‘Outlander’ Season 1 Finale: Star Tobias Menzies Says Black Jack Randall Is A ‘Study In Sadism’

The Outlander Season 1 finale is right around the corner and for those that have read the Diana Gabaldon books that the show is based on, the series finale will be less shocking than it will be to those that have not.

If you have not read the books and want to remain in the dark, consider yourself warned that there are major spoilers ahead.

The last episode in Season 1 – which covers the first book in the Outlander series – focuses on the rape and torture of everyone’s favorite red-headed Scotsman Jamie Fraser (Sam Heughan) by Black Jack Randall (Tobias Menzies).

Menzies recently sat down with E! News to discuss what it is like to play one of the most sadistic characters of all time ahead of the Outlander Season 1 finale.

“Jack, I would argue, is a study in sadism,” Menzies explains. “He’s interested in people’s boundaries, their pain thresholds, what they can handle. It’s a rather sickening investigation.”

“In the portrayal of Jack, I had to understand the context out of which his behavior comes. It’s absolutely having to do with what his men have suffered, what he has suffered and what he’s seen. He’s seen too much.”

Throughout Season 1, Black Jack Randall has almost raped Claire (Caitriona Balfe), tried to rape Jamie’s sister Jenny (Laura Donnelly), and generally proven himself to be a troubled, troubled man. So, how does Tobias deal with playing a character like Jack Randall by day and trying to be himself when he goes home.

“It would be a lie to say that I go home and shake it off. But it’s what excites me as an actor when I see it and when I manage to do it myself, when there’s lots of shades within the colors of the characters. It’s true to life, isn’t it? Nothing is one thing or the other. Jack is one of life’s interesting contradictions. He does have some personal insight, he gets people and how they work but he chooses to abuse those rather than comfort them or reassure them. Diana wrote a lot of strong characters, but Jack is certainly up there.”

As for what his parents might think when they watch the Season 1 finale of Outlander, Tobias admitted that he had yet to really think about that.

“Weirdly, I hadn’t really thought about that,” he admitted with a laugh. “I feel a bit odd. My tummy’s doing a funny thing thinking of my mum watching it, so I think I might have to warn her. I’m glad we had this conversation.”

The Outlander Season 1 finale airs Saturday, May 30, 2015, at 9/8 p.m. central on Starz.