Caitriona Balfe Talks Filming Claire’s Shocking Premiere Moment (VIDEO)

“It’s always strange when you film these things where you have to put yourself at the precipice of death,” Outlander star Caitriona Balfe told us about shooting that shocking opening moment of the Season 7 premiere, in which her character, time-traveling doctor Claire Fraser appears to be hanged for murder.

In the first episode of our weekly Outlander aftershow, Inside Outlander, the actress shares behind-the-scenes details of filming that scene and others in the romantic saga’s much-anticipated return, including the moment Claire reunites with her husband Jamie (Sam Heughan).

“This couple, whenever they are torn apart, whenever they are separated, it’s like they lose a limb, and whenever they come back together again it’s like their full life force returns to them. They don’t function fully without each other,” Balfe tells us.

She also hints about what’s next: “This season there’s an awful lot of trauma but Claire is more mentally capable of coping with it [than last season].”

Balfe then reveals we haven’t seen the last of Tom Christie (Mark Lewis Jones), Claire’s unexpected savior in the season premiere. The actress promises more twists and turns in that storyline.

Check out the video above for more from Balfe on shooting that shipboard scene with Jones; her first time working as a director on the series (she helmed a scene with Sophie Skelton, who plays Claire’s daughter Bree); what she learned about women on the battlefield in the American Revolution; and how Jamie’s wartime challenges will affect the couple.

Come back each week for perspective on a new episode of Outlander from the stars themselves. Up next: Sam Heughan!

Outlander, Fridays, 8/7c, Starz