Outlander star Ed Speleers bids farewell to the awful Stephen Bonnet

CAUTION: THIS ARTICLE CONTAINS SPOILERS FOR THE NEWEST EPISODE OF OUTLANDER

Outlander fans are sleeping a little better at night knowing that Stephen Bonnet, who died in Sunday night’s “Mercy Shall Follow Me,” is no a longer threat to the Fraser/MacKenzie family. Bonnet was all sorts of trouble and horror, and I’m just glad he’s no longer going to be a thorn in Brianna or Jemmy’s side.

While saying goodbye to a horrible character like Bonnet feels great for me, the same can’t be said for the brilliant actor who has played him so effortlessly: Ed Speleers. It can’t be easy taking on such a detestable character, but Speleers pulled it off, turning Bonnet into a truly detestable villain. The actor spoke to Town & Country Mag about Bonnet’s end and what it was like to finally say goodbye to the show.

Outlander Season 5 — Courtesy of STARZ

First, a quick recap: In “Mercy Shall Follow Me,” Bonnet kidnaps Brianna, tries to sell her as a sex slave (ugh!), is found and beat up by Roger, tried for his crimes, and sentenced to death by drowning, an ironic end for a man who spent so much of his time on the high seas.

Speleers nailed the fear on Bonnet’s face as the tide rose ever higher, but that’s not actually how he dies. Moments before the the water engulfed him, Brianna shoots him from a distance. I mean, she had to make sure the guy was actually going to die; it’s proven hard to keep him down in the past.

“I mean, it’s palpable, isn’t it? This notion of his deep-seated fear of drowning,” Speleers said. “He was treated quite poorly as a child. They bound him, and then he was buried alive, essentially. And I wonder if that triggered something with drowning. Imagine being buried alive. It’s a similar feeling to drowning—I think there’s a link there. But he’s really spent his whole life trying to conquer his fear in a way. And I think this is a common thing in human behavior. Sometimes your biggest fear, you end up trying to work as close to it as possible in order to conquer it, maybe never having a handle on it. I think it’s a great character detail that Diana [Gabaldon] has come up with, to make this sea-fearing man a pirate. I think it’s a brilliant character trait.”

That’s an interesting way of looking at it. Bonnet is one of author Diana Gabaldon’s most complicated characters. He tends to overcompensate and be extra about everything: extra evil, emotional, ruthless and callous.

I appreciate that the episode took a moment to show us Bonnet’s vulnerable side as we learned about his traumatic past. It was necessary to understand what might have been going through his mind in those final moments of his life.

Filming a death scene like this is never easy, especially on a show like Outlander where every major character death is profound and filled with meaning. Remembering what it was like on set, the filming of this one sounds special indeed:

"Quite surreal is the only way I can think of it. When you know it’s your character’s death scene, there is a real danger of falling into this trap, of building everything up in your head. And of course, there’s a huge amount of work you need to do to be ready for that moment, but the scene was weirdly still. In my mind it was, anyway. It was quite a tranquil setting, beautiful lake, beautiful woodlands, people in costume on the banks. And there was obviously crew there, and they were all geared up in this sort of diving gear that makes me think they could probably go to the bottom of the Arctic Ocean with it."

I think the question many of us were left with at the end of this week’s Outlander was the same one Roger was pondering. But when it came from Roger, it felt sort of annoying and petty, and almost pointless. After ensuring Bonnet’s death, Roger asked Brianna if she did out of mercy or to make sure he wouldn’t make it out alive.

My opinion? It’s a little bit of both. Of course she wants this guy gone, but watching someone drown like that is painful to watch, even if that someone is Bonnet. But it certainly gives her back the control she lost after he raped her. This moment is hers to do whatever she wants with it, and I think she made the choice that best suits her.

"There is an element of mercy to it, but I feel that she is taking control in that moment. She is taking some power back, because the control had been taken away from her. Brianna is putting him out of his misery—I don’t think it’s purely just a murder, but she’s decided to do it. I think it’s a case of saying, ‘Well I can see you’re suffering, I’m going to take control of the situation. I’m going to end it for you, not because I like you, not because I’ve resolved the situation I’m in, but because I’m taking control.’"

Given Outlander’s habit of featuring dead characters in flashbacks, is it possible we’ll see Bonnet again? Something tells me this could very well be the case, especially as time passes and Brianna looks back at what transpired. Whether or not Jemmy is Bonnet’s kid, he’s a reminder of that time. I can see Bonnet showing up every now and again via flashback.

The thought has occurred to Speleers, too. “Outlander, as the producers have joked with me, has quite the record of doing flashbacks, and of bringing people back. So, never say never. I would love to work with these people again in some capacity, whether it be on this, or on something else, who knows. I think it’d be pretty hard to find a way back in unless it is a flashback, but I don’t know anything. I’m none the wiser.”

While I don’t care to see Bonnet ever again, I will certainly miss Speleers’ talent. He brought a constant sense of danger that made things more exciting, since we never knew when he’d pop up.

Farewell, Ed Speleers. You will be missed. But as for Stephen Bonnet, good riddance.

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