*Major spoilers for Outlander season 7 episode 2 below, you have been warned*
A major mystery from Outlander season 6 has been solved in the first few minutes of season 7’s second episode.
Malva Christie (Jessica Reynolds), Claire’s (Caitrona Balfe) enthusiastic young apprentice, was found with her throat slashed in the vegetable patch at Fraser’s Ridge in the lead-up to the show’s final season climax.
Jamie (Sam Heughan) was accused of sleeping with and impregnating her by her father Tom (Mark Lewis Jones) and half-brother Allan (Alexander Vlahos).
Claire was suspected of the killings since she was the one who found her and then used her contemporary medical knowledge to conduct an emergency caesarean in an attempt to rescue the unborn child.
Last week’s episode saw Claire miraculously avoid the hangman’s noose for her supposed heinous deeds owing to a last-minute intervention by a remorseful Tom, but viewers were still left in the dark about the identity of both Malva’s killer and the father of her child.
Shocking moments at the start of the most recent episode of Outlander showed that individual to be one and the same – Malva’s half-sibling, Allan.
Claire discovered her sobbing over her grave, lamenting the loss of her beauty, and the sexual nature of their connection became clear as the time-traveller took the natural jump to conclude that Allan killed her out of jealousy.
Flashback flashbacks revealed the incestuous aspect of their relationship, with Allan admitting he was upset Malva slept with other men, notably Young Ian (John Bell), to assist conceal the actual identity of her child’s father.
With Malva unwilling to go forward with Allan’s plan to fraudulently foist motherhood on Jamie and pain Claire in the process, he is seen murdering her after she tells him she does not love him in a last confrontation in the hopes that she would receive money and be sent away so he may follow.
Young Ian murders Allan with an arrow to the back after Claire wrestles the pistol from his grip to prevent him from killing himself following his confession.
In discussing Allan and Malva’s relationship, actor Alexander Vlahos claimed that he was briefed on everything about the role during his first meeting with Outlander’s creators.
‘I was told in my first chat with [executive producers] Matt [Roberts] and Maril [Davis], they basically gave me a full rundown of the character and literally the whole thing and I was immediately like, “Oh, okay…”,’ he explained of his trepidation, speaking to Metro.co.uk.
However, the 34-year-old commended the programme for its sensitive portrayal of Allan and Malva’s incestuous narrative, as depicted in source material, author Diana Gabaldon’s sixth Outlander book, A Breath of Snow and Ashes.
‘They said that they were going to treat the incestuous aspect of their relationship with poise and grace – and I don’t know how much you can do with poise and grace when it comes to incest – but they really have.
‘Me and Jessica talked at length with every director about how much is visible to the public eye and in terms of the other characters, and were there any scenes where there was a call for that aspect?’
He also said he felt the team had ‘deftly managed the sort of elephant in the room’ with the scenario.
Alexander, on the other hand, admitted that it was ‘tricky’ for him to locate a common feature or connection with Allan, which is generally how he connects with a role he’s portraying.
‘I always try and find some redeeming quality in the character. Otherwise, what’s the point of playing them?’
‘You need to find – what’s my way in? What have Alex and Allan got [that’s] similar? And this was the first part where I really, really struggled with trying to find something,’ he confessed.
‘I think, predominantly, Allan loves his family more than he ever knows. And I think that love that he has, as someone who is not particularly super-intelligent, shows itself in this way and that’s the only way that I could handle – that’s the only way I could navigate – the decision making for Allan.’
The Versailles and Sanditon star was also pleased that the show ‘[didn’t] shy away’ from the tricky aspect here, and remained true to the books.
Discussing his character’s fate, Alexander added: ‘Allan gets his due justice but not until he ruins everyone’s lives! He’s going down in a blaze of glory, taking everyone down with him.’
He was also delighted with the complicated, multi-layered nature of Allan in the script.
Alexander enthused: ‘What a joy to have these wonderful words written for someone who is as complex as Allan because he could easily fall into a ‘hahahahaha, it was me all along’, twisted moustache sort of villain, but it never does.’
Following the birth of Brianna (Sophie Skelton) and Roger’s (Richard Rankin) infant daughter Mandy, Outlander season 7 has already returned to its time-traveling beginnings.
As Claire diagnoses her with a heart issue that need contemporary care in order to save her life, the couple packs their belongings and transports her and her brother Jemmy back to the twentieth century.
Outlander season seven continues with episode 3 available on Friday June 30 on Lionsgate Plus.
