‘Outlander’ Stars Sam Heughan And Ciatriona Balfe Talk Black Jack Randall Reveal And The ‘Rift’ Between Jamie And Claire

Outlander’s latest episode surprised fans with the return of Black Jack Randall (Tobias Menzies). While those who haven’t read the books thought Black Jack died at the end of last season, “Not in Scotland Anymore” revealed that he is still alive. What does this mean for Claire (Caitriona Balfe) and Jamie’s (Sam Heughan) relationship?

Fortunately, Balfe and Heughan sat down with the Hollywood Reporter and discussed how Black Jack’s return will affect their relationship moving forward. So far, Jamie doesn’t know that his torturer from Season 1 is still alive, and Claire is afraid that finding out might destroy him.

“There’s a great fear that this is going to be something that breaks Jamie. She felt that they were finally getting to a place where they could put that to rest,” Balfe explained. “Now with the knowledge that he’s actually not dead and his brother is now in Paris, she’s so scared that it’s going to break Jamie.”

According to TV Line, the latest episode of Outlander featured Jamie struggling with his physical and emotional abuse from Season 1. Fans watched Jamie’s nightmare in which Claire turned into Black Jack. Jamie failed to kill Black Jack in his dreams, signaling a deep psychological trauma that he’s yet to overcome.

Instead of dealing with the past trauma, Heughan revealed that Jamie puts all of his effort to the task at hand. Unfortunately, his inability to deal with past issues starts to take a toll on his relationship with Claire.

“He continues to suffer from this trauma. He’s still got scars, physically but also emotionally. And he doesn’t deal with it,” Heughan shared. “What happens is that it actually creates a rift between him and Claire. They’re not physical with each other anymore. He can’t get close to her without seeing Black Jack.”

Although Black Jack continues to haunt the couple, Heughan added that his re-appearance in Season 2 of Outlander will actually help Jamie in the end. In a strange twist, Black Jack surviving the stampede turns out to be the one thing that enables Jamie to move on. Of course, fans will have to wait and see how Jamie first reacts to the news of Black Jack’s return and how it will impact his marriage.

“And actually, without spoiling it, the only way he’s cured is with Black Jack himself. The fact that Black Jack is still alive will give Jamie hope again,” Heughan explained. “That gives him the power to once again take control of his destiny and of his life. That finally rids him of the nightmare that is Black Jack Randall. It’s strange that the salvation of Jamie comes in the form of the very thing that injured him.”

Meanwhile, as the second season continues to develop, Cinema Blend is reporting that fans can look forward to the introduction of new characters. In the latest episode, fans were treated to the appearance of Master Raymond (Dominique Pinon), who turned out to be more mysterious than expected.

"For Master Raymond resembled nothing so much as a large, genial frog."#Outlander@mariannez61 @booozilla @Sheugs pic.twitter.com/EbmdPeP7bw

— Ann?MoNigheanRuadh? (@MoNigheanRuadh) April 18, 2016

Master Raymond is introduced when Claire enters his shop in search of something that will help with Jamie’s nightmares. The two characters immediately establish a good rapport, and Master Raymond created a mixture of herbs for Jamie’s bad dreams.

That being said, it’s also clear that Master Raymond is a charlatan and sells ridiculous things like crocodile potions to unsuspecting customers. For those who have read the books, Master Raymond turns out to be a time traveler, just like Claire. Moving forward, it will be interesting to see how their relationship develops and what else Master Raymond helps Claire combat.

New episodes of Outlander air Saturday nights on Starz.

Tell us! Were you shocked to learn that Black Jack Randall survived the stampede in Season 1 of Outlander? Let us know in the comments, and check out a preview for Episode 3 of Season 2 below.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZmnhMexT618

[Image via Starz]