Claire Fraser has seen some pretty gruesome medical situations
The grisly sequences in Outlander have become a hallmark of the Starz period drama, set amidst the 18th-century Scottish battles and later, the early Americana. Claire Fraser, portrayed by Caitríona Balfe, frequently handles a variety of graphic medical situations, leaving fans questioning how the actress deals with such graphic content on screen, reports the Scottish Daily Express.
On the official Outlander podcast, writer Anne Kenney and executive producer Ronald D. Moore discussed how Balfe approaches these scenes.
“Caitríona, I’ve never known her to be any kind of squeamish about any of this stuff,” revealed Kenney, mentioning that even “cooked rabbits” didn’t disturb the Belfast-born star.
Ronald D. Moore agreed, stating, “I don’t think she is. I don’t think she has any problems with it.”
He detailed Balfe’s initiation into the show’s gory aspect: “Day one on the show is her in the field hospital in World War II with open wounds and blood spurting everywhere, raw, really nasty stuff. So, I think she got over it really quickly.”
The team also touched upon the complexities involved in shooting such stomach-churning scenes, to which Kenney admitted can be “tricky”, especially when “obviously, she can’t do this on the guy’s legs”.
The filming techniques for the medical procedures in the acclaimed series were diverse, with Balfe sometimes acting with make-up applied on her co-star or close-ups performed on prosthetics while omitting the rest of the actor from the shot.
Moore revealed: “Some of it’s shot later. Those insert shots of the wound itself were done weeks after the fact – and not even Caitríona’s hands, somebody else’s hands.”
Anticipation builds as fans prepare for a blood-soaked return of Outlander for its eighth and concluding season.
Diverging from the original Outlander novels by Diana Gabaldon, which have been the foundation for the show, the upcoming season promises unexpected twists.
One startling storyline is the miraculous survival of Claire and Jamie Fraser’s (portrayed by Sam Heughan) daughter Faith, who originally died at birth in the first season.
In a remarkable deviation, viewers will learn that Master Raymond (played by Dominique Pinon) covertly relocated the newborn to a different era, enabling her survival.
Additionally, fans can anticipate the finale to unravel the enduring enigma of Jamie’s apparition and his inexplicable presence in the 1940s, given his inability to time travel as a Highlander.
As the television series draws to a heartfelt close, Gabaldon continues penning her vast narrative, expected to veer in new directions towards its conclusion.