Sam Heughan explains why Jamie reunited with [SPOILER] in newest Outlander episode

Outlander has returned for the second half of its seventh season, which began with several blasts from the past as Jamie (Sam Heughan) and Claire Fraser (Caitriona Balfe) returned to Jamie's native Scotland. We see lots of faces from Jamie's past, including Laoghaire (Nell Hudson), his ex-wife.

Jamie and Laoghaire have had a tense relationship over the years, with lots of painful ups and downs, but Jamie feels the need to reach out to her and set things right. "He's an honourable man. He feels a sense of duty," Heughan told Radio Times. "And I also feel like there's still... despite their rather tumultuous, kind of crazy history that they've had together, there's still a part of him that remembers the young Jamie and the young Laoghaire."

"He knows deep down that she's hurting. He wants to help her, he wants to make sure that she's OK, but also Joni – he's got a very soft place in his heart for her. Obviously, they lived together for some time. So he has a sense of duty and he's a good man, and I think he's putting a lot of things to rest."

Jamie is indeed the kind of guy to take the high road, so it makes sense that he would try and mend fences, if we can mix metaphors for a moment. "He's made his home in America now, but there are certain things that he feels that he should put away," Heughan continued. "And it's great to see Nell [Hudson] come back. She's a character that I think fans love to hate. And as soon as she walks on screen, I think you'll be able to hear the audience gasp."

There's also the matter of Outlander only having one season left after the second half of season 7 concludes. You get the idea the writers may be including characters like Laoghaire now because they're going to be busy in season 8 wrapping up the journeys of our core cast and won't have as much time to include supporting players.

Heughan seemed to hint at this as he mulled over the process of saying goodbye to characters fans have known for years now. "But yeah, a really fun sort of chapter to revisit and to have all these great characters. But as you said, it is bittersweet saying goodbye to some of our favorite characters and some of our favorite locations as well," he said.

At the moment, Jamie will remain in Scotland while Claire returns to the American colonies, where her medical skills are badly needed. Expect an exciting journey ahead as Jamie interacts a lot with his son William Ransom (Charles Vandervaart), who doesn't realize he's Jamie's son. The drama writes basically itself. It's all part of Outlander ramping up to a big finish with season 8.

Meanwhile, new episodes of season 7 drop every Friday on Starz. Season 8 likely won't be out until 2026. In between, Starz will premiere Blood of My Blood, an Outlander spinoff that will revolve around Jamie and Claire's parents.

To stay up to date on everything fantasy, science fiction, and WiC, follow our all-encompassing Facebook page and Twitter account, sign up for our exclusive newsletter and check out our YouTube channel.