Outlander season 3: The joy and pain of Brianna – Claire relationship
For the Brianna – Claire relationship, we are looking forward to so much more than just a matter of lines. Their relationship is more of a series of masks.
For most of her life, Bree has viewed Claire through a prism of the story that she’s been told, and the relationships that exist within the present. Caitriona Balfe’s character has in part sported a mask through these interactions. She may still be a devoted mother — we don’t believe that this has been distorted at all — but she has kept the truth about her past at arm’s length. Some of this said truth started to be uncovered during the events of “Dragonfly in Amber.”
The reason for Claire’s mask is understandable — she understands the insanity of her situation, and the notion that such a thought as Jamie Fraser would be incomprehensible. She adjusts herself and sports a new facade whenever she sees fit. With Bree, she’s always been her purest self that she can be within the present, but even then there is still the divide.
Throughout the entirety of the season 3 promotional campaign we’ve heard and seen constant reminders of the heartache that Claire and Jamie have experienced during their time apart, but perhaps there has not been enough attention paid to the heartbreak that Brianna could feel at the time of Claire’s departure back to the past. This is a young woman who already has lost Frank from her life, and for the first time she’s started to see the true image of her mother for who she is. There’s a joy, a passion that comes with that. Then, she has to say goodbye in an extraordinary circumstance. This is her mother, one of her most important people in her life, and she’s going to a place where she is technically still alive but almost impossible to reach. Think about where Brianna’s head must be within those moments, and how she must feel happy for Claire but also still heartbroken that another key figure from her own life is gone before she gets the chance to hear any more stories or witness any more truth. Then, there’s also Jamie, and a direct connection to him is unfathomable in its own right.
We think that the caption from Starz’s official Twitter for the two below is truthful — Brianna and Claire have a bond that “can’t be broken” in the wake of everything that they’ve gone through. Yet, through season 3 that bond is going to be tested in ways never experienced before by another mother and child.
Out of all of the intriguing relationships taking shape in these upcoming episodes, this one has to be close to the top of the list.
Want to secure some additional Outlander season 3 news?
If you head over here, you can see some additional headlines from tonight, including a new video featuring Cesar Domboy, the actor playing the older version of Fergus on the series. (Photo: Starz.)