'Outlander' season 3: Leveraging the beautiful sunsets for the epic battle scenes

After the premiere episode of “Outlander” season 3 aired, Ronald D. Moore, Toni Graphia, and Matthew B. Roberts spoke about their approach in a video released online. They also discussed how the director leveraged the beautiful sunsets while filming a major scene in the Battle of Culloden. The following article contains spoilers.

Just before Jamie (Sam Heughan) met Black Jack (Tobias Menzies) on the battlefield, there was a hero shot of the Highlander basking in the evening sun. In a video released online (see below), Roberts said that while filming on set they had a couple of "amazing sunsets." The director decided to use it to create a “surreal battle” between the two major characters.

“It really stands out as being one of those scenes you always remember,” Roberts said. The massive battle sequence took nine days to film. It took two units to shoot all scenes. The cast and the extras had to go through a boot camp to learn how to use the weapons.

The battle itself was not the main focus of the show. Graphia pointed out that the episode was about the emotional side of the story. She said that scenes, like the one where Claire (Caitriona Balfe) walks on the battlefield as Jamie lies dying, will be the scenes viewers will respond to instead of the actual scale of the battle.

There was a lot of thought put into choosing the title of the episode, too. On the face of it, “The Battle Joined” seems like an obvious reference to Jamie joining the Battle of Culloden. However, Moore explained it is also a reference to the battles that Claire had to face with Frank, and how these two battles of two lovers, separated by time and distance, unfolds onscreen.

Credit: Outlander/ Twitter

Credit: Matthew B. Roberts/ Twitter

Credit: nofoolingproductions/ Instagram

Credit: Outlander/ Instagram