‘Outlander’: Caitriona Balfe on Sex, Violence and Time Travel
Creators of period pieces tend to justify rampant misogyny in their storylines with “that’s the way it was back then”…
I think there’s a bad version, definitely, of shows like ours where it’s very much a bodice ripper. The heroine, even though she’s supposed to be strong, is still always this damsel in distress. None of us want to make that show.
The thing about fantasy is that you have these wonderful, wide parameters within which to explore great themes — but the difficulty is making it believable. To get people really engaged, you also have to bring it down to the ground and make it as truthful and as honest as possible. I always feel that people are very much as they were — you know, we haven’t evolved that much as human beings. We still have the same dreams and hopes and fears and wants. Even though we’ve evolved technologically or in an industrial way, our human spirit is quite similar.
One of the most refreshing aspects of the show is the show’s healthy attitude and appetite for sex that prioritizes female pleasure. And there’s scene where Jamie and a pregnant Claire have sex …
Yeah, we loved that scene! Sam and I fought to keep the belly bump in — I think there was some worry about whether or not you could see the prosthetic — because yeah, you don’t see that! And why don’t you see that in a sex scene? Why should that be a taboo? You see so many boobs all over the bloody TV. It’s the one safe space for them in this time where they’re kind of estranged from each other, and they’ve been struggling with their intimacy — and the fact that this is what brings them together, this unit of a family that they’ve become … I think it’s a very sexy thing.
What’s your perspective on the series’ rape scenes? Notably the one between Jamie and Black Jack …
Those scenes are very hard to watch. I’ve only seen each of them once … obviously, they’re quite intense. But I also feel that they were justified — you need to see how broken Jamie is and the way that Black Jack [played by Tobias Menzies] was able to poison the one safe space in his heart and his soul, which is his relationship with Claire. Jamie is a man who can take a physical beating; he has many times. Black Jack’s perversion is that he wants to break Jamie’s spirit. So many people were like, “Oh is he gay?” No! It’s not about that – he’s a sadist. It’s all about power.