Sam Heughan Explains the Dramatic Changes in Jamie for 'Outlander' Season 7

When Outlander season 7 begins next Friday, it picks up right where season 6 left off with Claire Fraser (Caitríona Balfe) in jail for the murder of Malva Christie (Jessica Reynolds) and Jamie Fraser (Sam Heughan) miles away—having almost been shanghaied and then rescued by Young Ian (John Bell) and some Mohawk friends.

As Jamie struggles to return to Wilmington, where Claire is incarcerated, it’s a new Jamie we haven’t seen before. True, he’s older, but it’s more than that.

Related: Outlander Stars Sam Heughan and Caitriona Balfe Adorably Bicker Over Their Pet Peeves

“It's interesting watching,” Sam tells the audience assembled at the Outlander season 7 World Premiere at the Tribeca Film Festival last night. “I remember Lisa Clarke, our fantastic director who did the first two episodes and then came back later on in the season and I were talking about this and he is like a bull throughout this whole episode. He's uptight and his shoulders are up here and he's just like, ‘I've got to f-----g get her back.' And then when her salvation comes, it’s in the form of Thomas Christie [Mark Lewis Jones], which is completely unexpected.”

Those who have read Diana Gabaldon’s A Breath Of Snow And Ashes, on which the first episode of the new season is based, know how Tom was able to do so, but we won’t spoil it for TV only viewers.

But it’s only then that Jamie finally does relax—a bit.

“He’s a force to be reckoned with,” Heughan continues. “I think he's also got so much to lose. Obviously, he's lost Claire before, but this time, I don't know, he's more frail and he does look a little bit older.”

Related: Sam Heughan Teases Outlander Fans With More Sweet Pics From Season 7

The loss of Claire isn’t the only thing that Jamie has to face in season 7 of Outlander. There is the potential for his illegitimate son William Ransom, Earl of Ellesmere (Charles Vandervaart) with Geneva Dunsany (Hannah James), to face death as well as he has paid for a commission in the British army now that the American Revolutionary War has begun, and Jamie spies him wearing a red coat.

In the trailer for the season, Jamie vows to Claire, “The battle is coming. I made a promise to myself. I will never face my son across the barrel of a gun.”

But will he be able to keep the promise?

“Jamie is on the side of the rebels and Lord John Gray (David Berry) and maybe William are on the other side,” Heughan says. “So, there could be some interesting drama to be handled. It's a fantastic storyline. It's another love story, a love of Jamie for William. You know, Jamie has always wanted to be part of his life.”

Outlander premieres the first eight episodes of Season 7 on Friday, June 16. New episodes will be available to stream weekly on Fridays at midnight on the STARZ app, all STARZ streaming and on-demand platforms, and internationally on the Lionsgate+ premium streaming platform in the U.K. New episodes will air weekly on the STARZ linear platform on Fridays at 8 p.m. ET in the U.S.

Next, As War Once Again Comes to the Frasers, Outlander Reveals Its Season 7 Trailer and Key Art