Just a few more days before they are back!! ~ V
You won’t be needing that kilt anymore.
There’s no doubt that Outlander’s sex scenes have been some of the best on TV ever, and not because the show features the most gratuitous nudity (a Season 1 full-frontal shot of star Sam Heughan even got left on the cutting room floor at the actor’s request).
It’s because the show’s love scenes are the most authentic, the most emotional, the most intimate without feeling exploitative. Outlander is purposefully filmed with the “female gaze” in mind—and no, that’s not a reference to the camera lingering on Jamie’s beautiful body. It means that the story—even the sexual parts of it—is based on the female perspective and experience, which is why women viewers find it so hot.
It doesn’t hurt that the actors who play our favorite 18th-century Scotsman and his time-traveling 20th-century wife, Heughan and Caitriona Balfe, have major chemistry. Although the first few seasons featured many of our favorite passionate moments—S4 was a little light on the Claire/Jamie romance—the show delivered on Balfe’s promise to Parade.com that viewers could expect more in S5.
S6 continued the sexy streak, and also brought an intimacy coordinator on board for the first time to assure the actors felt comfortable enough to do their best work, resulting in some of the best sex of the entire series. And with S7 premiering June 16, we’re hoping for even more tantalizing love scenes when it drops on Starz.
In the meantime, here are the Outlander sex scenes we’ve most loved to see. Caution, spoilers ahead!
Season 1 Episode 7, “The Wedding”
Claire and Jamie’s Wedding Night
Viewers had to wait more than six long episodes before Jamie and Claire finally go to bed (“To bed? Or to sleep?” as Jamie asks Claire in this episode)—but it was worth the wait. There are actually three acts of love in this episode over the course of one night.
The first is a bit bumbling, as virgin Jamie thinks people have sex the way horses do (from behind), and then ends up nearly crushing Claire under his body weight. That awkwardness may be realistic, but their second go is where they really discover their stride.
Claire cries out, and sweet Jamie thinks he’s hurt her—when Claire explains she actually felt pleasure, Jamie asks if that happens every time. “Only if the man is a very good lover,” she says. Later, after Jamie gives Claire his mother’s pearls, the couple make love one more time.
Season 1 Episode 8, “Both Sides Now”
Sex in the Grass
Jamie and Claire are still in the honeymoon “let’s do it wherever and whenever” phase of their relationship. So, they take it to the Scottish countryside to make love al fresco—because why not? Well, we can think of a reason: There could be marauding redcoats about, which is exactly what occurs.
Although their partially nude moment is short and sweet before Claire has to put a dagger in a malicious soldier, it’s still probably one of the most stunning locales for a love scene, even an interrupted one.
