Exclusive! Outlander Star Richard Rankin Reveals How Roger Earns Jamie Fraser's Respect in Season 6
When Roger Wakefield (Richard Rankin), now Roger MacKenzie, first went through the stones in Season 4 of Outlander, he was ill-prepared for life in the 18th century. True, he was a history professor, but coming from the 1960s, he had no clue how to farm, hunt or even fish when he arrived in the New World.
Roger's ineptitude was just one reason he got off to a rocky start with Jamie Fraser (Sam Heughan). It also didn't help that Jamie mistakenly believed Roger to be the man who raped his daughter, Brianna (Sophie Skelton), plus, when Roger discovered that the baby that Brianna was carrying might not be his, he disappeared for a while.
However, as Rankin recently told Parade in an exclusive interview, things are looking up for Jamie and Roger's rapport, with the former developing a newfound respect for the latter that fans will start to see play out when Outlander returns for its hugely anticipated Season 6 on Sunday, March 6 on Starz.
“I think he’s had it for a long time,” Rankin says. “I think now that Roger’s becoming more experienced, more hardened to the time, maybe it’s a bit less important to Roger now. He has his place, he has his family, he’s the head. He’s growing more and more every day in the 18th century and his relationship with Jamie is, obviously, important. His relationship with the Frasers, that family unit, is very important to him.”
Sam Heughan, Richard Rankin
In fact, his tie to the Frasers is so strong that Roger would put his life on the line for his family, as was evidenced in the Season 5 finale, when Roger joined forces with the men from Fraser’s Ridge who went with Jamie to rescue Claire from the band of men from Brownsville that had kidnapped her.
“I think since halfway through Season 5, Jamie’s seen Roger in that [new] light,” Rankin explains. “He’s come to see that Roger’s not the guy that thought he was at first. There’s a newfound respect. Obviously, Roger also saved his life [when Jamie was bitten by the poisonous rattle snake], so I think a lot came with that.”
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Roger has also found his mission in life in the 18th century with his decision to follow in his great uncle’s footsteps and become a minister, which is something he had never even considered in the 20th century. In fact, he probably resisted it, but events on Fraser’s Ridge have caused him to revise his feelings on the matter.
There’s no doubt that Roger respected his great uncle. After all, the Reverend Wakefield adopted Roger after the death of his parents, but Roger also saw him as a pillar of the community, which may contribute to why Roger’s decided to dive into being a minister in Season 6.
“I think it’s more from a spiritual sense, and more of a sense that he can do some good and he can help people on the Ridge,” Rankin says. “There’s a vacancy. We apparently were expecting a minister on the Ridge, and he didn’t turn up. Roger has that background, he has that knowledge, and he can apply it for some good. I’m not entirely sure how much religion there is in it for Roger; I think it’s more from a sense of helping people really.”
Obviously, when Season 6 premieres on Sunday, March 6, Roger and Brianna are dealing with many of the same issues as Jamie and Claire (Caitriona Balfe). Additionally, Claire is suffering from PTSD after her kidnapping and rape, which results in some tension at the Ridge, but there is also a darkness in the air with the impending American Revolution.
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“Only a few of us know about it and we can only talk in confidence amongst ourselves about it," Rankin points out. “But we still have to try and go on about our daily business. We have the Christies coming on to the Ridge and they bring a whole new dynamic to things, and potentially a bit of conflict and drama, who knows? But it’s Outlander, so we’re going to just assume, yes.”
Richard Rankin, Sophie Skelton
Despite the shadow of war hanging over them, Roger and Brianna are the strongest they have ever been, especially in their support for each other.
“They are one of the most stable relationships in a world of chaos at the minute on the Ridge,” Rankin notes. “They’ve accepted that Fraser Ridge is their home. Not only have they accepted it, but they’ve also embraced it and taken it to heart. Now that they’ve done so, they don’t have that question hanging over them of whether or not they want to or should go back to their own time. There’s a real strength in Roger and Brianna in the community, and a strength in them for other people. It is really nice to see them blooming as a couple as well.”
And speaking of a sense of community, one aspect of life in the 1770s that Rankin wouldn’t mind seeing more of in 2022 is human-to-human contact, rather than a large amount of time people spend on their phones and other screens.
“We spend a lot of time even in company, socializing with others via phones and technology,” he says. “So, maybe to strip all that away for a little bit would be refreshing. It would clear our heads a little bit if we could bring that need to talk and physically engage with people. Maybe we’re missing a little bit of that.”
Outlander Season 6 premieres on Sunday, March 6 at 9 p.m ET/PT on Starz.
