Will Brianna deliver some tough love to Roger on Outlander?

Brianna has shown her compassion and heart over recent episodes. Now it’s time for tough love. Will that tough love be aimed at Roger on Outlander?

Roger has a big journey ahead on Outlander, but what about Brianna? It’s easy to forget about her journey as she is a mother to Jemmy and needs to help Roger recover. There’s going to be some tough love delivered, but will it be aimed at Roger?

During an interview with Collider, Sophie Skelton shares that while she’s a loving wife, she also has to give some tough love. It would suggest that tough love is definitely aimed towards Roger, who (because I don’t think the show would change this part of the books) will survive the hanging. How he survives is something you’ll have to wait to find out.

But why would Brianna think it right to give Roger some tough love? We’d give people time to get through the trauma now.

Something to avoid doing is putting today’s expectations on a show that is set in the past. Not only is everyone in the 18th century right now but Brianna and Roger are from the 1970s. We have to think the way they would have done at the time.

The best way to look at it is how the soldiers who came back from the Vietnam War. They suffered what would have been known as shell shock back then. PTSD is only a fairly recent term. The way to deal with shell shock was mostly to ignore that it was happening; to move on with life. Of course, that led to a lot of soldiers committing suicide, but it was just the done thing.

Brianna would be in that mental state. Being from America, she would have known what was like for soldiers coming back from Vietnam. She would have that mindset in dealing with the soldiers, even if it was just one or two.

At the same time, Claire and Jamie would have the mindset of just getting on with things. They’d understand there’s an element of mental pain, but Claire gave Jamie plenty of tough love after the events at Wentworth.

It’s understandable when you consider all that that Brianna would believe tough love is the way to go. She has given Roger some time, but now she needs her husband back. It’s time for him to deal with the trauma and move forward out of it.

Outlander Season 5, Episode 8 airs tomorrow at 8/7c on STARZ.