‘Outlander’ Series Finale: Caitriona Balfe, Sam Heughan and EP on Celebrating the Final Sex Scene, That Callback to the Pilot and What the Ending Means: ‘That Door Was Never Going to Be Closed’

SPOILER ALERT: This post contains spoilers for “And the World Was All Around Us,” the series finale of “Outlander,” now streaming on Starz.

Caitriona Balfe and Sam Heughan don’t know what to make of that final shot of the “Outlander.” But they know what they were feeling in the moment as they filmed it nearly two years ago.

“We were both like, ‘Can we just stay dead?’” Heughan tells Variety. “Can we just take our nice break?”

This draws laughs from both of them, sitting together the day before the May 15 series finale — but they aren’t kidding. As they filmed the scene, when Claire lies down beside Jamie’s dead body, and possibly dies herself, neither one of them wanted to adhere to the script, which directed them to open their eyes and gasp for breath as the series cuts to black. “Outlander” showrunner Matthew B. Roberts leaves it up to the audience what this possible resurrection might mean. But Balfe and Heughan wanted to stay dead.

“We played chicken about who would open their eyes first, and who wouldn’t,” Balfe says. “I was like, ‘I’m not opening my eyes. Are you going to open your eyes?’”