Outlander's Sophie Skelton & Charles Vandervaart Break Down Brianna & William's First Meeting
Given that author Diana Gabaldon started publishing her Outlander series in the early '90s, there are certain scenes the fans have been waiting years to see on screen. One such highly anticipated moment? Brianna and William's first meeting, depicted in this week's episode.
"There's been a huge fan expectation for this moment. Of course, it's the first time that we see an adult William. For audiences, it's Charles's big introduction into the series," explains David Berry, who plays William's adoptive father Lord John Grey on the series. [ed note: Charles Vandervaart joins the cast in season seven, playing the adult version of William.]
"So we bring the weight of that, and the fan expectation, and then there are layers to everyone's dynamics and their relationships within that scene." Of course, fans of the book and the show alike know that William is Jamie's son (kudos to the casting director; the resemblance is uncanny), but he remains oblivious, and while he thinks he's meeting a sort of distant family friend in Brianna, Brianna, Lord John, and Jamie, who is watching the interaction unfold from afar, are all aware that it's far more significant than that.
"The scene is quite simple from William's perspective. It's a lot more complicated when you add in all the other dynamics," Vandervaart tell T&C, reflecting on this week's episode. "They all know who I am. They know my true parentage. They know I 'm Jamie's son, and I have no idea, so it's a much more complicated conversation for, I think, the people around me. For me, I 'm just meeting this woman who has some kind of familiarity to me for some reason."
For Brianna, the moment is "bittersweet," says actress Sophie Skelton.
"Brianna had a sad childhood. I feel like she was pretty estranged from her mom, and she was kind of raised by Frank, and then she was on her own a lot, and didn't have a solid family to rely on. And so she's finally got that and then to find that she has a brother, I think is just a dream come true," Skelton notes, breaking down her character's emotions in the scene.
"She also never thought she'd meet him, and managing to see William is just a beautiful moment for Bree, but also quite bittersweet because she can't just have a candid conversation with him and actually get to know her brother. But I don't think that there's too much sadness in that. I think it's more just feeling grateful that she gets to meet him at all."
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