As all Outlander fans will know, Jamie’s godfather Murtagh has survived onscreen for much longer than he does in the books. Though the character is a fan favorite, executive producer Matthew B. Roberts reveals that the choice was more practical than sentimental. “One of the reasons we kept Murtagh alive was to give Claire, and also Jamie, someone to talk to,” Roberts has explained, because the show’s reliance on voiceover to express its characters’ internal thoughts “gets old after a while.” Murtagh was a natural choice, because “the fans had grown to love him, and we loved him. Duncan is an amazing actor, so, after the first season, it became ‘All right, well, it’s a simple choice, let’s keep him alive.’”