Outlander Season 7 Episode 15 on Starz ends with Jamie Fraser (Sam Heughan) in the unique position of asking someone — if not commanding them — to save Claire (Caitriona Balfe) on his behalf.
**Spoilers for Outlander Season 7 Episode 15 “Written in My Own Heart’s Blood,” now streaming on Starz**
At the end of this week’s Outlander, Claire has been shot while volunteering her services as a medic at the Battle of Monmouth and it’s a wound that other doctors of the time easily write off as fatal. Claire, with her modern know-how, might have the skills to save a patient from a horrible belly wound, but she can’t exactly perform surgery on herself. That means Claire’s fate rests in the hands of her friend and protege, Quaker doctor Denzell Hunter (Joey Phillips).
While Dr. Hunter’s sister Rachel (Izzy Meikle-Small) has drawn more focus throughout Outlander Season 7, what with falling in love and marrying Young Ian (John Bell) and narrowly escaping Arch Bug’s (Hugh Ross) vengeance, it’s now Denzell’s time to shine. Ever since we met the enchanting Quaker siblings, we’ve known that they are deceptively ferocious in their kindness and convictions. Denzell’s beliefs in American liberty led him to offer his services as a doctor to the Continental Army, a choice that resulted in his expulsion from his pacifist community. Rachel joined him in exile from the Meeting of her own volition, but that’s not necessarily how Denzell sees it.
We watched earlier this season as Denzell rushed to Philadelphia to attend Rachel and Ian’s wedding. There, he not only reunited with his spirited sister, but was moved to confess his sense of guilt over her situation. It’s “a huge moment” for Denzell, according to Outlander star Joey Phillips. One that speaks to Denzell’s convictions and inner life.
When Decider chatted with Joey Phillips last month over Zoom, we talked about the enormous pressure he and his character felt knowing Claire Fraser’s life was in their hands.” That was like Denzell and Joey sort of merging together, being like, ‘I love Claire, I love Caitriona and I want to save her,’” he Phillips said. While Phillips was mum on how the procedure would play out, he was game to delve more into his character’s journey, his hopes for a possible love interest, and what will be “an incredible finale”…
DECIDER: So I’ve not seen the finale yet. The last thing I saw was Jamie begging and commanding Denzell to save his wife. I can’t imagine a more stressful position to be in than Jamie Fraser telling you you have to save Claire!
JOEY PHILLIPS: No pressure, Jamie.
Well, I would ask, like, how much pressure does Denzell feel at that moment and did you, the actor, feel that the pressure was on you to carry the storyline forward?
Absolutely. I mean, you know, it’s such a huge moment for Denzell. He just adores Claire so much and he looks up to her and she’s been such a touchstone for him during his journey throughout this season. He relies on her and and he finds it, I think, hard to open up to certain people. But with Claire, he can be vulnerable. So to see that person that you think has all the answers, to see them in such a vulnerable position, and now everything rests on you… You are now the only option left. You know, the doctors have fled. Jamie is begging me to save her life. It’s a huge thing for him. And I think he has to just try and remain calm and try and detach himself and be the surgeon and know that he’s capable and he will do everything he can.
But at the end of the day, it’s Claire that’s on the table and that is so emotional. And for me, as the actor, I was emotional seeing Caitriona laid there and all I wanted to do was whatever I could to make sure that she was okay. I knew that I was going to try my best. That was like Denzell and Joey sort of merging together, being like, “I love Claire, I love Caitriona, and I want to save her.” So yeah, it’s a really beautiful scene — really highly-charged emotional scene — but it was such a great couple of days on set.
You mentioned that Denzell “adores” Claire. He loves her. We’re reminded in this episode that not every male physician in this time period takes kindly to a woman giving them advice. Where do you think Denzell’s openness to say yes to Claire’s mentorship comes from? Because he is a very educated man in a certain time period. Is it his Quaker background or something about his the way his intellect works? Why is he more open to accepting Claire as a mentor?
Yeah, I think definitely his Quaker background plays a huge part in that. You know, the Quakers, there is no hierarchy. Men and women are equal and always have been equal. And, of course, his relationship with his sister is so special and they’re so close and they’re very fiercely protective of each other. They love each other, but I think he knows that Rachel knows her own mind. He knows that she knows what she wants in life and he trusts that she can make her own decisions. I think the balance between him wanting to be a protective older brother, but then also support her as being a sort of independent woman, I think he struggles with that.
