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Outlander Star Caitriona Balfe Dishes on Scoop on Claire’s Witchy Ways

Outlander airs Saturdays at 9 p.m. on Starz, and you can get exclusive behind-the-scenes scoop right now!

By Lauren Piester Apr 20, 2015 2:42 PMTags

Which witch is the witchiest?

It's certainly not Claire Fraser (Caitriona Balfe), who found herself in quite a bit of hot water in Saturday's episode of Outlander. (Spoiler Alert!) She was trapped in a hole, put on the stand at a very unfair trial, and then almost burned at the stake until she was rescued by Jamie (Sam Heughan).

Claire's belief—or disbelief – in magic and the like is a major aspect of her character, despite the fact that she started the series by traveling back in time 200 years by touching a rock. She's basically Dana Scully in a corset.

"Claire's belief in the power of reason and science is so strong within her that she almost is a little too cocky," Balfe says in the behind-the-scenes clip above. "It's a very dangerous thing that Claire plays with when she refuses to accept the superstition of the time."  

As Frank explained in the very first episode of the series, "There's no place on earth with more magic and superstition mixed into its daily life than the Scottish highlands."

"There's fairies and there's witches and there's paganism," says Nell Hudson. "People just didn't know what to believe because they knew so little back then."

While Claire is most certainly not a witch and certainly doesn't claim to be a witch, her tricky frenemy Geillis Duncan—who we now know to also be a time traveler—has clearly played up her witch-like qualities in the eyes of everyone in town.

Watch the clip above to hear what Lotte Verbeek has to say about her character, and to hear more from Balfe, Hudson, and executive producer Ronald D. Moore!

Outlander airs Saturday at 9 p.m. on Starz.