Outlander Season 7 Part 2: Kristin Atherton & Steven Cree On Reconnecting With Jenny And Ian Murray In Trying Times (2024)

Warning: SPOILERS for Outlander season 7, episode 9 — "Unfinished Business"!Outlander returned to STARZ tonight with season 7, episode 9, which celebrated Claire (Caitríona Balfe) and Jamie Fraser (Sam Heughan) arriving in Scotland while also imparting some sad news for their family. The appropriately titled "Unfinished Business" did some much-needed table setting prior to the show's conclusion in season 8, allowing the Frasers to reconnect with Jamie's sister Jenny and her husband Ian Murray. While Ian is still played by Steven Cree, the role of Jenny is now played by Kristin Atherton.

Outlander season 7, part 2 also gave Young Ian (John Bell) the chance to reunite with his parents after seasons away, but his homecoming was particularly bittersweet. The episode revealed that his father is suffering from consumption and in the last stages of the illness, and Claire unfortunately confirmed that no medical miracle could save him — time travel or not. Despite the heartache, however, he shared with him his love for Rachel Hunter (Izzy Meikle-Small) and sought strength for them to pursue her upon his departure back to America.

ScreenRant interviewed Atherton and Cree about the events of Outlander season 7, episode 9, especially how Jenny and Ian processed their son's return just in time to see his father in his final days. Atherton was particularly touched by getting the chance to portray the character after her initial audition for season 1, while Cree got emotional considering how he's raised a child since he first played Ian.

Kristin Atherton Reflects On Jenny’s State Of Mind In Outlander Season 7, Part 2

“She's having to deal with a loss of identity, the loss of being a wife, and of being maybe the head of the family.”

Screen Rant: Kristin, welcome to the world of Outlander. Jenny is a character that we have grown to know and love, so how did you step into that role and what did you want to explore from all those years that we haven't seen her?

Kristin Atherton: I mean, it's such an excellent question. There are a lot of layers to it, so I'll try and be brief. First of all, I watched everything. It's slightly bittersweet for me, as I actually auditioned for this role a decade ago. I was part of the original people they were seeing, and I got quite close, but obviously Laura [Donnelly] got the role.

Coming back to this, I had to revisit a lot of my original stuff. I knew that there must've been something in me that they liked, and you're fighting a losing battle if you're trying to be someone else. I spent a long time watching what Laura was doing, trying to emulate it and trying to be her. And the more I did that, the more I realized that's not possible. The whole point is that this is a woman way in the future from where Laura was. She has endured a lot more in some ways, maybe she rests in her matriarch role even more strongly. Then in other ways, bits of her life are vanishing.

She's having to deal with a loss of identity, the loss of being a wife, and of being maybe the head of the family. The generation below her is coming up, and she's having to let go of being the mother of Ian because he's going to go off and be his own man. She's experiencing multiple losses, and that is going to make her an animal within those episodes, so I tried to live in those moments.

I loved reading the book so much, and there were so many little phrases of Diana's that were sparking off in my brain even if they weren't in the script for various points. I remember there was one in the scene with Ian where he's on the boat. It's not in the series, but it's in the book where he realizes that, in Gaelic, she called him a man. He realizes that he's been let go. I love that, and it's what he can take to his relationship with Rachel.

Steven Cree Looks Back On The Last Decade Of Outlander

“I felt a bit emotional watching last night because it was 10 years ago that I started on that show.”

Screen Rant: Steven, we welcome you back as we're seeing you out. How emotional was it for you to go full circle on Ian's storyline and get to reconnect with Young Ian?

Steven Cree: It was emotional. Reconnecting with Young Ian was emotional, and that being the scene that I have with John meant something much more to me than the last time I had been on the show. I have a daughter, and it made me think, "What would I want to say to her if I'm in my final days, and what message would I want to pass on? How would I want to make her feel?" So, that scene felt very emotional for me to film as well.

Then saying goodbye as well was [emotional]. I feel like, with Outlander, I never say goodbye though because it just keeps going on — and because of the fans and because of the conventions. I filmed that scene two years ago, and I still feel like the world of Outlander for me has become so much more than just the show.

I was watching the episode yesterday, and I was like, "Oh, wow, God..." I felt a bit emotional watching last night because it was 10 years ago that I started on that show, and it makes you think a lot about what's happened in the last 10 years of your life as well. It takes you on a journey. But, ultimately I'm just grateful to be a part of it because it's such a phenomenon. It's a gift being part of that world.

More About Outlander Season 7, Part 2

Coming off the first half of Outlander Season 7, we find Claire, Jamie and Young Ian leaving the colonies and arriving in their beloved homeland: Scotland. The perils of the Revolutionary War force them to choose between standing by those they love and fighting for the land they have made their new home. Meanwhile, Roger and Brianna face new enemies across time, and must battle the forces that threaten to pull their family apart. As loyalties change and painful secrets come to light, Jamie and Claire’s marriage is tested like never before. With their love binding them over oceans and centuries, can the MacKenzies and Frasers find their way back to each other?

Check back soon for our other Outlander season 7, part 2 interviews here:

• Maril Davis & Matthew B. Roberts
• Caitríona Balfe & Sam Heughan
• Charles Vandervaart
• Sophie Skelton
• Richard Rankin & Diarmaid Murtagh
• Lotte Verbeek & Graham McTavish

Source: Screen Rant Plus

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Outlander

TV-MA

Sci-Fi

Drama

Fantasy

Outlander follows Claire Randall, a married nurse from 1945, who is transported back to 1743 Scotland. Amidst political intrigue and danger, she navigates life in the past and becomes torn between loyalty to her husband and the love for a dashing young warrior.

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*Availability in US

Cast

Caitríona Balfe , Sam Heughan , Sophie Skelton , Richard Rankin , John Bell , Duncan Lacroix , Tobias Menzies , César Domboy , Caitlin O'Ryan , Lauren Lyle , Grant O'Rourke , Graham McTavish , Paul Gorman , Charles Vandervaart , Stephen Walters , David Berry , Sarah Collier

Character(s)

Claire Randall Fraser , Jamie Fraser , Brianna Randall , Roger Wakefield , Ian Fraser Murray , Murtagh Fitzgibbons Fraser , Frank Randall / Jonathan Black Jack Randall , Fergus Claudel Fraser , Lizzie Wemyss , Marsali MacKimmie Fraser , Rupert MacKenzie , Dougal MacKenzie , Josiah / Keziah Beardsley , William Ransom , Angus Mhor , Lord John Grey , Mrs. Bug

Release Date

August 9, 2014

Seasons

7

Network

Starz

Writers

Ronald D. Moore , Matthew B. Roberts

Directors

Metin Hüseyin , Jamie Payne

Showrunner

Matthew B. Roberts

Main Genre

Sci-Fi