'Outlander' season 3: Jamie vs. Black Jack will be 'surprising'

The plot of “Outlander” season 3 may be based on books written by Diana Gabaldon, but some of the scenes will still surprise fans, cast member Tobias Menzies teased at the San Diego Comic-Con. The other cast members also teased important aspects of the story.

Next season will begin with the Battle of Culloden, in which Jamie (Sam Heughan) fights Black Jack (Tobias Menzies) on the battlefield. Pictures were previously released to tease this scene.

At the San Diego Comic-Con panel discussion, Menzies said that he misses playing Black Jack because “he’s the really fun one.” The actor said that when the fans see his character’s encounter with Jamie in battle, it will be “surprising,” because it will not be what the people expect. The actor explained that this is in line with what the show has been doing from the start, which is to “invert the cliché” between the two characters.

Menzies’ other character Frank will also be getting a lot of air time this year. After mostly taking a backseat in the previous season, Frank will be back in a big way. The actor said that at the start of the new season, they get to “unpack” the life of Frank and Claire (Caitriona Balfe) in Boston. The actor teased that this story is told in a slightly different way from the books.

“The writers gave us some great stuff to do,” Menzies said. The actor pointed out that Frank is a “surprisingly interesting” and “complicated” character. He also pointed out that this character is an important ingredient in the Starz show.

The other important aspect of the plot this year is the ageing of Jamie and Claire. Heughan said that their characters “age very well.” Balfe added that the fans have already seen her character from the 60s in the last season, and this year, the audience will see her progression from being 40 to 60 years old.

Heughan, on the other hand, said that they got to “stretch” their characters and see who they are after 20 years. He explained that over time, it is more about the experiences these characters have had, rather than the physical ageing aspect on the show.