Episode 15 of Outlander's first season began with one man meeting his end at the gallows, and yet somehow, the episode would still find a way to somehow take the audience to a darker place before it was all over.
Taran McQuarrie is the man who ultimately meets his end at the gallows, but just as Jamie Fraser braces for his own untimely demise, the call of his salvation comes from the most unexpected source as Black Jack Randall orders the guards to let him live.
As it turns out however, Jack may have just had something more diabolical in mind when he saved Fraser from the gallows, according to the Wall Street Journal. The episode unfolds largely as an assault on the psyche and physical well-being of Jamie. After Jack chains Jamie up inside the pits of the prison, he then proceeds to go on a lengthy and self-serving session of torture that would rival even the most heinous acts in human history.
All throughout his assault on Jamie, Jack proceeds to find any sort of angle possible to inflict pain upon the already beaten down man. All the scenes of torture became so intense and visceral that even the episode's writer, Ira Steven Behr said that it all became very uncomfortable for the people on set, according to The Hollywood Reporter.
"It was much easier to write this episode than it was to be on the set," said Behr.
Tobias Menzies, the actor who plays Jack on the series, also commented on the scenes, saying the actions of his character were the formal introduction to just what he is truly capable of, said the actor in an interview with Vulture.
In the same episode, Jamie's wife, Claire, attempts to save her husband from the torture after breaking into Wentworth prison, but she could only watch as Jamie endures even more punishment. Jack promises even more pain for Jamie before the episode comes to an end.
The season finale of Outlander will premiere on May 30 on Starz.
Join the Conversation