Caitriona Balfe as Claire with Sam Heughan as Jamie holding each other at the waist in Outlander Season 8
Summary In the final season of the Starz series Outlander, the war has followed Jamie and Claire home to Fraser’s Ridge, and the devoted duo must decide what to do to stop the fate that’s nipping at Jamie’s heels.
While they are a united front against outside forces, they do have a moment at odds with each other when Jamie is reminded of Claire’s history with Lord John Grey . At the same time, Claire’s reputation as a healer leads a Black woman pregnant with twins to her doorstep, where her inexplicable and possibly magical abilities save one of the newborns that seemed to already be lost, but also leads to more questions about how that might have played a role in the past. During this interview with Collider, showrunner Matthew B. Roberts and executive producer Maril Davis discussed the achievement and accomplishment of telling a complete story over eight seasons of a TV series, how special it was to work with a crew that had mostly remained intact for the journey, how it felt to do the last episode, the importance of having a happy family reunion early in the season, how they wished they could have gotten Tobias Menzies to return before the end but had to settle for his voice, reminding the audience that life is fragile with the bear mauling in episode two, Jamie and Claire’s bickering, and how much viewers might learn about Claire’s mysterious magical abilities before the end of the series. Making Eight Seasons of ‘Outlander’ Has Been a Miraculous Journey "There is still another book, so it felt like we were finishing a little early." Collider: First of all, congratulations on completing a story from start to finish. How does it feel to have finished the final season, and how does it feel to finish the entire series as a whole, since that’s a rare thing these days? MARIL DAVIS: It’s hard. We haven’t technically finished yet, but also, there is still another book, so it felt like we were finishing a little early. It’s a huge achievement and accomplishment. When you start out these shows, you hope you go multiple seasons, but you never know. Having been able to go eight seasons is pretty miraculous and amazing, and what a journey it’s been.MATTHEW B. ROBERTS: It was a running joke that every year, at the end, we thought, “Okay, that was huge. The challenges that we faced, we know how to do it now. It’s just going to get easier.” And then, the next season would come and there were more challenges because it was bigger and bigger. We stopped saying it after Season 5. We just knew it was going to be bigger and the challenges were going to be more epic, so we tried to push ourselves. What was great about the crew is that we would challenge them with something and go, “Hey, can you do this?” And they’d be like, “Leave it with us.” And we would, and they’d build it. What’s made Outlander so successful wasn’t necessarily only the fans that came to the show and stayed with us, but the crew that we’ve had for most of the journey. Quite a bit of our crew has been there the whole time, so they had a passion for the show too. Related 'Outlander' Season 8 Review: Sam Heughan and Caitriona Balfe's Epic Fantasy Series Slowly Builds Toward a Stellar Finale 'Outlander' Season 8 premieres March 6 on Starz. Posts By Carly Lane Which felt the most daunting, doing the final season, the final episode, or the final scene? DAVIS: I don’t think the final scene. I thought the last episode would be daunting because it’s hard to wrap something up, but it’s my favorite episode of the season. It has all the emotions. Anything we do is going to be bittersweet since its ending. All of it was a little daunting. We’re so thrilled by what we’ve done and so proud of this journey, but also sad to see it end. This is our last junket. It is sad. We’ve all moved on, in a way, but this was such a moment in time and a moment in our lives. So many people had kids, got married, and bought houses. It’s forever a part of our lives. It’s such a special time in our lives that it’s hard to move on from it, but it will always be with us. This is a series that always gets some happy moments before things get dark. In the first episode, we got one of those moments when Brianna and Roger and their family are reunited with Claire and Jamie. What was it like to have that reunion and to figure out what that reunion would be? Did you know you wanted to do it early on, just to get everyone back together? How did you figure out just the logistics of all of that? ROBERTS: We wanted to stay close to the source material and do it that way. We knew we didn’t want to spend a lot of time on that because they don’t in the books. We don’t want to spend a lot of time on the journey of getting back. We wanted to get the family back together for a happy moment. And then, we can move on with how Outlander works, which is that you get one happy moment and then a few not so happy moments. I also love that Brianna knows exactly which books to bring her parents, and she also brings a book that was written by Frank Randall. With this being the last season, did it feel important and necessary to have that character involved in some way? ROBERTS: If you mean Tobias , absolutely. We would have loved to have had Tobias physically there if we could have, reading the book or doing something that we could have shown. But his schedule was such that he was overwhelmed