‘Outlander’ Producer on Importance of Portraying On-Screen Father-Daughter Reunion as in the Novels
SPOILER ALERT: Do not read if you have not yet watched “The Birds and the Bees,” the ninth episode of “Outlander” Season 4.
The latest episode of “Outlander” finally put on screen a scene book readers have been looking forward to for years.
In the episode “The Birds and the Bees,” Brianna (Sophie Skelton) managed to carry on with her mission to find her parents and warn them of their impending deaths despite having just been brutally assaulted by Stephen Bonnet (Ed Speleers) in a pub. When she learned that her parents were actually in Wilmington already and set out to find them, Brianna located her birth father first, coming upon Jamie (Sam Heughan) as he took a bathroom break in an alley. It might seem a little weird to show-only viewers, but it happened exactly the way it happens in the book, which is just how the writers’ room wanted it.
“You always want to do something a little different in the TV show to give the fans who know the books and love the books something unexpected sometimes,” executive producer Maril Davis tells Variety. “But this scene, in particular, was something we wanted to keep in the realm of that book scene because we were all excited to see it come to life.”
And a great part of bringing it to life in a beautiful and satisfying way, Davis says, was the work of series stars Heughan and Skelton.
“The emotions that show on their faces, it’s obviously a very difficult scene [for the actors],” she says. “There are so many things that would be running through your mind.”
Davis points out that the “shock, elation, heartbreak — the heartbreak of not being able to see this beautiful woman turn into this beautiful woman” that plays out on Heughan’s face is “just amazing” in the scene. Similarly, Davis was impressed to see Skelton portray the “expectation of hearing about this man and finally meeting him in the flesh.”
Although Davis didn’t write this particular episode — Matthew B. Roberts and Toni Graphia did — she says everyone was pleased with how it turned out, especially the emotional family scenes.
Of course, the happiness for the Frasers was short-lived, though — as Brianna’s rape and subsequent pregnancy were revealed during her first few months on Fraser’s Ridge.
“It’s interesting to see the difference between Jaime and Claire,” Davis says, regarding how Brianna’s parents will handle revelations about their daughter’s experience in the past.
“Outlander” airs Sundays at 8 p.m. on Starz.
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