Like most of the planet, Outlander actress Lauren Lyle has been under stay-at-home orders due to the COVID-19 pandemic. But, during her time indoors, she's managed to bring some positivity to these tough times by launching her female-focused podcast series – She's a Rec'.

"We weren't meant to launch as early as we did and then because of everything that happened, I felt that people really needed something good and it was the right time, so the production all pulled together and put it out," Lyle told Collider during a recent phone interview.

The first installment, which dropped on April 1st, features Lyle sitting down with Outlander leading lady Caitriona Balfe, who plays Claire Fraser in the Starz drama.

"Cait was my guinea pig," Lyle said. "She was phenomenal as my first episode. … She was amazing, and her taste is so good. … And that really kicked things off beautifully."

Other episodes (there are six available as of press time) feature Ellie Rowsell of Wolf Alice and Hollywood movement director Polly Bennett. "The whole point of the podcast is we talk about who they are, what they do, and then they recommend films, albums and books by women that have really influenced their lives," Lyle explained.

Sunday night, Lyle's series – Outlander – concluded its fifth season. The season finale – "Never My Love" – was a dark and brutal episode that included material from Diana Gabaldon's sixth book, A Breath of Snow and Ashes, where Claire was abducted, assaulted and raped by some of Lionel Brown's men. The men of the Ridge fought together to get her back.

Marsali Fraser, Lyle's character, forged incredibly deep bonds with the 20th century-born women at the heart of the Outlander story – Claire and Brianna Fraser (Sophie Skelton). And across season 5, Marsali has become an integral part of Fraser's Ridge, serving as medical apprentice to Claire, and a close friend and confidante to Brianna. In the finale, she gave love and comfort when Claire was brought home to the Ridge, and Marsali also took vengeance on Lionel Brown, killing him for hurting Claire and threatening the wider Fraser family. Lyle spoke to Collider about the season 5 finale and some of the big Marsali moments across its 12-episode run.

They gave you so much to do this season. Looking back on it, was there anything that you felt was particularly challenging that you really enjoyed sinking your teeth into? Obviously, you had some great scenes with Brianna. In the finale, there's some stuff with Claire, Marsali kills somebody … and she was pregnant the whole time.

LAUREN LYLE: Yeah. I've said this before, but literally from that first script – everything from the wedding, I was like, 'Oh, she's pregnant again. OK, great.' And then it just all spiraled. And from that first drinking scene, being a woman that just like booms out [like a tongue twister] on all these men … and to get the chance to sink my teeth into like every element of that world – of the 1700s – that I was able to – it's been easily the best season that I've done, despite the fact that Season 3 was my favorite because I had just started and it was such a wild experience to get into the family and to join this world. But this season, I learned to butcher animals for real. I had skilled people who are surgeons and professional butchers coming in to teach me how to cut up and filet and crack bones in all the correct ways and treat these animals with respect and make sure that it's done properly so that when we shoot this sort of stuff, it's not just like willy-nilly. I knew exactly what I was doing the whole time… But learning to do it all – it was unbelievable. I don't know how often an actress gets a chance over the span of a full season to learn so much. And then yeah, the whole time [pretending to be] pregnant … was a whole separate challenge in itself because wearing that bump is easily one of the most uncomfortable things you can do. And I had to wear it every day. There was a [different] size of bump for every episode. … Even when you can't really see that there was a bump, there was one. It was like two months, and three months, and then four months, and then all the way up to nine. The only pleasure I got from the nine-month bump is I didn't have to wear the corset with it. … I'm quite a petite size and so it looks like I'm carrying about six kids at once, but I've seen pregnant friends and that is what I would look like. It certainly weirded my mum out. My mum saw the photos before anything aired and she was like, 'Oh my God, it's so real and weird.' So yeah, it's been great.

Tell me about Marsali's decision to kill Lionel Brown in the finale and why you think she made it – she decided to take a life, which obviously is a huge deal for her.

