‘Outlander’ Season 3 Spoilers: Caitriona Balfe Teases Claire And Frank’s Struggle

Claire and Frank aren’t exactly meant to be on “Outlander.” Obviously, the nurse is in love with Jamie, but after being sent back to the future, she is going to try to make things work with her first husband in Season 3. However, Caitriona Balfe, who plays Claire, warned viewers that it’s not going to be simple.

“I think it’s difficult for both of them,” Balfe told Entertainment Weekly. “Frank is coming to terms with his wife. He didn’t quite know what had happened. She disappeared and she’s back. They’re tentatively trying to see if they can patch things up and allow themselves to embrace a future together. They really do try, but it’s not quite that easy.”

A new photo shows Frank (Tobias Menzies) gazing at Claire right after she gives birth. The time traveler is actually holding Jamie’s (Sam Heughan) daughter, Brianna, but Frank will raise her. As part of the agreement they made in Season 2, Brianna will be raised as Frank’s daughter, and she won’t know that her real father is in 18th century Scotland.

Losing Jamie will obviously be difficult, but it sounds like Claire’s daughter will be her motivation for moving forward. “This is right after Claire gives birth to Brianna,” Balfe said of the photo. “Those scenes are wonderful because it’s a new beginning, but it’s so fraught with so many other things. Obviously, this is Jamie’s child, but Claire’s in a new time and believes that Jamie is dead. So she’s really trying to look forward and give her daughter a new life, a stable family.”

Though Season 2 ended with Brianna at age 20 and Claire deciding to go back through the stones, expect plenty of flashbacks. Author Diana Gabaldon gave readers a small glimpse into Claire and Frank’s marriage in her novel “Voyager,” but it seems “Outlander” Season 3 will dive deeper.

“They’ve expanded that end of the story a little bit, but they’ve done it well, very consistently,” Gabaldon told TV Guide last month.

Though Balfe has said that she enjoys filming with Menzies, it seems she is getting back to her other onscreen husband. Earlier this month, Heughan teased that the famous print shop scene would be filmed soon. Readers know that it is the scene where Jamie and Claire reunite after 20 years apart. Unfortunately, Heughan wasn’t allowed to give away any spoilers.

Fans will have to get through Droughtlander before they get to see how Claire’s marriages with Frank and Jamie have changed. Starz still hasn’t announced a premiere date for “Outlander” Season 3.