Outlander used to be defined by Claire (Caitriona Balfe) and Jamie’s (Sam Heughan) incendiary sex scenes. However, in Outlander Season 7, fiftysomethings Claire and Jamie are being lapped in the love-making department by daughter Brianna (Sophie Skelton) and son-in-law Roger (Richard Rankin). The hands down hottest sex scene of Outlander Season 7 so far goes down in this week’s all-new episode, “A Practical Guide to Time-Traveling.” After the Nuckelavee, William “Buck” MacKenzie (Diarmaid Muragh) points out that Rob Cameron is crushing on Bri, Roger breaks out his “primal” side and sleeps with his wife to Phil Collins’s iconic 1981 hit, “Coming in the Air Tonight.” It’s a steamy scene that underscores how passion is glue that keeps the Starz show’s timeline-bending, genre-blending saga together.
Outlander Season 7 marks the first time in a long time that the show has returned to the 20th century. Roger and Brianna time traveled with their children to their original timelines in order to give infant daughter Mandy a life-saving operation. Now they are in the process of restoring the Fraser ancestral seat, Lallybroch, which means that they spend half their time in the partially finished castle and night time sleeping in an attached camper.
We’ve seen Roger and Bri flirt with each other throughout the season, but, as is the case with young parents, they haven’t had much opportunity to seal the deal. That changes as the two find themselves making up a pull-out sofa, presumably for their uninvited time-traveling houseguest Buck MacKenzie. While chattering about the Nuckelavee in their midst, Roger brings up his ancestor’s concerns that Rob Cameron (Chris Fulton) has a “hot eye” for Brianna. She scoffs at this, but uses it to kick off her side of a seduction.
Brianna unbuttons her blouse to the sounds of Phil Collins crooning, “I can feel it coming in the air tonight/And I’ve been waiting for this moment all my life.” A kilted Roger approaches her with the sort of Scottish Highlander energy we’re more accustomed to seeing in Jamie than the mild-mannered scholar.
“Rob’s just a lonely divorcé,” Brianna says, eyes steady on her husband.
“All the more reason for him to be pining after you,” Roger says as he nears her.
“I’m his boss,” Bri says as Roger begins to slip his hands onto her bear skin.
“I think he takes a little too much pleasure calling you ‘Gov,'” Roger says.
“Roger MacKenzie, are you feeling a wee bit territorial?” Bri asks as her hands go to his kilt before Roger stops her by putting his hand on hers.
“What if I am, hmm? I know the modern man isn’t supposed to be possessive, but what if tonight I’m feeling a little more primal?” Roger asks as he wraps Brianna’s leg around him and lifts her up.
The next thing we know, the two of them are having exuberant sex in the bed they’ve just made as the beat drops in Collins’s song. It’s a tangle of gropes, kisses, and moans… The likes of which we honestly haven’t seen on Outlander in a hot minute. It’s a reminder that Roger and Brianna, much like Claire and Jamie, have a passionate romance that keeps them united through all the madness they continue to live through. Sure, they have the shared experience of being born in the 20th century, living in the 18th century, and dealing with actual stone cold villainy from the likes of Stephen Bonnet (Ed Speleers) and now Rob Cameron. You would think that would be enough to cement a marriage. But no, what really keeps these two love birds together is their burning love for each other.
And the best part about this sequence? (I mean… besides Roger being “territorial.”) The Phil Collins needle drop.
A lot of shows get pop song happy, letting needle drops establish tone rather than actual filmmaking. Outlander, however, doesn’t usually have that luxury. So when Outlander gets to use a needle drop like Phil Collins’s “In the Air Tonight,” they’re smart and cheeky about it. It’s a song that would have historically been on the radio, yes. It’s also a certified banger, no doubt. But the reason why this song rules with this scene is that Outlander gets that it’s fully leaning into the subtext of the chorus, letting the song’s very title be a saucy double entendre.
Jamie and Claire might still be the MVPs of sex scenes on Outlander — as nothing will ever top the glory of their early season romps — but Roger and Brianna totally own the hottest love scene of Season 7 (so far).
Now I just need to know where exactly Buck MacKenzie wound up sleeping that night because I thought that bed was supposed to be for him!