LYLE: This season, like I say, from the moment she started, every script I got through was a build on who she is and a development into her world and we really, really got to know her. And by episode 8 or 9, when Ian comes back, she's really found her place, her meaning within the Ridge, and has become an essential member. Quite often when the men are going away, Bree isn't around, or quite often Marsali and Fergus are left in charge of the Ridge and it's really become apparent that she has ownership over her place in this world and in this family. And it got to the point where her and Claire obviously developed a very deep meaningful relationship, and [she's] become her mum … [when Lionel Brown is on the surgery table back at Fraser's Ridge,] Lionel openly and directly threatens Marsali, her own kids, her own family and her, and Marsali's decision is not impulsive. It's an inherent form of protection and needing to protect and I think that's a lot about what this season was – and threats. And this is not an easy world that they live in… This isn't an easy time. There isn't another option. He either kills or threatens or he doesn't, and the only way he doesn't is if he is stopped. And I think she feels responsible and that's what she has to do, and she doesn't have an option other than to do that. So, I think it just says a lot about her – about her strength and determination and inner power, I guess.

One of the lines you had that I thought was so interesting is, she said to Jamie of Lionel, "He thought me no better than the dirt under his boot. A woman of no consequence." Like, recognizing and really saying out loud how women are treated in this society, which is of course a huge theme this episode because the future guy warns Claire, "You should be more scared of men." … It's very interesting to give you that line.

LYLE: Yeah, it's the sort of thing where – Marsali's the only out of the family, Marsali and Fergus – that don't know about the [time] traveling and aren't aware of what the other possibilities are in terms of how you could be treated… Marsali's not always given the credit I think she deserves in terms of her smarts and her awareness of the world (Editor's note, call briefly cuts out) … I think it really gives her credit to being aware of how she is placed in the world and she's aware of men's place above hers and that that isn't OK. And her and Fergus' relationship isn't that – they are equal, and she's felt love and knows love of equality and knows that [Lionel's view is] not the way that it should be. And I don't know, that comes from me as well. I get very, very fired up about the idea of inequality and I think Outlander's trying to do that and show that these women have their own minds and their own awareness of what should be right. And they know that the men around them are going to support that in terms of when Jamie comes in and says that he will sort of … finish off what needed to be done so that she's protected as well. It's sort of this like circle of protection, I guess, with each other and making sure everyone's looked out for. And it doesn't feel like Jamie saves that situation. I would hate to think it would look as though Marsali did it, regrets it and Jamie goes, 'Well, I'm the savior here.' I think he is just the next stage in something that has almost been like, together they decided this is OK, and this is what needed to be done. And so, he doesn't do anything other than continue what needed to be done.

I'm just going to jump really quick to that – I guess it's set in the late 60s/early 70s, the sort of scene where Claire's mind goes to during her horrible sexual assault and beatings. How did producers explain how that was going to work because obviously you're in the scenes talking about naming the child Ringo and how did they explain to you how that was going to work?

LYLE: It was a really long process of back and forth. It took quite a long time to develop the episode, making sure it didn't feel like some sort of silly fun sequence where we all sort of – the Ringo thing sort of just places us in the time it needs to be placed at. We were very aware of the darkness that it was meant to be enveloping and the horror that it's meant to take Claire away from and we sort of spoke about how bright and gaudy and sort of contrasting it is really gives such depth to what's actually happening. And the contrast really makes it mean something and shows off how much of an escape it would be. But it also sort of is very eerie and keeps it quite wrong because it's so joyful and it's so over the top and colorful and family-orientated that it makes the very end of it, when we find out… well, in that sequence, that Jemmy and Bree and Roger are dead, it sort of pulls you back. It's almost like what happening to Claire is so horrifying that there's just no way that it can't seep into the joy of the 60s. Like there's no option and all the darkness ends up seeping in in a way.

It was joyful to film because it was so exciting to be doing something we'll never get to do again. Like Marsali … I was in original vintage clothing and knee-high white leather boots and Jamie the director spoke to me a lot about how he wanted Marsali's personality to be really be showing in her clothes in that episode because we don't get to see that in the 1700s at all. And so that was really important to him. So that was really joyful and exciting and it gave such depth to their relationships, I think, as well, that when Claire goes to that place, these are the people that she thinks of and that when she needs to escape, these are her home and these are her family and the ones that mean the most to her. So, we were all really aware of what it meant. But I think we also really enjoyed doing it. Cait did such an amazing job. She's had to do some quite heavy stuff during it, but we all had such a joy because we were doing something we'll never get to do again. Duncan [Lacroix, who played Murtagh] and his ridiculous hair and everything – it was so funny. And me, I got to have my hair down and I wasn't wearing a corset… And Jamie the director really thought about exactly what he wanted everyone to be doing and to look like and it was very freeing.

For more on the Outlander Season 5 finale, check out our post-finale interview with actress Sophie Skelton.