‘Outlander’ episode 9 reaction: Sam Heughan on Jamie’s change of heart

To say that Saturday night’s episode of “Outlander” was shocking would be quite the understatement. This was an episode that was told almost entirely from Jamie’s point of view, and we saw how his past and his customs influenced his decisions. Specifically, his at-times-violent treatment of Claire was testament to what he was taught, and how he thought that a man should control and order his wife. It was Claire and her modern sensibility that put him in his place … not to mention the knife at his throat.

So is Claire bringing him around to a more modern perspective? This is something that Sam Heughan discussed after the fact in a chat with The Hollywood Reporter, which reminds us that he is a man who is still learning the right ins and outs of being a married person, especially one with such a strong woman for a wife:

“I think he’s really growing up. Every relationship that you’re in always teaches you about yourself and how you react to other people and certainly in the Colum/Dougal relationship, you see it lead him to better understand his relationship with Claire and what he needs to do in order to find a resolve. We see a man who basically grows up — or at least he goes from being a man with no responsibilities to being the one to make the choices about who he wants to be: Does he want this relationship and where it is going in the future? It’s a journey that every person goes through at some point in his or her life.  [Sometimes] you have to really make some choices.”

We do not think that Jamie will make the same mistake as hitting his wife again; however, this does not mean that the two will see their relationship in smooth-sailing mode moving forward. It is possible that there could be some further arguments and conflicts as time goes on. As a matter of fact, it would be strange if there wasn’t given the stress of the situation and Black Jack Randall’s presence.