<\/strong> Aw. I have to give Jan Matthys [director of several Outlander<\/em> episodes] a lot of credit. He was an amazing mentor to me. And all of our crew and [heads of department] were so supportive and helpful. What was really difficult was having to be in it as well. I didn\u2019t love that, because you\u2019re splitting your attention\u2014<\/p>\n

You\u2019re in almost every scene in that episode.<\/strong><\/p>\n

Balfe:<\/strong> Yeah, great episode they gave me! But the pitfalls are what made it exciting. The panic decisions\u2014that\u2019s the buzz of it. That\u2019s the part that surprised me the most and that I enjoyed.<\/p>\n

You also had to direct your own love scene.<\/strong><\/p>\n

Balfe:<\/strong> I was like, \u201cAnd their clothes stay on.\u201d [Both laugh<\/em>.] I was fortunate, I had Barbara Stepansky, the writer and supervising producer of the episode, to talk about the scenes with and say, \u201cOkay, what exactly do you want from the scene?\u201d What\u2019s the visual language that I want? I know what Sam and I bring to it. Then we worked with [intimacy coordinator] Vanessa Coffey, who has worked with us for the last couple of seasons. She brings so much to those scenes, helping us craft them. It\u2019s collaborative. That\u2019s the loveliest thing about it.<\/p>\n

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You both have always said you have each other\u2019s backs. Any examples of that? How do you balance each other on set? I feel you have different temperaments.<\/strong><\/p>\n

Balfe:<\/strong> [Laughs<\/em>.] Yes, I pop off. Sam stays calm.<\/p>\n

Heughan:<\/strong> It\u2019s been complementary. I felt weirdly protective of you from episode one. Then seeing you flourish into being the strong Claire that you are\u2026. That\u2019s always been part of Jamie, as well, to protect. I don\u2019t know whether that was the character or me, but it works really well. I can also guide her in a direction to then have her energy\u2026. [He mimics something being shot off.<\/em>]<\/p>\n

Balfe:<\/strong> Sam likes to stir. If he wants something to happen or doesn\u2019t like something, he\u2019ll just whisper, \u201cOh, yeah, you should say something.\u201d And then, because I\u2019m an idiot\u2026.<\/p>\n

Heughan:<\/strong> No, not at all. You\u2019re a person of action. But this one\u2019s trouble\u2014always corpsing. We have a silly sense of humor, and sometimes that was my downfall. We\u2019re very lucky.<\/p>\n

Balfe:<\/strong> Our friendship is one of the things I\u2019m the proudest of from the whole show. [They hug.<\/em>] It\u2019s true. We\u2019re both competitive people, but we\u2019re not competitive with each other. And we\u2019ve always made sure to talk to each other.<\/p>\n

Heughan:<\/strong> We were in the show for over a decade. Whether it was on or off set, we both went through stuff in our personal lives. Caitr\u00edona would instantly know if there was something going on. In those moments, she was there for me and would protect me in some ways, way more than she needed to\u2026like an older sister.<\/p>\n

Balfe:<\/strong> Really? So cheeky. Only six months [older]. One time I really took one for the team. You got a message that upset you on set, and I jumped up and yelled, \u201cI have to go to the toilet!\u201d Everyone was like, \u201cDoes she have diarrhea?\u201d I let everyone think I had that for you.<\/p>\n

Heughan:<\/strong> Did you? So nice!<\/p>\n

Let\u2019s talk about the future. You both have said, about an Outlander<\/em> movie, \u201cNever say never.\u201d Has one actually been discussed?<\/strong><\/p>\n

Heughan:<\/strong> No.<\/p>\n

Balfe:<\/strong> Not with me, no.<\/p>\n

Diana is working on finishing book 10. Would you two consider voicing the audiobook?<\/strong><\/p>\n

Balfe:<\/strong> It\u2019s so iconic. Davina Porter, who did it before, was so synonymous with the series.<\/p>\n

Heughan:<\/strong> Well, they\u2019ve just done one. Kristin [Atherton, who played Jenny in season seven] took over. But it would be nice to hear everyone\u2019s voices and be back together again.<\/p>\n

Balfe:<\/strong> Wouldn\u2019t have to wear a corset. You could do all the acting in your pajamas.<\/p>\n

Caitr\u00edona, how has Sam changed and grown as an actor over the years? Did you get to see his recent production of Macbeth<\/em>?<\/strong><\/p>\n

