When Outlander Season 3 had just started filming in Scotland, I was fortune enough to be part pf a group of journalists who were given the opportunity to visit the sets and talk to the main cast about what fans can expect in the coming season. After the dramatic events of the Season 2 finale left Claire (Caitriona Balfe) and Jamie (Sam Heughan) adrift, we all wanted to know how soon it would be until we see them reunited, but also, how much the series would show of their lives for the twenty years we know them to be apart.

Though he was busy filming (since Jamie has a lot of story to go through in these first episodes), Sam Heughan was able to sit down with us all for a few minutes to talk about what Jamie’s mental state is when we meet him again, what it’s like for him being on his own without Claire, and the darkness his character will face in the wake of that turmoil.

Question: Could you start by just setting the scene for Jamie at the beginning of this third season; where we find him, and in what state.

SAM HEUGHAN: I suppose a slight departure from the books, we kind of pick up from where we left off. Jamie has lost Claire. He’s sent her back to the future. He goes to battle thinking he’s got only one thing left to do, and that’s to die by the side of his men. He doesn’t expect to survive. And so, when he does, it’s a bit of shock to him. Then going through the next few episodes, we see the effect that that has on Jamie, on him sort of living without Claire, and recovering from the trauma of the battle. But also sort of losing his life.

So, it’s a slight departure from the books, which is that, obviously in Diana’s book, Jamie doesn’t remember the battle. And actually, in the battle, Black Jack Randall appears, and there was sort of the final showdown between them. It’s been a remarkable journey for Jamie, actually. It’s really interesting few episodes. First few episodes.