with what he was doing, and he couldn’t break away, which is great for him. He wanted to be a part of it, and having his voice really works. It works with the story. He’s such a powerful, recognizable voice that it impacts as soon as you hear it. In the Epic Fantasy Series ‘Outlander,’ Everybody’s Life Is Fragile "Maybe something happens." In episode two, Amy gets attacked and mauled by the bear and Claire can’t do anything to help her. It’s such a tragically sad moment because it is so quick and random, and it could have happened to anyone. And then, to balance out that death, you also have the birth of Ian and Rachel’s child. Was it intentional to balance a moment of death and grief with that moment of new life and joy? If Amy hadn’t have died in such a tragic way, do you think Rachel’s delivery would have been more challenging? ROBERTS: We’ve shown births quite a bit on the show, and there’s another one coming. The balance was about how life was in that time. That could have been any one of those women standing there, it just happened to be Amy. Life is fragile. She just got married. We want to remind people, as we go into what’s coming up, that everybody’s life is fragile. There’s a great line where Jamie’s like, “I’ve got to go because if I don’t, maybe something happens and you guys all go away, and I can’t live with that.” Related ‘Outlander' Star Caitriona Balfe Reacts to What Episode 3’s Shocking Magic Reveal Could Mean for Claire Balfe also talks about how no one can hide from what's coming to the Ridge in the final season of the beloved fantasy series. Posts By Christina Radish Claire having been with Lord John Grey is something that comes up again this season in a very big way for Jamie and Claire. I always find it particularly interesting to see the moments when Claire’s more modern sensibilities still clash with Jamie, and how he does take the time to hear her and step up to meet her where she is. Was it fun to have them just bicker a bit? What what made you want to dig into that again? Subscribe to the newsletter for deeper Outlander context Dive further — subscribe to our newsletter to get in-depth Outlander analysis, interview insights, and clear context around the final season's mysteries. Perfect for readers who want thoughtful breakdowns and smarter conversation about the show's developments. Get Updates By subscribing, you agree to receive newsletter and marketing emails, and accept our Terms of Use and Privacy Policy. You can unsubscribe anytime. DAVIS: We do follow the source material and that is an iconic scene from the books. But also, Jamie and Claire’s love language is both lovemaking but also their epic communication. They’re very honest with each other, and sometimes that is showing their strong emotions, their anger, and their jealousies. They are human, at the end of the day. And Jamie, back in Season 7, said, “I’m going to put this away now, but this could come out again.” He was very honest with her. And it does come out. He’s still very angry about it, and that’s human and natural. I like that we always explore those ideas in a relationship that is not always smooth sailing. It’s how you communicate about it and how you put it to rest, and I think Jamie and Claire do that better than anyone. Claire’s “Magical Mysticism” Will Continue To Play a Role in ‘Outlander’ Season 8 "You have to experience it over the course of the series." In episode three, Claire gets approached by the young Black girl because her mother needs help, being pregnant with twins. Claire delivers the children and is able to save the child she thinks has died, but she doesn’t really quite understand why or how. What does all that mean for Claire? Is that something will have a deeper understanding of before the end of the season? Did you intentionally want to keep that a bit more ambiguous? ROBERTS: The magic of Outlander is mysterious. If you’ve read all the books, Diana does not map it out clearly, so we tried to do the same thing. We don’t map it out. We don’t give you the eye of newt and frog legs. There’s no concoction that you have. You have to experience it over the course of the series. The magic starts when she touches the rock. That’s when the magical mysticism, or whatever you want to call it, starts. And then, it's sprinkled throughout the series. Yes, we’re ending, so we do have to answer a few questions. I don’t know if they’ll be answered. That’s up to you at the end. Related ‘Outlander’ Star Sam Heughan Reacts to Claire’s Shocking Revelation and Jamie's Looming Fate Heughan also talks about how there's just nothing that can come between Jamie and Claire. Posts By Christina Radish Outlander Like Follow Followed TV-MA Drama Adventure Romance Science Fiction Release Date 2014 - 2026-00-00 Network Starz Showrunner Matthew B. Roberts Directors John Dahl, Metin Hüseyin, Jamie Payne, Stephen Woolfenden, Anna Foerster, Brendan Maher, Brian Kelly, David Moore, Jennifer Getzinger, Mike Barker, Philip John, Joss Agnew, Lisa Clarke, Jan Matthys, Ben Bolt, Charlotte Brändström, Christiana Ebohon-Green, Denise Di Novi, Douglas Mackinnon, Julian Holmes, Norma Bailey, Richard Clark, Justin Molotnikov, Stewart Svaasand Writers Toni Graphia, Matthew B. Roberts, Ronald D. Moore, Luke Schelhaas, Anne Kenney, Karen Campbell, Shannon Goss, Joy Blake, Richard Kahan, Jennifer Yale, Megan Ferrell Burke, Ira Steven Behr, Diana Gabaldon Cast See All
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