Sam Heughan: Jamie and Claire “hotter than ever” in Outlander season 5

Outlander’s Sam Heughan claims that Jamie and Claire will be “hotter than ever” in season 5. So don’t let the fact that they’ve welcomed their first grandchild fool you.

Speaking with Oprah Magazine, Heughan talked all about the upcoming fifth season (airing later this week) and what’s in store for the Fraser family:

"We may be grandparents, but we’re still hot! Maybe even hotter than ever…It’s just as a different kind of fire."

They’ve never lacked for fire, just saying.

I’ve been reading a lot lately about how Outlander season 5 is focused on family. I mean, this has always been the case for the series, but this season the family is a lot bigger, and they’re all together. Roger and Brianna were kind of all over the place in season 4, but they’ve set down roots with the new baby in Fraser’s Ridge.

And now, there’s a war coming that threatens to tear this family apart. And of course Jamie is caught up in it, leaving us to clutch our hearts in worry. Haven’t we endured enough?!

"There are episodes that are kind of individual, and they have other storylines, but the greater objective of the season is that they know this war is coming, and Jamie’s on the wrong side. He’s doing it because he needs to provide for people. So he’s really stuck between a rock and a historic hard place. I think that’s going to probably culminate not this season, but in the next season."

Part of Jamie’s conundrum involves Murtagh, his godfather and right-hand man. If you recall, Jamie was tasked by the British government with finding and killing Murtagh. This is a tad bit awkward since Jamie already knows Murtagh’s whereabouts. Let’s just hope they remain friends when all is said and done, although that might prove difficult with Jamie backed into a corner like this. “The one rock, the one constant his whole life has been Murtagh,” Heughan said. “He’s taken up a stance that Jamie probably agrees with, but can’t. It’s been amazing to play against [actor Duncan LaCroix].”

NEW YORK, NEW YORK – OCTOBER 05: Duncan Lacroix speaks on stage during Outlander panel at New York Comic Con 2019 Day 3 at Jacob K. Javits Convention Center on October 05, 2019 in New York City. (Photo by Ilya S. Savenok/Getty Images for ReedPOP )

Speaking of family, we’re going to see a whole lot of Brianna and Roger this season! In fact, the Outlander season 5 premiere is all about their wedding! Richard Rankin, who plays Roger, also spoke to Oprah Magazine, talking about how he dealt with the Roger backlash last season. It’s true that he was a tricky character to get used to last season; even I felt conflicted about whether  I even liked him for Brianna.

"I hadn’t really anticipated it, because I think my opinion on Roger is much higher than what the average seemed to be after a couple of our episodes. But it opened up a lot for debate in terms of who’s right and who’s wrong, and the whys and wherefores of their relationship."

One moment that sparked a lot of debate was Roger’s stance on pre-marital sex, and how he made Brianna feel about it. It didn’t go over well with the audience, and made Roger look like a jerk. “[Roger and Brianna are] a man and a woman of their time,” Rankin said. “Roger is the traditional type. And as much as Brianna is a modern woman, a modern woman in the late ’60s is still a woman who’s very much behind where we are. Right? Their ideas, I don’t think are necessarily right or wrong, they’re just different—and they conflict over that. I think that creates quite a dynamic and interesting relationship.”

LOS ANGELES, CALIFORNIA – JUNE 02: Actor Richard Rankin attends the Starz FYC Day at The Atrium at Westfield Century City on June 02, 2019 in Los Angeles, California. (Photo by Paul Archuleta/Getty Images)

Luckily, that’s all behind them and their relationship has matured, according to Rankin. Thank goodness for that, because it was rough there for a bit.

"They’re in a place now where they’re fairly secure with each other. [It’ll be clear] why the relationship is the way it is, why they have that passion, and why they constantly have that need to find and to reconnect with each other. We see them from a place of having settled in, found their anchors in each other. They have a home and are trying to make home work, but they work, as a partnership."

And did I mention they’ll have an adorable baby?

But while Roger and Brianna are in a better place, the same can’t be said about Roger and Jamie. They hit a rough patch last year when Jamie mistook Roger for Brianna’s offender, and it just got all sorts of messy from there. “I think things just get gradually a little bit worse for Roger before they get better, certainly in Jamie’s eyes,” Rankin said. However…

"One of the most exciting parts of season 5 for me is how Roger proves himself, and how Roger finds his place and his worth."

We’re all definitely looking forward to that, and to Rankin’s singing (of which we’ll get a lot this season apparently)!

And of course, we’ll be looking out for those “hotter than ever” moments between Jamie and Claire. Outlander season 5 kicks off on February 16!

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