Outlander: Blood of My Blood star reveals research that went into Henry’s "harrowing" season 2 scenes

*Warning: This article contains spoilers for Outlander: Blood of My Blood season 2, episode 1.*

Whilst it was a possibility that Henry (Jeremy Irvine) and Julia (Hermione Corfield) may be separated going into Outlander: Blood of My Blood season 2, there was no telling that the new instalment would see Henry in such dire straits.

Not only did Henry get transported back to 1924 on his lonesome, but he also awoke in an asylum with his ramblings about the 18th century only serving to support the doctor's claims that Henry was experiencing some form of psychosis.

Discussions of different time periods and not being with Julia meant that his treatment would take a more severe form, with his doctor administering electroshock therapy.

Speaking about how those scenes may shock viewers, Irvine told Radio Times: "I think shock is a good word because yeah, he gets electroshock therapy. He's in a mental asylum back in the 1920s, and trying out some, I suppose, cutting edge technology for that time. But what we would now say is pretty archaic.

"But I mean, it was great. Again, it's something else for me as the actor to get to research it."

Talking about the research he did for this new storyline, Irvine added: "There's actually lots of video on YouTube of people receiving electroshock therapy, and so I was able to find some ones that I thought were particularly brutal and then send those to the director and say that I wanted to do that.

"They let me run with it, which is great. It's the side of Henry that I found most interesting to play in season one, and so we get to do it more in an even more sort of harrowing way, I suppose."

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As for the experience of shooting those scenes? Irvine shared: "I mostly remember it just being very sweaty, faking a seizure for hours on end. I think with stuff like that, you always try and throw yourself in and go for it 100%. You can normally tell if it's hitting or not if the director hasn't come over and said ‘Maybe just tone it down a bit’. They just gave me free rein really.

"At the end of the day, those meatier scenes are what you want as an actor. To play someone with a fractured mind as well, losing the memory of his daughter and things. You know, it'd be nice to go and do a bit of comedy next, but I wouldn't say that I didn't enjoy it."

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Authors

Morgan Cormack is a Drama Writer for Radio Times, covering everything drama-related on TV and streaming. She previously worked at Stylist as an Entertainment Writer. Alongside her past work in content marketing and as a freelancer, she possesses a BA in English Literature.