Balfe:<\/strong> I did get to see him in Macbeth<\/em>, and he was amazing.<\/p>\n

Heughan:<\/strong> So nice you came.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n

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Balfe:<\/strong> Of course I was going to come. Sam was way more experienced when we started. He\u2019s always been able to combine this incredible strength and beautiful sensitivity. You\u2019ve always been able to put the two together. I\u2019ve watched Sam become this force of nature. Your philanthropy, My Peak Challenge, your businesses, it\u2019s just incredible. You\u2019re very\u2026. [Both laugh.<\/em>] I\u2019m in awe.<\/p>\n

Caitr\u00edona, you\u2019ll be playing Mrs. Dashwood in Sense and Sensibility<\/em>. When Sam learned about it last summer, he said, \u201cShe has to wear a corset again,\u201d and he looked pretty happy about it.<\/strong><\/p>\n

Balfe:<\/strong> I did. I\u2019m really excited to see it. It\u2019s going to be really beautiful. Georgia Oakley is an incredible director, and she grounded it. It has a very different feel to previous iterations. It was just really fun. Sam and I have been doing a lot of heavy lifting on Outlander<\/em> for years. It was nice to just pop in and hang out for a bit.<\/p>\n

Heughan:<\/strong> I can\u2019t wait to see it.<\/p>\n

Sam, tell us about your new limited series with Anna Kendrick and J.K. Simmons.<\/strong><\/p>\n

Heughan:<\/strong>Macbeth<\/em> was a lot of heavy lifting. I was pretty exhausted after that. I\u2019m really excited about this one. It\u2019s an action thriller with a lot of political intrigue. It\u2019s going to be full-on and a busy one. I love the action stuff, so it\u2019ll be good.<\/p>\n

Caitr\u00edona, you once said you were nervous that this show was like lightning in a bottle, an experience that will never happen again. How does it make you feel that this love story is over\u2026for now?<\/strong><\/p>\n

Balfe:<\/strong> It\u2019s so weird because we had the first round of goodbyes, and now it feels like you have to scratch the wound again. It\u2019s opening up again.<\/p>\n

Heughan:<\/strong> What a journey it\u2019s been. That moment where we\u2019re with all the fans, in the auditorium, when they play that first ep, that\u2019s going to be\u2014<\/p>\n

Balfe:<\/strong> That\u2019s going to be amazing. It\u2019s nice for us to be back together today. It\u2019ll be so lovely to be with everybody at the premiere.<\/p>\n

Heughan:<\/strong> It\u2019s going to be chaos.<\/p>\n

Imagine you\u2019re on an airplane. One episode of Outlander<\/em> keeps playing over and over, and it\u2019s your worst nightmare. What episode is it?<\/strong><\/p>\n

Balfe:<\/strong> Other people watching? \u201cThe Wedding\u201d ! Of course.<\/p>\n

And what\u2019s an episode that you wouldn\u2019t mind seeing on repeat?<\/strong><\/p>\n

Heughan:<\/strong> Oh! When Jamie sends Claire back.<\/p>\n

Balfe:<\/strong> Yeah, that was a good one, because we had lots in that.<\/p>\n

Heughan:<\/strong> It\u2019s the beauty and the pain of saying goodbye, and everything that\u2019s going to come after it.<\/p>\n

For Heughan: styling, Grace Gilfeather; grooming, Charley McEwen.<\/em>
For Balfe: styling, Karla Welch; hair, Gareth Bromell; makeup, Silver Braham.<\/em><\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/article>\n

[analyse_source url=”http:\/\/vogue.com\/article\/caitriona-balfe-sam-heughan-outlander-season-8-interview”]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

[analyse_image type=”featured” src=”https:\/\/assets.vogue.com\/photos\/699379259b21c23f1007b1e5\/16:9\/w_1280,c_limit\/OLS8_012826_05_0105_a.jpeg”] TV & Movies Caitr\u00edona Balfe and Sam Heughan on the End of Outlander By Reshma Gopaldas February 17, 2026 Photo: Jem Mitchell Diana Gabaldon\u2019s story was simple enough: English girl in the 1940s visits the Scottish Highlands and is transported to the 1700s. Boy in the 1700s dislocates his shoulder. Girl fixes […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[2],"tags":[226,50],"class_list":["post-1784272","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-politics","tag-crawlmanager","tag-vogue-com"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1784272","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=1784272"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1784272\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=1784272"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=1784272"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=1784272"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}