Outlander Season 6 will see Claire struggle a little mentally

Up to this point, we’ve seen Claire manage to brush off everything that’s happened to her. That’s not the case in Outlander Season 6.

Claire Fraser certainly has a 1940s attitude when it comes to life. That’s something Caitriona Balfe discussed in her interview with Elle when they moved on to discussing Outlander Season 6.

Up to this point in the series, we’ve seen her be able to compartmentalize everything. She’s had flashbacks now and then, but she’s managed to deal and move forward. There’s no point dwelling on the past. However, it’s not going to be so easy for this season.

At the end of Outlander Season 5, we saw Claire kidnapped, beaten, and raped by Lionel Brown and his men. She disassociated during the ordeal to help her survive, but that is going to lead to some struggles in the upcoming season.

Claire struggles with what happened to her in Outlander Season 6

Balfe explained that Claire has been “rattled to the core” after the events from the Outlander Season 5 finale. She can’t use her compartmentalizing as a “coping mechanism” anymore, so she needs to find another way to deal with it.

That’s something Balfe enjoyed about playing the character on the season. This is a chance to “find her core vulnerabilities.” Balfe had a chance to unpick the character, and getting to the core is the only way to heal properly.

"“I think Claire has always been able to compartmentalize things and move on; she has that very 1940s can-do attitude. She packs things up in a little box, she parks it, and she gets on with the rest of her life. And we see that she’s unable to use that coping mechanism, to get through this particular incident.”"

The stars of the show have only had good things to say about Outlander Season 6 so far. It is the shortest season of them all, but don’t expect that to mean less drama, less action, or less storytelling.

Outlander Season 6 premieres on March 6 at 8/7c on STARZ.