Fergus dies in fire after saving children, hot sex scene

SPOILER ALERT: This post contains spoilers for “Evidence of Things Not Seen,” the seventh episode of Season 8 of “Outlander,” now streaming on Starz.

César Domboy wants “Outlander” fans to know one thing after this week’s episode: “I’m not responsible for this.”

He laughs as soon as he says it, not because it’s not true, but because he knows that after nearly a decade of being part of the global phenomenon, fans will have great feelings about the episode. Heading into the hour, readers of Diana Gabaldon’s book series prepared themselves for one of the most tragic twists in her decades-long story. But what they got was one of the biggest twists in the show’s twelve-year history.

In a heroic act of sacrifice, Fergus (Domboy), the adopted son of Jamie (Sam Heughan) and Claire (Caitriona Balfe), meets a fiery end while trying to save his sons from a fire. While in Gabaldon’s books it is his son Henri-Christian (Benjamin Moss) who dies as a result of the fire.

“The way it was written in the books didn’t really fit with wrapping the show the way they are,” says Domboy Variety. “When they asked me to come back for Season 8, which was obviously a yes, they reminded me of what happened in the books, but said, ‘Maybe we can turn that into a very heroic send-off for Fergus.’ Saving his children definitely adds an extra layer of heroism to his character, and I was happy with it. I’ve never had to do anything like this in my career as an actor. I was really looking forward to it.”

Fergus and his wife, Marsali (Lauren Lyle), now live in Savannah and raise their four children while he runs a successful printing press from their home, following in the footsteps of Jamie’s own printing career in Edinburgh. But Fergus also secretly produces seditious material to further the Patriot cause in the American Revolution, making his family a target of escalating threats to their home and his business. When someone makes good on these threats, Fergus and Marsali wake up to their house engulfed in flames.

Marsali and their daughters make it out safely, but Fergus rushes to find his young sons, Germain (Robin Scott) and Henri-Christian, trapped on the roof. In Gabaldon’s books, Henri-Christian, who was born with dwarfism and faced persistent persecution during an intolerant time, dies after falling from the roof while trying to escape the fire. The show makes it seem like it initially sticks to the source material, as Fergus lowers his sons from the roof on a pulley, after which Henri-Christian loses control of his older brother. But in a clever fake-out he is caught at the last second by Roger (Richard Rankin). Relieved that they are out of danger, Fergus looks out at Marsali below, but falls through the burning roof to his death. It’s a huge change to the book’s storyline, especially considering Gabaldon hasn’t finished her series, in which Fergus is still alive. It’s also the most significant death in the TV series since Jamie’s uncle Murtagh (Duncan Lacroix) in season 5 – itself a huge variation on the books.

But on the day of filming, Domboy and Lyle needed some convincing Why it had to be done.

“It was a challenge for Lauren and me,” says Domboy. “It’s beautiful when you read it in a script, that last look they give each other. But when you did it, we were like, ‘Why the hell doesn’t he jump instead of taking the time to give this look?'”

“They really had to explain to us that there was no way out for him and she knew that,” Lyle added. “They said to me on set that they knew this was going to happen, and yet nothing can prepare you for what that actually means. But it’s an iconic ending, and it felt really iconic to do it.”

The nighttime shoot was one of the biggest set pieces in the show’s final season. As Fergus Fraser & Sons goes up in flames, a horde of background actors flood the stage and a colonial-era hand-pump fire engine is called in to help put out the blaze. “It was wild,” Lyle says. “It felt really big and cinematic. There were people everywhere.”

The moment Fergus falls through the roof as Marsali watches, Lyle only had a small window of time to capture the fear she is going through.

“We had seven minutes left to film the night we filmed his death, and I said, ‘Don’t cut, roll,’” she says. “So they rolled, and I just told them to tell me the beats of when he drops and what I’m reacting to, and I just really went for it and let loose in the most guttural way you could ever experience something like that. As much as fans are upset, hopefully this will hit extremely hard in a way that feels very real and impactful, and like you’re experiencing it with us.”

The loss of Fergus affects everyone in the Fraser’s orbit, who all learn of his death at the end of the episode, which ends with a montage of Fergus’ greatest hits. Jamie, who was close to his adopted son and publicly gave him his last name after raising the boy born in the brothel, collapses while making a coffin for Fergus, even though there is nothing to bury.

If this hadn’t been the final season of Outlander, Domboy says this could have happened in a different way. “It’s ‘Outlander,’” he says. “If they did another season, they could easily give you a scene where we see Fergus escape the fire and Jamie put ashes in a coffin, but it’s actually to protect his family because people wanted him dead for the revolution. I’m just fanfictioning at the moment.”

“Or Fergus the ghost,” Lyle adds to the speculation. “Marsali goes crazy and starts seeing his ghost.”

“Or an evil twin twist, with an even stronger French accent!” suggests Domboy, exaggerating his own French dialect.

Although he admits he half-jokingly begged the creative team to keep Fergus alive, Domboy is happy to have sent his character off as a hero, an incredible arc for a character who has come so far.

“It’s not very often in your career that you have the opportunity to portray a character for so long,” he says. “Fergus in ‘Outlander’ is one of the characters with the biggest arcs. I grew with him and I could often match everything I was going through or feeling as an actor on this set with what Fergus was going through. I’m just proud. I’m a Fraser, man!”

Marsali, meanwhile, will have to adjust to a new normal after returning with her children to Fraser’s Ridge, leaving to consider her next move and whether to take over the inheritance Fergus learned he owed earlier this season as the surprise son of a French dignitary. “As a woman during that time, she has to be selfish and survive,” Lyle offers. “Take the money, girl. That’s the modern way of thinking.”

“Fergus wishes she would,” Domboy assures.

Whether she will accept it is something for the final three episodes of the series to find out. For now, viewers are left with the painful loss of a beloved character, something that the upcoming May 15 series finale puts into perspective. But Domboy and Lyle didn’t want to say goodbye to Fergus and Marsali without properly emphasizing their love. The script intended for their final love scene – which, despite the show’s reputation, is a rarity for this couple – to be quick. “Passionate and performative,” says Domboy. But the actors argued for something more tender.

“We let them step out for a moment and gave us some time to choreograph it with the intimacy coordinators,” says Lyle. “We convinced them that it should start a minute earlier than in the script, where it becomes all fun and playful, because I think it’s fun to show this version of a couple who have four children and still have this love for each other. You’re reminded of who they were because in a few minutes you’re going to see them die as an entity. For a moment you see who they were ten years ago when they first started, where it was always about fun and romance and giddiness and sexiness is the last thing you want from them sees, and we need to see that instead of it just being sex.’

In that spirit, Domboy knows exactly what words he would have chosen if Fergus had been given the chance to say goodbye to his other half.

“Je t’aime mon amour,” he says.