Dive deeper into this episode with exclusive sketches, production designs, and fun facts delivered directly from the Outlander crew.
Shooting
“The boats we had in South Africa, including the Artemis which has been specifically built for our show, were really remarkable, especially on day one when I first got to go onboard. It was just sitting out there, all the rigging was down, and the sails were open and the wind was blowing. It really transports you to being on an 18th century ship. We have a whole crew that actually knows how to rig the ships and we have men that can climb up and down to the crow’s nest, and I was very fortunate to get to do some of that as well.”
Sam Heughan (Jamie Fraser)
The Ships
“We had three ships that were here from Black Sails, and then the Artemis was made for us. Terry, our rigger, brought in his men and we used them as extras, and they can really sail the ship. The nice thing about the Artemis is that it actually moves, it’s not in a fixed position. It drives. It has wheels. We can put it in the lagoon. Just knowing we can do that makes it much more real. It’s on a gimbal so it can move 10 degrees this way, 10 degrees that way. During a take, we found that doing this really helps the actors walk from one side to the other, without acting like they’re doing it. It just brings so much reality to the show. Then, with the special effects, and all the water thrown on it, you won’t even know that you’re not on the high seas.”
–Matthew B. Roberts, Executive Producer/Writer
Acupuncture
“Notoriously, Jamie Fraser is pretty good at most things, but he’s not good at closing one eye, and he’s not good at being on boats. He gets very seasick. Jamie keeps the fact that he’s actually been treated for seasickness by Mr. Willoughby through a series of acupuncture from Claire, who’s been making Jamie all kinds of remedies that she thinks are actually working and curing him. He didn’t want to rock the boat, so to speak. We have a fantastic prosthetics department and makeup department, and they applied these acupuncture needles, which are very different from modern day acupuncture—they’re thicker and longer. Each needle could be taken in and out, and I think Gary who plays Mr. Willoughby enjoyed that part of the process.”
–Sam Heughan (Jamie Fraser)
