Outlander star John Bell reflects on Ian’s traumatic Mohawk past

Outlander’s latest episode, “Hour of the Wolf,” focuses on Ian’s (John Bell) time with the Mohawk tribe. We knew very little about how he’d spent his time there, just that he returned in season 5 seeming pretty downtrodden. But nothing was revealed…until last week.

We learned that Ian had gotten married to a Mohawk woman who had gotten pregnant twice but tragically miscarried both times. Ultimately, Ian was asked to leave the tribe so his wife could marry a true Mohawk man. The belief was that even though Ian had accepted the Mohawk ways, his soul wasn’t pure Mohawk, which was why his wife kept miscarrying. It was heartbreaking to see that journey unfold, not only for Ian but for his wife, Emily.

Bell spoke to Entertainment Weekly about the gut-wrenching episode and revealed what it took to bring this part of Ian’s story to life.

John Bell on Ian’s Outlander agony

When asked what Bell believed was more crushing for Ian, losing the babies or losing Emily and being kicked out of the tribe, he replied it was definitely the former.

“It was losing the babies for Ian. He had so much love for his wife that of course, that’s going to be heartbreaking. But I can’t even imagine going through something like that. So it has to be that. You can see that in that scene, which was so beautifully done with Sam. Really that’s at the core of what’s churning him up,” Bell said. “It’s lightly touched on in the episode, but he’s struggled with faith as well. Does he believe in God? Does he believe in the Mohawk creator? If God is up there, where is his daughter? And it’s really Jamie that helps him to find that again, which is beautiful.”

And it truly was beautiful. Both Sam Heughan and Bell brought so much vulnerability to the scene where Jamie talked about losing his and Claire’s first daughter. Their lives have been anything but easy, but it’s faith that has brought them this far. It was beautiful to see Jamie remind Ian of that!

Of course, Ian seeing his ex-wife’s new husband, who he considered a friend, drudges up some bad memories. It’s so crushing to see the fear and sadness in Ian’s eyes, which was portrayed beautifully by Bell.

“Oh my gosh, it’s so shocking. It’s like his best friend. I’m like, “Yo, bros before hos,” but it’s classic, isn’t it? The love triangle. Just the ultimate sense of betrayal there. Not only have you gone through all this trauma and sadness with your love, but she also leaves you for who you thought was your best friend. It’s an arrow to the heart and a knife in the back. He’s completely wounded,” Bell said.

What does Ian’s future look like?

As far as what Ian is going to do next, it could go any number of ways ways. For one, there seems to be some sort of attraction developing between him and Malva (Jessica Reynolds). However, I don’t think that is going to end well because there is something off about her. There’s evil within her and we’re starting to see it crack through in every episode.

But, as Bell put it, Ian does find Malva “enchanting.” so he might be falling hard for her before he realizes it.

Fans are also wondering where Ian feels he belongs now? We did hear him tell Jamie that he is proud to be both Scottish and Mohawk, so it could go either way.

“That’s the big question, isn’t it?” Bell said. “Because I would say his family, but both he sees as his family. But truly, I think it will be with his blood, with the Frasers. Because as the Mohawk elder says, ‘You’re stronger with your own kin,’ and he will fiercely and loyally protect them. As you can see in the season, he is becoming Jamie’s right-hand man. And that trust in each other is really building, and there’s a lot of love there. That’s where he finds his strength, his true being, his true self.”

I couldn’t agree more! There is a loyalty there, a past, and a long shared journey. I think the Mohawk will always be alive in his heart, but as the story progresses, I think he will be sticking with the Frasers.

As for what will actually happen? We will have to tune in for the remainder of this season of Outlander!

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h/t Yahoo! News