Outlander fans have been dealing with another “Droughtlander” again, although this one won’t last too long. The Blood Of My Blood limited prequel series will debut this fall with the twin stories of Claire and Jamie Fraser’s parents getting it on. Then all eyes will look toward the future (er, past) when the flagship bodice-ripping series finishes adapting Diana Gabaldon’s saga after completing filming last fall. There’s also the chance that a Lord John Grey spin off could be part of this franchise’s long-term plan, but let’s back up and talk about what to expect from Outlander‘s eighth season.
Cast
To state the obvious: Caitríona Balfe and Sam Heughan will finish their mutual run as Claire and Jamie Fraser, respectively.
The final season will also bring back César Domboy as Fergus Fraser and Lauren Lyle as Marsali Fraser, who haven’t been seen in a minute (years, actually, since they did not appear in the seventh season). More returns will include include John Bell as Young Ian, David Berry as Lord John Grey, Sophie Skelton as Brianna Fraser, Richard Rankin as Roger MacKenzie, Charles Vandervaart as William Ransom, Kristin Atherton as Jenny Murray, and Izzy Meikle-Small as Rachel Hunter.
Plot
Diana Gabaldon is heavily involved in this Starz series as consultant, but as viewers realize, she hasn’t finished writing the tenth Outlander book yet, so this final season will be unpredictable on plot points until a synopsis drops. Most likely, we’re in for a wait on that until Blood Of My Blood airs this summer. Additionally, there will be almost too many Outlander threads to pull together before the show ends, but little tidbits like the confirmed return of Fergus and Marsali Fraser should spawn some theories (and perhaps confirmations) as the final season draws closer.
Clearly, Claire and Jamie’s story will remain at the forefront, so it’s a damn good thing that Claire “decided not to die” from her gunshot wound. She has also requested to return home (i.e., Fraser’s Ridge) when that becomes possible. Then there’s the matter of that cliffhanger, in which Claire and Jamie’s stillborn daughter, Fanny, appears to… have actually lived? This revelation left viewers, whether they’ve devoured the books or not, understandably shocked, and co-showrunner Matthew B. Roberts provided some context during an interview with TV Line on taking that cliffhanger forward:
“There’s a blurb in Book 9 that gave us the idea of, ‘Hey, what if?’ And we ran with it. You’ll get the answers in Season 8. Obviously it’s a cliffhanger, but hopefully we tie it up in a bow with the answers and the explanations and what happens and the ramifications of all that on Jamie and Claire.”
When further pressed on how this will resolve, considering that Gabaldon’s source material involves Jamie explaining to Claire that Fanny couldn’t have survived (and the TV series did not do this), Roberts only responded, “You’ll see, visually, how it ties up.” Naturally, Roberts is not able to divulge the full explanation of what happens in the eighth season regarding Fanny, he did explain that Diana Gabaldon is good with what has been decided:
“If we went down this path and she said, ‘Don’t, I wish you wouldn’t,’ we wouldn’t have. That’s happened in the past, where we’ve proposed something to her and she’s like, ‘I wish you wouldn’t,’ and then we don’t.”
Additionally, Caitríona Balfe and Sam Heughan spoke with Hollywood Reporter, which also brought up the Fanny cliffhanger. They are digging it with Heughan responding, “It’s a huge moment for them to find out that their daughter potentially lived, and now they have this grandchild in their life. It’s a great cliffhanger — one that I think book and non-book fans are going to be surprised by.” To which Balfe added, “I just love it when you are given a scene and you read it, and it’s like, ‘Ooh, that’s really good.’ But in the playing of it, when the hairs on your arms are standing up, it’s pretty brilliant.”
There will be more to come on this subject and others, no doubt.
Release Date
Although Outlander‘s final season doesn’t have a specific date yet (2026 is probable), Outlander: Blood Of My Blood will premiere on August 8, and from there, we should receive hints.
Trailer
Likewise, Starz will probably save Outlander sneak peeks for when Blood Of My Blood airs, but for now, here’s a teaser trailer for that prequel series:
