Sam Heughan’s Best 'Outlander' Episodes

In 2013, Sam Heughan was cast as Jamie Fraser, a character that had lived in the pages of Diana Gabaldon’s epic book series, Outlander. Now, almost a decade later, Heughan and co-star Caitríona Balfe have played Jamie and Claire Fraser, and turned that book couple into one of the greatest love stories on screen. It is the chemistry between Heughan and Balfe that sets this show apart. Chemistry like theirs is rare. Only a handful of actors on screen have it and these two stand out above the rest because, for close to 10 years, they’re in a small group of couples who have portrayed a long-standing marriage on screen. Most other shows only depict couples getting together and falling apart, the in-between is where Balfe, Heughan and of course Gabaldon’s writing make this chemistry and story stand out.

Outlander follows the story of Claire, a 1940s war nurse, who falls back in time and meets Jamie Fraser, a young Scottish Highlander. After being forced to marry, the two fall in love, and decades of love, trauma and stress follow. They go from Scotland to France to Jamaica to America. They have children and grandchildren, are separated for two decades, lose a child, and suffer countless traumas, and yet somehow Outlander remains a show you can’t stop watching.

Partners in crime and time, Heughan and Balfe began as unknown actors with little experience and now are executive producers on the hit Starz show. Although the end is near, with the show’s eighth and final season now in production, Heughan and Balfe have brought their characters from their 20s to their 60s, and cultivated an audience that will most likely never leave them and follow their careers wherever they go. Even when the show ends, Outlander will live on thanks to Heughan and Balfe’s performances. Here are Heughan’s best episodes from seasons 1 through 7a, including the scene where Claire celebrates Jamie Fraser’s 50^th birthday, which just happens to be the day after Heughan’s birthday.

This article was originally published April 30, 2023.

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When Jamie’s Shoulder Socket Met Claire – “Sassenach” – Season 1, Episode 1

For Jamie, it was love at first dislocated shoulder. This man fell in love with Claire the minute he saw her, and when she was single-handedly responsible for putting his shoulder back into its socket, he was all, “Love hurts.” When Claire reveals she’s a nurse, Jamie looks at her boobs, because back then nurse, meant wet nurse, who nursed babies. Claire quickly rolls her eyes and corrects him – which would become a theme of their relationship. He loves her, she thinks his 1700s naïveté is cute but pretends not to. Two people fell in love that day, only one admitted it. Balfe and Heughan prove it doesn’t need to be a love scene to show you have chemistry.

The magic doesn’t stop there, Jamie falls off the horse he and Claire are sharing, because he didn’t tell her he had been shot. When she revives him, angrily, and bandages his shoulder, he’s immediately smitten. She pretends she’s not, but then extends a hand to help him get up, and swoon, stop, help, he’s going over. And right then, it was over. For Frank.

Jamie & Claire become Jamie & Claire – Fire Hug – “Castle Leoch” – Season 1, Episode 2

Claire breaks down when Jamie asks if her husband is dead. And right there, by the fire, Jamie consoles Claire. Hello, chemistry. This scene pretty much sets the stage for these two as one of the greatest couples on screen. Period. Full stop. Exclamation point. The intimacy in which Heughan and Balfe play this scene where it’s just Jamie hugging a distraught Claire is powerful because of the way these two are able to shut out everything in a scene except for each other. It’s the first time the audience sees why Claire is never going to be the same and never going back to the future. (Ha, jokes on us and Claire, and Jamie).

Jamie Goes to a Drunk Doctor – “The Way Out” – Season 1, Episode 3

The first season of this show is all about setting the foundation of the entire series, the love story between Jamie and Claire. Heughan and Balfe’s had one job and they did it. Every single scene between Jamie and Claire had to show a development leading up to their relationship beginning. And it would take 7 episodes until they actually get together, or rather are forced to marry. But the brilliance between the two actors, lies in the more subtle moments building a friendship with obvious attraction between Claire and Jamie. This episode is filled with scenes like this, but the strongest is probably when a tipsy Claire checks Jamie’s injury, by unwrapping his scarf. Is there a scene where two actors lock eyes more intensely? No, there is not. Until season 3, where they do it again, at a party in front of everyone in episode 12, “The Bakra.” Some call it eye sex. But Heughan and Balfe showed how you can show two people falling in love with just one look.

Claire and Jamie Get Married – “The Wedding” – Season 1, Episode 7

What is there to say about the wedding that hasn’t already been said? This episode has been probably been watched and re-watched more than any viewer will admit. But this cemented the show, Heughan and Balfe as one of the greatest love stories on television. Yes, Jamie has sex for the first time, and Claire and Jamie subsequently do the deed 3 times, and Claire well, she teaches Jamie about a lot of stuff that night. Heughan and Balfe stand out in this episode for having to navigate love scenes that quite frankly, at that time, had never been done like this. They show a couple falling love in over the course of one night, and manage to do with humor, love and vulnerability. Heughan brilliantly shows Jamie’s innocence and excitement when Claire suggests they “go to bed,” and then after when he admits he thought humans had sex like horses. The intimacy of the laughter itself was a love scene all on its own. These were no doubt not easy scenes for Heughan and Balfe to film, but there’s a reason these two will go down in television history for this wedding. Iconic.

Jamie & Claire Get into a Huge Fight – “The Reckoning” – Season 1, Episode 9

This is one of Heughan’s strongest scenes in the series. Claire and Jamie get into a gutting argument by the river after Jamie saves Claire from Black Jack Randall. After these two hurl brutal insults at each other, you realize how in love they are with each other and there’s no going back, not for Jamie, Claire or the audience. The vulnerability and devastation on Jamie’s face when he’s explaining to Claire how she was “tearing his guts out,” and that he went into a place without a weapon to face off against a man who has brutally attacked and almost killed him not once but twice. Claire seeing how scared he was for her, immediately forgives him. When Heughan falls back against the rock, shows how Jamie drops his pride, and reveals just how desperate he was to save Claire, you realize how layered this love story is. And that is thanks to Heughan and Balfe, and their ability to inhabit these two characters.

Jamie Believes Claire – “The Devil’s Mark” – Season 1, Episode 11

When Claire finally tells Jamie she is from the future, Jamie’s reaction to this preposterous notion is perfection. Heughan and Balfe play this difficult scene so well, that you actually end up believing that she is indeed from the future. But that’s because Heughan and Balfe play the beats of this scene as two people confiding in each other, and you forget they’re talking about time travel, but instead see how they will both protect, believe in and choose each other no matter what. When Jamie realizes he had punished Claire for simply trying to go back to her husband in the future, the look of devastation on his face shows why Claire ultimately chooses to stay with Jamie. Because there’s no other choice for her. Heughan perfectly played a man who was about to give up the thing he held most dear in life, because he thought it was what she wanted. His ability to play the duality of Jamie’s selflessness and devastation is subtle and perfect.

Drunk Jamie & Elephants – “Lallybroch” – Season 1, Episode 12

Jamie gets drunk and asks Claire about elephants. The lighter side that Heughan perfectly depicts in Jamie throughout this episode is simply amazing and worth re-watching. In fact, if you look closely, you can probably see Claire Fraser or is it Balfe laughing when a drunk Jamie is talking to her.

Jamie Remembers How His Father Died – “Lallybroch” – Season 1, Episode 12

Jamie tells Claire all about the brutal whipping he suffered at the hands of Black Jack Randall and how his father died after seeing it. Heughan conveys Jamie’s pain of a son who believes he was responsible for his father’s death.

Jamie Gives Up His Life for Claire’s Life – “Wentworth Prison”

This is one of the most brutal scenes in Outlander, and although you will want to, you will not be able to take your eyes off the screen. Heughan, Balfe and Menzies are riveting. One realizing he’s about to be brutalized and likely die, another realizing she’s about to lose her husband and cannot do anything to save him, and the third menacingly delighting in torturing them both. Difficult to watch, but impossible to look away. When Jamie kisses Claire goodbye, the desperate devastation and sorrow in Heughan and Balfe is heartbreaking.

Claire Saves Jamie – “To Ransom a Man’s Soul” – Season 1, Episode 16

The finale of season 1 is probably one of the most powerful and disturbing episodes in television, and was difficult to watch and even more difficult for Heughan, Balfe and Menzies to film. It’s rare for a show to depict a brutal sexual assault between two men, but Outlander did just that. In fact, Heughan revealed in his memoir Waypoints, that he felt it crossed a line and today, it would not be filmed in the same way. Thankfully, thanks to Heughan, he wanted other actors not to have to navigate these types of scenes alone, like he Balfe and Menzies did, and got an intimacy coordinator that joined the show in season 6, to protect the actors. Balfe admitted that she wishes they had an intimacy coordinator for every single intimate scene since season 1.

The best part of this episode that is worth watching is actually between Balfe and Heughan at the very end. In it, Heughan perfectly depicts a broken man that doesn’t want to live, and Balfe matches him playing a partner that doesn’t want to live without him, but also must make him realize he has nothing to be ashamed of.

How Heughan and Balfe didn’t win awards for these episodes, one will never understand.

Claire Tells Jamie She is Pregnant – “To Ransom a Man’s Soul” – Season 1, Episode 16

This scene although seemingly simple shows just how good Heughan is at hiding how broken Jamie feels, yet also showing Jamie’s joy upon learning Claire is pregnant. And together these two sail off into the sunset and all is right in the world. (Ha, nope).

Jamie Can’t Get Black Jack out of his head – “Not in Scotland Anymore” – Season 2, Episode 2

This episode is filled with great moments in which Heughan shows just how much Jamie is struggling, but also trying to be strong for Claire. The best scene is probably when Jamie realizes Claire has gotten waxed in a place where he didn’t know wax could go. He exclaims, “Claire your honeypot – it’s bare!” Ahh Jamie Fraser, nothing gets by him. But it’s what happens after that you realize how well Heughan plays this role. There’s the signature Balfe and Heughan chemistry, but when Jamie and Claire start to get intimate, and the image of Black Jack Randall hits Jamie, he is paralyzed. Claire gently tells him they can just sleep, realizing he won’t be able to, reaches over and reassuringly puts a hand on his face. Heughan plays Jamie as having been shaken to the core and barely hanging on. The next day, Jamie and Claire head to Versailles as one does, and yet again, Balfe and Heughan show the multifaceted appeal of this couple. The humor when Jamie sees Claire in her busty red dress, when Jamie’s ex-girlfriend shows up, and when the king is um, constipated, can’t be matched. One moment he shows Jamie will never be the same and the next trying so hard to pretend it is.

Jamie & Claire Fight About Claire Working in a Hospital – “Useful Occupations & Deception” – Season 2, Episode 3

No Claire and Jamie are not about to sing, “The Hills are Alive” with their favorite local nun. They’re hanging with Mother Hildegarde, head nun, who’s helping them decipher music like tiny little French spies. But what leads them here is a scene in which Jamie and Claire get into a pretty serious argument. What triggers it, is Claire joyfully coming home to tell Jamie she volunteered as a nurse in the hospital. Upset that Claire wasn’t home, and stressed about being an undercover spy (don’t blame him!), Jamie snaps at Claire that she is “with child” and asks her if she forgot. Heughan expertly shows how distraught and frustrated Jamie is, and how uncharacteristically, he’s not thinking about Claire’s feelings at all. She explains to him it’s the first time she’s felt like she’s doing something worthwhile since arriving in Paris. Jamie storms off, and the audience sees just how much emotional distress Jamie is under and in turn growing between the couple. But Jamie soon realizes he was wrong, and later goes to visit Claire at the hospital to ask for the head hospital nun’s help. And he sees how happy Claire is there. Then he, Claire and Mother Hildegarde chuckle about the nun’s friend Bach.

This is also the episode that Fergus comes on the scene as Jamie and Claire’s adopted son. Heughan and Romann Berrux’s father-son dynamic is one of the best relationships on the show.

Claire Tells Jamie Black Jack is Alive – “La Dame Blanche” – Season 2, Episode 4

There are many moments in this episode where Heughan shows Jamie’s recovery as Jamie begins to turn the corner. When Claire is poisoned, and thankfully survives, she decides to tell Jamie the secret she has been withholding, Black Jack Randall is alive! Dum, dum da dum. Heughan shows Jamie’s unhinged joy at realizing he can get revenge, but also in the very same moment, Jamie’s love for Claire and their in-utero Fraser.

Jamie & Claire Fight & Finally Reconnect – “La Dame Blanch” – Season 2, Episode 4

When a randy Jamie comes home from the brothel in a good mood ready to roll with the Mrs., things are looking up. But then they instantly go down, and not in the good way, when Claire sees bites on Jamie’s thighs. Um, sir, excuse me? Team Claire. Well, suffice it to say, they get in a fight. A big fight, but it leads to Heughan giving one of Jamie’s most vulnerable monologues in the series. He tells Claire how he’s felt since his brutal assault. “That’s where I’ve been ever since, Claire. Naked, alone, trying to hide under a blade of grass.” Balfe and Heughan convey the pain and loneliness in each of their characters in this moment. Thankfully, Claire doesn’t let a couple of thigh bites by a brothel employee get in the way of Jamie’s healing. Please note, she is definitely not happy about it. But the couple reunites and is intimate for the first time since the assault. And to top that off, it’s a love scene that doesn’t hide that Claire is pregnant. Heughan and Balfe confessed they actually fought for that to be shown.

Jamie tells everyone his Wife is a White Witch – “Untimely, Resurrection” – Season 2, Episode 5

So many things happen in this episode, it’s hard to keep track. But here goes, Jamie gets drunk and accidentally tells everyone his wife is a white witch. (In his defense, she can time travel, and she is white). Where’s the lie?!

Claire & Jamie Run into the Devil at Versailles – “Untimely Resurrection” – Season 2, Episode 5

After running into Black Jack Randall at Versailles, Jamie casually challenges him to a duel. Jamie and Claire get into a serious argument when Claire begs Jamie not to kill Black Jack for one more year. Jamie feels betrayed she would ask him such a thing. The whole argument is a masterclass taught by Heughan and Balfe. But it’s when Jamie agrees to not kill Blackjack, and Claire goes to touch his arm, and he angrily tells her, “Don’t touch me,” causing her to flinch, that the audience realizes yet again why these two are so good, even when their characters are at odds.

Claire Tries to Stop Jamie from Killing Black Jack – “Best Laid Schemes” – Season 2, Episode 6

Remember when Jamie promised Claire he wouldn’t kill Black Jack, well yeah, that doesn’t work out as planned. Jamie has betrayed Claire she thinks, when she runs to stop him from killing Black Jack. A distraught Claire miscarries as she sees Jamie stab Black Jack, and then the French army arrives to arrest him. Uh, oh, things don’t look so good for the Frasers. Or Black Jack, but he deserved that little groin sword jab. And then some! When Jamie sees Claire fall to the ground, as he is being restrained by the army, Heughan shows Jamie’s desperation and regret, and pure panic in one look and when he screams, “Claire,” as she loses consciousness. It would be the last time he would see Claire pregnant. Ever.

Claire and Jamie Lose Faith – “Faith” – Season 2, Episode 7

Claire miscarries and Jamie goes to prison. This is one of Balfe’s most powerful episodes. And Heughan stands right beside her and supports her. When Jamie is released from prison, he asks Claire if she hates him. Claire admits she did hate him and blamed him for their daughter’s death. But then she forgives him, learning he only fought Black Jack to protect Fergus. Jamie pleads with her that the only way they will make it through is together. The full scene was cut, but Heughan’s performance in the episode and the deleted scene is worth a watch. When Claire and Jamie visit their daughter’s grave, it’s impossible not to cry with them.

Potatoes & Fireplaces – “The Fox’s Lair” – Season 2, Episode 8

Jamie and Claire return to Scotland, after Claire miscarries their stillborn daughter. In a rare happy moment for the two, they return to Lallybroch, and the family harvests their first batch of potatoes. Have you ever seen a hotter group of people this happy about potatoes?! No, you have not. This episode also contains probably the best love scene that’s not a love scene, when Jamie tells Claire his father’s a bastard (no not in the mean way, in the olden times way, you know his grandparents weren’t married and had his dad out of wedlock). Jamie is distraught and Claire’s all, “I don’t care.” And then they kiss in front of a fireplace in only a way these two can. And Heughan somehow manages to carry Balfe across the scene while walking and kissing without falling over and dropping her. It’s not easy. Try it. Actually, don’t. It’ll be embarrassing for you.

Jamie Sends Claire Back to the Future – “Dragonfly in Amber” – Season 2, Episode 13

Jamie and Claire say goodbye and are parted for 20 years. This episode is perfectly heartbreaking in every way. Heughan and Balfe’s goodbye scene where they dance to the stones, where Claire then leaves Jamie, seemingly to die in Culloden, while she goes to the future hopefully safely to give birth to their child. Jamie Fraser tracking her period in the middle of a war will never not be iconic, sir. This scene is art. Watch it, weep and then watch it again. And then ask Diana Gabaldon, why.

Jamie & Claire are Separated for Too Many Episodes – Episodes 1-5, Season 3

Jamie and Claire are forced to live apart for 20 years. Both thinking the other dead, they pretty much are depressed for 20 years. In that time, Jamie barely survived Culloden, Claire gave birth to their daughter and begrudgingly reunited with Frank who told her she could never tell Brianna the truth. Then Frank died. Because lies and dies rhymes, coincidence? I think not.

Jamie & Claire are Reunited – “A. Malcolm” – Season 3, Episode 6

Jamie & Claire are reunited after 20 years! That’s correct 20. Here’s how it goes, Claire finds Jamie. Jamie sees Claire. Jamie faints. Shout out to Heughan for the fainting, how many takes did that take? Claire and Jamie share a kiss, then spend what probably is about 5 days in bed. Who can blame them, 20 years is a lot of sex to make up for. And they do, multiple times. And all is right in the world of Outlander again, for 45 minutes. But then Jamie goes to run an errand, and some man breaks into their reunion sex room, and tries to attack Claire, and Outlander reminds us which show we’re watching. Happiness does not exist here, sorry. But Heughan and Balfe show how lonely these two were without each other from the first moment they lock eyes.

Claire Shows Jamie a Picture of Their Daughter – “A. Malcolm” – Season 3, Episode 6

When Claire shows Jamie a picture of their grown daughter, Heughan tries to remain strong, but we see the mix of heartbreak, sadness, regret and pure love and joy when he looks at Brianna’s picture and they recall their stillborn daughter Faith. Heughan shows that Jamie Fraser doesn’t have to cry for us to know he’s been living with a broken heart for 20 years.

Jamie Forgets to Tell Claire About His Back-Up Wife – “First Wife”

Jamie and Claire’s happy reunion goes south, when Laoghaire shows up and announces she his wife now. Oops, Jamie forgot to mention one little thing to Claire, and well there’s a huge fight. Huge. And in typical Jamie and Claire style, it ends with them about to do it on the floor. If nothing else, these two are consistent. They’ll always fight, but they will also always make-up. No matter what you try to do to stop it, Jenny. (Jamie’s sister tried to throw water on them to stop them from having sex. Which did work for that time at least). But Claire Fraser once said, “I’m his wife.” And it’s true. And Jenny Fraser, girl, you best remember that if Claire disappears again. Jamie and Claire. Period. Don’t you try and throw water on that, it will only grow. Heughan shows Jamie’s rage mixed with loneliness and desperation not to lose Claire when he yells he could picture Frank in bed with his wife, holding his “bairn.”

Ships, Turtles, Jamie & Claire – “Uncharted” – Season 3, Episode 11

Claire jumps ship, literally. Claire and Jamie are the heroes and the villains of their own story. So they finally reunite, work through the whole other wife thing, and are happily boating along searching for their kidnapped nephew, when Claire decides, “Oh there’s a boat with a lot of deathly ill people, let me insist on going over.” Then when that boat kidnaps her, and she and Jamie are separated, Jamie freaks out (which I get) and is put in the boat prison, while Claire is in a Typhoid Titanic ship situation, and everything looks grim for our hero and heroine. Luckily, Claire decides to leap off a ship in the middle of the ocean and somehow lives, floats to an island and long story short, is rescued by a priest, talks to a coconut, and then finds Jamie using a tiny pocket mirror. Don’t ask, your questions aren’t welcome here. But, when Jamie and Claire are reunited, Heughan and Balfe’s longstanding chemistry no matter on land or sea, is still intact and stronger than ever. In fact, when Fergus and Marsali get married, and the priest says you may kiss the bride, there goes Jamie and Claire kissing away. Not your wedding my dudes. But carry on. Who can blame them, their son and daughter got married (that sounds weird typed out, adopted son, stepdaughter), and every other episode the universe tries to separate them. So if they want to kiss during someone else’s wedding, let them. Later, they also have turtle soup. If you know, you know. Let’s just say, that whole ship knew.

Jamie & Claire: From Scotland to America – “Eye of the Storm” – Season 3, Episode 13

This finale had Heughan and Balfe’s characters saving their daughter in the future by murdering someone in the present, capsizing in the middle of the ocean, and then washing up on shore. Also, Jamie Fraser performed CPR on Claire underwater. But also maybe he was just making out with her to bring her back to life. Whatever, it worked. This episode could have been a movie, that’s the epic scale it was filmed at. And the end shot of Jamie and Claire washing up like stranded sexy seals, was perfection. Sun of a beach, these two even look good when they’re shipwrecked. PS – there’s no chance Jamie would have found Claire underwater like he did. I’m sorry, she was being dragged down by part of a ship! It was rainy and dark! But they do seem to have a weirdly strong connection, so I’m “on board” with this. A little nautical humor for you.

Jamie Meets His Daughter for the First Time – “The Birds & The Bees” – Season 4, Episode 9

This scene between Sophie Skelton and Heughan is bar none one of Heughan’s strongest scenes in the series. And it begins with Jamie Fraser peeing in an alley. Who knew? Brilliant. It’s impossible to do this scene justice in words. Watch for yourself, and if you’re not crying, you’re not human. When Jamie says, “Dinna weep,” and Brianna falls into his arms, good luck not weeping. Later in the episode, Jamie can’t sleep and tells Claire, he never wants their daughter to leave. When Heughan utters the line, “She is a gift, from me to you, and you to me,” he shows yet another side of Jamie we haven’t seen, a man who’s been in mourning ever since a pregnant Claire went back to the future. And a man who was robbed of the joy of raising their child.

Happy Birthday, Jamie Fraser – “The Ballad of Roger Mac” – Season 5, Episode 7

In this episode, Jamie Fraser turns 50 years old. And Claire gives him a great birthday gift. Whatever Jamie Fraser gets for his birthday in the future, no one can beat his wife’s Marilyn Monroe “Happy Birthday” tent song. Rated T for tent sex.

Quick note, Sam Heughan and Jamie Fraser are almost twins. Heughan was born on April 30th and Jamie Fraser on May 1st. See, twins. Very long delivery, no doubt. When the clock strikes midnight on April 30th, what will Jamie Fraser say? “It’s gonna be May!” he will sing in his best Justin Timberlake voice. You can’t convince me otherwise.

This is also one of Heughan’s stand-out episodes in season 5. When Murtagh is shot in front of Jamie, he carries him back to Claire and begs her to save him. Realizing there is no hope, Claire looks at Jamie, and he pleads with her. In that moment, you see how much loss Jamie has suffered in his life, Murtagh being the last parent figure he has living. Heughan’s childlike sorrow is gutting. It’s one of the few moments in the series Jamie sheds his tough Laird exterior and breaks down. When he looks to the one person who can usually fix everything, and Claire looks back at him helpless, he is lost.

Jamie vs. The Snake – “Monsters & Heroes” – Season 5, Episode 9

Jamie and Roger go hunting and a snake bites Jamie. By the time Roger is able to drag Jamie to Claire to get help, James ain’t looking so hot. In fact, Claire knows he needs penicillin, but unfortunately, someone evil broke her syringe. The scene between Claire and Jamie where Jamie stops breathing and Claire brings him back to life in a way only Claire can, shows just how skilled Heughan and Balfe are at playing things that on the page might seem silly. But when you watch the scene, and the shot of the two of them after he begins breathing again, there’s no way you could have imagined it would have been this good reading it. But that’s how good Heughan and Balfe are. Heughan once referred to this scene as Jamie and Claire “making love without making love.”

Jamie Saves Claire – “Never My Love” – Season 5, Episode 12

One of the hardest episodes of Outlander to watch is when Claire is abducted and violently assaulted by a group of men. When Jamie, Ian and the rest of the men manage to make to save her, unfortunately after she’s already been sexually assaulted by multiple men, Jamie utters 3 simple words. “Kill them all,” he says when he realizes there’s no way to tell who and how many attacked his wife. Heughan’s controlled rage when delivering that line is chilling. He shows how broken Jamie is when Jamie first sees Claire, the look of horror on his face, and devastation when he gently asks her, “Who? How many?” And she barely can speak and says, “I don’t know.” There is one thing that turns Jamie Fraser lethal, and it’s if Claire is threatened or hurt. And Heughan can flip a switch with one look at Balfe. And yes, they all died. Heughan supports Balfe throughout this episode as Jamie listens to Claire trying to wade through her anger.

Jamie Saves Fergus – “Temperance” – Season 6, Episode 3

When Jamie and Claire’s son Fergus tries to kill himself, Heughan’s performance when Jamie finds him and stops him is so beautifully devastating. Just thinking about it makes one tear up. Jamie races down when he sees Fergus cutting his wrist. Jamie is able to convince Fergus he should live, and says, “Tu comprend? Mon enfant? Mon fils?” “You understand, my child, my son.” When Heughan runs down the hill, sort of felt worried that he was about to slip down that hill. Those 1770s boots didn’t look like they had a lot of traction or arch support.

Jamie & Claire Have Terrible Neighbors – “I am Not Alone” – Season 6, Episode 8

The season 6 finale was action-packed and found Jamie and Claire being ripped apart yet again, with Claire being kidnapped by a member of the Brown family yet again. Pretty tired of that family. One minute Heughan and Balfe are in a shoot-out, the next Jamie and Claire are having supper amongst the rubble, and then they are in a love scene on their final night together, before being forced out of their now decimated home. This episode has it all, and shows Heughan’s range. He can be beating up a group of men, defending his home alongside his gun-toting doctor wife, and quickly switch to romantic lead, who’s powerless when his wife is taken from him.

Claire Saves Jamie With a Very Big Sword – “Turning Points” – Season 7, Episode 8

This episode showcases again how well Heughan and Balfe play off each other no matter what emotion they have to play. It’s been many years since Jamie and Claire have gone head-to-head. But Jamie really pisses Claire off in this episode by looking super dead on the ground. Jamie was supposed to be a sniper in the battle, but turns out he went into the battle. Such a Fraser move. Claire knows it, we know it. When Claire finds Jamie’s seemingly dead body being looted or robbed by a mother-son crime duo, Claire goes into Claire mode. What is Claire mode, you ask? It’s the mode when she pulls out a sword and threatens to filet the mother-son duo. Luckily, they run. And Claire puts her sword down, and realizes Jamie is breathing. But when he wakes up with jokes, “What took you so long?” Claire is infuriated. And this is where Heughan and Balfe show just how good they are. Claire yells at a bleeding Jamie for getting in the battle and accuses him of grandstanding. Heughan plays Jamie’s vulnerability but also amusement at how mad she is perfectly. The two of them artlessly dance between anger, frustration, concern, annoyance, fear, and then affection. Heughan has always known how to make Jamie a formidable match for Balfe’s Claire, but also manages to show, even when they’re arguing, how much Jamie respects, loves, and is mildly afraid of his wife. Now that is love. Then Heughan utters the famous book line without missing a beat, “You’ve the tongue of a venomous shrew, Sassenach, you’re a bonnie wee swordsman.” Perfect scene. No notes.

Make love not war Jamie. War doesn’t work out well for you. And Claire gets really mad. Really mad. And then when she is dressing your wound, she pours a lot of alcohol into your open wound with warning you and you’re in pain. At least the other option you’re in pain in a good way.

The beauty of this show is that both Heughan and Balfe seamlessly and effortlessly let each other shine. When it’s an episode where one of them is leading, the other supports. One can see why Outlander is so strong after so many years, when the two people who are the foundation are comfortable leading and supporting at the same time. These two are captivating in a way you will not even realize until it’s too late, and you find yourself bingeing multiple seasons in a few weeks. And why? Two reasons. Sam Heughan and Caitríona Balfe. Now go watch every episode in this list and you’ll see why all over again.