‘Outlander’: Sam Heughan, Caitriona Balfe, Sophie Skelton and Richard Rankin Open Up On Series’ Most Heartbreaking Goodbye Yet

SPOILER ALERT:This interview contains spoilers from The Happiest Place on Earth, Season 7, Episode 2 of Outlander, now streaming on Starz.

While an epic explosion at Frasiers Ridge would seem like the most shocking event thus far this season on Outlander, the Starz series managed to also pack in a shocking reveal, a bittersweet birth and the series most heartbreaking goodbye yet.

Moments into The Happiest Place on Earth, the mystery of who actually killed Malva (Jessica Reynolds) is finally solved. Despite Tom Christie (Mark Lewis Jones) having taken the blame for his daughters murder to save Claire (Caitriona Balfe) from the noose, it was actually his son Allan (Alexander Vlahos) who did it. Claire tries to stop Allan, overcome with grief, from taking his own life but Ian (John Bell) appears and shoots him with an arrow stating that Allans actions killed an unborn child and for that, he cannot live.

On a somewhat happier note, Frasiers Ridge welcomes its newest resident, Brianna (Sophie Skelton) and Rogers (Richard Rankin) daughter Amanda. But it isnt long before Claire notices the child has a potentially fatal heart issue. With this discovery comes the realization that Bri, Roger and their children must travel back to the future where modern medicine can save Amanda and also potentially never see Claire and Jamie again.

As the MacKenzie family time-travel to the 1980s, Claire and Jamie (Sam Heughan) try to settle into their new normal. It isnt long before trouble strikes. Fellow time traveler Wendigo Donner breaks into Claires surgery room to steal gemstones so he can go back home. As he and his crew rabidly search for more, they knock ether all over the floor. With an unfortunate strike of the match, Claire and Jamies life at Frasiers Ridge goes up in flames.

Variety spoke with Balfe, Heughan, Skelton and Rankin about their families possibly parting ways forever, and what fans can expect for both couples this season.

This weeks episode, The Happiest Place On Earth, features a devastating parting of ways. These two families, the Frasiers and the MacKenzies, are going to be broken apart by hundreds of years, and just after Brianna has given birth to her daughter, Amanda. How does this rank in terms of sad goodbyes on the series, which are, unfortunately, a common occurrence?

CAITRIONA BALFE: I think that the joy and the absolute thrill of Brianna having a new kid, and everyone being able to be present there for that new life coming into the family that was such a high. And then for the fear and the worry to come in when they realize that theres actually something wrong with Mandy, and the implications of that and what that means. There really was only one solution, and that was for them to go back to save her. But its a death. Its like they know that this is the final goodbye, or they think its the final goodbye.

Saying goodbye in that way, I think this is where we start to see Jamie and Claire be so vulnerable. They are left, and they are the only things, really, that they have its just the two of them together. That goodbye was really sad. And it just meant that we werent working with Richard and Sophie for ages.

Right. The show could go in so many places, but as of right now, your characters are separated, and who knows if theyll reunite.

RICHARD RANKIN: It was such a long process getting to that point for our characters, for ourselves, for the show to have everyone united, and be a solid, united front. Then to have to turn around and say goodbye, and finally go back to the future. I think [Roger and Brianna] had very much accepted the 18th century as their home. When they got spit out at the stones [in Season 6], they were like We belong here. Our family is here. Our life is here. We can truly be happy here. Theres a place for us here.

So to go through that whole character journey and experience all that, and come to that resolution and then have to go back anyway, it was difficult.

SOPHIE SKELTON: The goodbye scene was really difficult, but I think the hardest scene was actually just the scene where they find out about Mandy. I mean, that was absolutely heartbreaking. For them to leave I mean, Briannas losing her support system. To hear that your child might be on deaths door is hard enough. And then to have to leave the people who you feel are actually going to help you through that is horrifying.

But Brianna and Roger as a couple are stronger than theyve ever been. So I think they feel a sense of strength in each other by leaving. The goodbye scene was hard to film, but theres also an urgency to Roger and Brianna. Theyve gone into survival mode now. They need to protect their child. They know they have to go back. Its not even a question. So saying goodbye is one thing, and it really is goodbye forever as far as theyre concerned. But theres also an urgency at play. So its quite interesting to input that into the characters, into the scene. You know, really wanting to take your time over saying goodbye to the people that youll never see again, but also knowing that you just need to get back as soon as possible.

And in terms of filming, you all have been separated and who knows when you may be on set together again.

RANKIN: Saying goodbye to [Balfe and Heughan] and knowing that yeah, there could very well be a huge chunk of time [before filming again] because at that point, we werent really even sure if Season 8 was gonna go. That could have potentially been the goodbye at that point.

BALFE: It means even our time outside of work, where we would have all hung out a lot more when we have time off, theyre at work; and they have time off, were at work. So it was a long time where we just didnt get to hang out and didnt really see each other. It was like ships passing in the night after spending so many years of being so close. That was really tough.

How will the loss of Bri and Roger as well as the loss of their home impact Jamie and Claires relationship?

SAM HEUGHAN: Theyve lost their home, Fraisers Ridge. Theyve lost their family. And now really all they have left is each other, and also I guess this new nation that is forming and they want to do right by that for the next generation. But without each other, theyre nothing. I think Jamie especially, as he says it a few times on the show, hes very aware of the loss of Claire. He knows that he cant survive without her. So this separation makes them stronger but also theres a lot more to lose.

BALFE: Touching on something you just said Brianna and Roger and Jem and Mandy, they may not be with them, but its this idea of how can they help that country that they are living in, and that they are a part of be the best. Thats what really gives them so much strength going into all of these battles and really propels them forward to try and do as much as they can to make sure that history does turn out the way that Claire knows that it will.

How will Bri fare without her mother by her side, especially now that she is a new mother herself?

SKELTON: I think Briannas always been a very standalone human. She had a tough upbringing. I think she felt very alone in her upbringing and very ostracized from her mother. I think that she used to resent her mom for that. Brianna didnt really see her mom. I think one thing that is great about Brianna and Claire is the line of communication that was opened. Brianna now is equipped with the knowledge of what it is to be a working mom, and how to navigate that. I think she has enough of Claire ingrained in her from birth just in her genes, but also through the nurturing and the conversations that theyve had that. Claire is so instilled in her now that shes the voice in her head too. I think between Briannas own resilience anyway, and the hindsight of having seen how Claire managed family life and work, Briannas well equipped to power through it. Shes got her family around her, her children and her husband. Shes loaded with the stuff that she needs to navigate that. And shes a force to be reckoned with.

What can you tease about whats to come this season? And how S7 compares to past seasons on Outlander overall?

HEUGHAN: Its epic. Its a huge season. The biggest, apart from Season 1. The scale of it is probably the biggest weve done. We had a sort of teaser, a showreel put together on the last day of shooting. I was kind of just blown away by the variety we have in it, from America to Scotland to different timelines, different periods of time, different narratives, huge battles.

Then at the core of it is a relationship, a romance thats enduring despite all of that. I think its gonna be a huge season. I havent seen it all myself, but Im really excited for the fans to come on this journey again with us.

This interview has been edited and condensed.