The latest episode of Outlander saw Jamie Fraser (Sam Heughan) return to the battlefield to fight in the Battle of Saratoga, and fans were left with quite a cliffhanger as the fate of the beloved character hung in the balance.

On the opposing side, Jamie’s secret illegitimate son, William Ransom (Charles Vandervaart), finds himself coming face to face with the harsh realities of war as he sees his friend, Lieutenant Sandy Hammond (Henry Ashton), shot in the head right in front of him.

Before William even has much time to react, nonetheless, grieving the loss of his friend, he is ordered to charge the army with his men. 

Viewers see William hold up his sword ready to storm across the battlefield – but there is one moment they may have missed.

William takes to the battlefield in the latest episode (Image: Starz)

Outlander’s executive producer Matthew B. Roberts discussed the scene on the Outlander Inside Episode Seven video on the Starz YouTube channel.

He explained: “William, he’s lost in the fog of war and he realises he has to let his natural instincts come out to survive.

“And one of the things we did is we kind of went back and shot a moment in this charge.”

He continued: “Simon Fraser yells at William: “’To your men!’ You know, go to your men. And there’s a moment in Culloden where Jamie runs straight at the camera, it’s an iconic shot of Sam turning into a warrior.”

William’s charge may have reminded viewers of Jamie’s warrior transformation in an earlier season (Image: Starz)

Many will find it hard to forget seeing Jamie’s transformation on the battlefield back in season three.

Matthew added: “And then we asked Charles to do the same thing. Let your instincts come out and become the Highlander that you really – kind of courses through your veins.”

Outlander’s director, Joss Agnew, expanded upon this purposeful throwback further: “That William, in that moment when he enters the fray, is an echo of a young Jamie.”