I think, to him, there’s no reason why a woman wouldn’t be as good or better than a man [at medicine]. I think he just finds that crazy, that people would have any sort of prejudice. But, I think especially with Claire, from the moment they met, it was like a real meeting of minds and they really just saw each other and they had chemistry and they connected and they were on the same wavelength. I think he just thinks she’s amazing. She obviously knows all these things that Denzell, he’s probably read every book there is on surgery and operations, yet Claire somehow knows these other techniques and knows about ether. And he’s just like, “Wow, I have hit the jackpot meeting this woman. She’s an oracle. She’s amazing.” I think he just wants to soak up everything he can.
You mentioned the Quaker background. I don’t think I’ve ever seen a Quaker wedding on screen, and it was so wonderful to watch, but at times comically awkward. What was it like on set to, like, be quiet and wait for your cues and wait for the spirit to move you? Was it was it fun or was it kind of like nerve-wracking in any way?
It was so nice. I think it was a sort of window into what a Quaker meeting, what a Quaker wedding would have been. So for Jamie and Claire, that awkwardness is sort of what the audience is feeling because most people probably haven’t experienced that and it does feel sort of strange and you’re not sure what’s supposed to happen. It doesn’t follow a traditional wedding as we know it. I think, especially for me and for Izzy, that was the moment that we could feel our characters. It’s a huge moment for them, anyway. For Rachel to get married, for Denzell to see his sister get married, is very emotional. So it’s really nice to have that moment and actually connect to the spirit. Yeah, it just brought us a nice verisimilitude to to the scene.
You mentioned that this has been a hard season for Denzell because he’s got regrets. How important was it for him to take the wedding as a moment to express those out loud to Rachel? Was he able to work through them, you think?
Yeah, I think that was a huge moment for him because obviously it’s something that he’s been struggling with inside and he hasn’t been able to say to his sister, you know? Obviously they didn’t have Facetime and WhatsApp, right? It would have taken two weeks to even send a letter to her. So when he rushes in, he’s so desperate because he thinks he might have missed it, but luckily he hasn’t. He brings his sister down the aisle. I think at that moment he’s so happy for her in one sense, to get married, but he also needs to say this to her. He needs to say about this guilt that he has, and not to make it about him, but just so there’s nothing between them. I think they’re both very open with each other and it must feel strange to be holding something that Rachel doesn’t know yet. And I think it was a huge moment and it’s in front of everybody. It’s very vulnerable for him to do and it sort of comes out a little bit wrong at first, but I think Rachel is so wonderful in sort of relieving that guilt. He sees the love between Ian and Rachel, and I think that is a really healing moment for him.
Outlander is known for its romance. I don’t think we’ve seen Denzell get a love interest yet. Do you think it could happen in the next season? And what kind of person do you think it’s going to take to catch Denzell’s eye?
[Laughs] That is a good question. I would love for Denzell to find love. I think he is just such an amazing man. I think he has a lot of love to give. I think this season has been a real struggle for him, but it’s also been a quite a transformative journey from when we very first meet them and they’ve been kicked out of the Meeting. He has those feelings of guilt and is it worth it or not? Then accepting that his sister has met this man that maybe previously he would have judged as violent and not right to protect his sister, but he sees how much they love each other and he sees Ian’s soul and he knows that they’re the right people. So I think he would love that for himself. I think, at the moment, he has so many different relationships with Claire, with Rachel and now with young Ian, and also a nice little relationship with Lord John, as well. I loved those scenes with David Berry. So you never know. Just someone that is lovely and, well, will take care of him for once.
Before I go, is there anything you can tease about the finale? Because I haven’t seen it yet and I’m excited to. Is Denzell going to have a big surgical moment? Is there going to be is there anything at all you can that you can tease?
So Episode 15 finishes with Denzell about to perform the operation, which is a huge thing for him. Yeah, I think the pressure on him, the emotion is…it’s just a lot and you can feel that in the episode. It’s a very highly-charged episode and it’s amazing. I won’t say too much about, you know, how the operation goes, but I think the fans are going to be very happy. I mean, it’s an incredible finale.
The Outlander Season 7 finale will premiere on Starz on Friday, January 17.
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