Epic time-travel romantic adventure series Outlander returns for season 3 with familiar faces, some of which we haven’t seen in a while, and a few new ones. Here’s a guide to the characters of the sexy Starz drama.
Outlander season 3 premieres Sunday, September 10 at 8 p.m. ET/PT on Starz.
Claire Randall Fraser
(Caitriona Balfe)
Season 3 sees three versions of Claire: 1940s Claire, who just returned from the past; 1960s Claire, who is a doctor and is researching what happened to Jamie 200 years ago; and 1760s Claire, who has to readjust to life without modern conveniences.
“[When we pick up] Claire is still in the throes of grief, but she’s also pregnant, so there’s everything that that brings — the constant reminder of Jamie, she’s also going to be a mother,” Balfe told Rotten Tomatoes during a set visit. “She went through a pregnancy last time but she miscarried, so there’s also the fear of that. Will she miscarry again or will she have this child? It’s a very difficult time.”
Jamie Fraser
(Sam Heughan)
Jamie exists in only one time period in season 3, but it spans decades, which was a challenge for Heughan because the show doesn’t want to rely too heavily on using makeup to age up the characters.
“[Aging] was more about the experiences happening to him, about shutting down from the world. He’s a charming, capable, and forward-thinking man, and I wanted to see him shut down and lose that spark and that energy to him, so he’s got more weight to him,” Heughan said.
“Physically he’s not as proud. He’s sort of — his presence is slightly diminished, but it’s all due to the fact of losing Claire, losing his life, so hopefully we should see him rebuild back to the man that he was, just slightly older and a few more lines,” Heughan said.
Frank Randall
(Tobias Menzies)
Frank is trying hard to make his marriage to Claire work, but it does not prove easy.
“At the beginning of season 3, you see Claire and Frank pick up from where we left them in Act I of season 2,” Menzies said. “They’re embarking on their new life in Boston. It’s quite an interesting place for these two characters. I think they both are very tentative about their pact that they’ve made in some ways. They both are coming at it, hoping to make it work, but obviously there are very different circumstances for each person.”
Black Jack Randall
(Menzies)
The odious Black Jack does return in season 3 — and we aren’t telling you for how long. But it was important to the executive producers that the Battle of Culloden be depicted on screen, which means Black Jack and Jamie can have another epic showdown.
Brianna Randall
(Sophie Skelton)
Claire and Jamie’s daughter Brianna grows from a baby to a young woman in season 3, falling for Roger Wakefield while they research what happened to Jamie in the past.
“I think Brianna is very good at pushing people away, but Roger really pushes against that,” Skelton said. “He won’t let her push him away, which I think is a nice dynamic between the two of them.”
Roger Wakefield
(Richard Rankin)
Roger and Brianna hit it off because “there’s a need for each other,” both sharing some emotional turmoil, Rankin told Rotten Tomatoes by phone. But the historical mystery of what happened to Jamie Fraser really drives Roger as well.
“He won’t give up ‘til he gets the answer, because he’s stubborn like that,” Rankin said. “I think it’s indicative of his character, once he takes something on, he’s committed to it. That also gives you an idea of how his relationship is going to evolve with Brianna. Once he’s committed to that, he’s going to stick with it.”
Fergus Fraser
(Romann Berrux/Cesar Domboy)
Two different actors play Fergus, Claire and Jamie’s adopted son. The younger version is Berrux, who also played Fergus in season 2, while the older version is played by newcomer Domboy.
Berrux told us that he had a blast in season 3 because of a meaty scene for Fergus that was really fun for the young actor to shoot.
“It took one day to film it, we were in the middle of a forest, so it was very, very, very tiring, but I really, really liked it,” Berrux said of the scene we can’t reveal to you. “I had no more voice at the end of the day because I cried too much.”
Lord John Grey
(David Berry)
A very important character reappears on the show, this time as a grown man, when Lord John Grey is sent to be the new governor of Ardsmuir Prison.
“[Berry] was remarkable. It’s a really interesting relationship between those two,” Heughan said. “They develop this friendship that we’ll see transfer throughout further episodes and possibly [future] seasons. It’s a very complex relationship as well, especially for Jamie. Coming from his history with the red coats, it’s a tough barrier for him to get over, but they do develop this quite intimate friendship.”
Jenny and Ian Murray
(Laura Donnelly and Steven Cree)
The Murrays — Jamie’s sister Jenny and her husband Ian — have been holding down the fort at Lallybroch all these years while Jamie was off trying to stop the thousands of deaths that accompanied the Highlander uprising in support of Prince Charlie.
“At the beginning of season 3, Jamie has just returned from the war and he’s a mess … so I think there’s a great relief to see him back. He’s gone through such a huge change and is kind of in a distant state, which affects both Jenny and Ian,” Cree said.
Donnelly added, “It absolutely breaks Jenny’s heart to see Jamie like this. I think Jenny’s perspective of it will be quite similar, I imagine, to how the fans will see those first episodes, because that’s not the Jamie they know. He’s a beloved character and they have to go through the pain of watching somebody suffer immensely and for a long period of time for the loss of something they’ve also built up a love for as well. [The Claire-Jamie] relationship is hugely important to the fans and with that gone, it’s horrible to watch.”
Young Ian Murray
(John Bell)
Ian is the youngest child of Jenny and Ian, who idolizes his Uncle Jamie. He longs for adventure and it is said adventure that gets him into some trouble that continues throughout the season.
Laoghaire
(Nell Hudson)
Laoghaire, the thorn in Claire’s side, is back in season 3 in a big way. Hudson told Rotten Tomatoes that her character is still holding a torch for Jamie, even if they have both moved on to other people.
“Laoghaire will always love Jamie, for sure, and I do think there’s a tenderness on his part for her,” Hudson said. “Jamie’s such a good man and I think that part of him just feels a lot of compassion for her. And I think he loves [Laoghaire’s children] Marsali and Joan.”
Marsali
(Lauren Lyle)
Laoghaire’s daughter Marsali is a very willful, headstrong young woman, according to Lyle.
“She doesn’t care what anyone thinks, and she’ll go after what she wants and she’ll do what she wants to get it,” Lyle said. “She absolutely does not conform to what you would expect of a 1700s girl, which I think is amazing. She’s not there to serve anyone else; she lives her life the way she’d like to live it.”
