'Outlander' season 3: Why Jamie and Claire were called Frasers on ship

Jamie (Sam Heughan) had changed his name to Alexander Malcolm in “Outlander” season 3, but when he was onboard the ship on a rescue mission, everyone addressed him as Fraser. What was the reason for this change? The writers of the show answered this question and more in a recent online interaction with fans. The following article contains spoilers from episodes that have already aired.

There was a time when Jamie was on the run and had to change his name to hide from the British soldiers. However, the writers of the show confirmed that by the time Claire (Caitriona Balfe) reunited with him, he had already been pardoned. He changed his name back to Fraser on the ship because the people he is currently running away from - because of what happened in Edinburg - know him as Alexander Malcolm.

An interesting change on the show was Jared (Robert Cavanah) being present in Scotland. The writers explained this change by pointing out that the man had business interests in the UK, even though he mostly stayed in France. This made it plausible for him to be present to offer his help.

One of the fans wondered how the acupuncture scene was filmed. The writers confirmed that no needles were poked into Heughan’s face, and that it was all makeup and prosthetics.

Mr. Willoughby (Gary Young) was quite interesting on the show, but the books had one addition: a pelican. The writers said they planned for a pelican at the last minute, and even tried looking for a trained bird for this purpose. In the end, they decided against it as the amount of work needed for the visual effects would be too much.

On the ship, Mr. Willoughby was seen writing something in Chinese. The writers revealed that this is a Chinese poem translated as “Fire rises, in my heart ash remains.”

Another fan wondered if the British Captains at that time had the right to press women into service. The question is pertinent because the captain of the Man of War basically kidnapped Claire to serve on his ship. The writers said that the officer had no right to press women into service, but the situation was so desperate in the episode that he had no choice.

While the main story at the moment focuses on Jamie and Claire, it doesn’t mean they have forgotten about Brianna (Sophie Skelton). The Scotsman still has pictures of his daughter, which will come into play later. The writers asked fans to “stay tuned.”