Outlander Season 7, Part 2 is set to arrive later this month, but Season 8, the final stretch of the show, is already done filming––and it'll include bits and pieces of the yet-to-be-released tenth book.
Roughly, the series has tried to adapt one of the original books per season. Sometimes, that has worked out, while other times, parts of multiple books make it into one season.
However, with the show ending in Season 8, not all of the original ten books will get fully adapted to screen––at least, not in full.
The cast of Outlander sat down with The Direct and other press for a series of roundtable interviews at NYCC, where they talked all about what the upcoming episodes will bring for fans.
Outlander Showrunner and Producer Confirm Which Books Make Up Season 7 & Season 8
"Little Pieces of Book 10" Will Be In Season 8
Showrunner and executive producer Maril Davis revealed which of the original Outlander books are included in the last part of Season 7 and the upcoming Season 8, while original book writer Diana Gabaldon added that there will be "little pieces of book 10" in the final season:
Maril Davis: Season 7 actually encompasses the last little part of book six, because we didn't, weren't able to finish in Season 6, then books seven and eight. Season 8 will be book nine... I wish we had more of book ten.
Diana Gabaldon: [And] little pieces of book 10.
Davis: I wish we had more of book ten... I mean, I would love to finish [all the books]. I mean, whether or not all the characters survive, don't survive in Season 8. I would like to come back for book ten.
Davis also spoke about the tricky process of adapting later books into the Outlander television series, especially compared to earlier entries:
Davis: I think for the writers, it does get a little more tricky because in the first book, everything's new. Certainly, the first book lays out the easiest. I mean, it's very linear as you go, Diana is incredible on the page, but as a production, it's very hard to then weave all these things that are added in.
Also, in the books, some things happen that might happen again in another book, but because the books are so far apart, it doesn't bother you. But when you're doing a show, and everything's truncated, all of sudden, it feels like you're repeating something that didn't feel like that in the book.
And I think that's what fans don't get, that they're–– you sometimes do that because reading it is so different than when you're translating it to your [head].
So, I think it's gotten harder actually. And certainly this last book feels like it, it's setting up for book 10. So it was a harder book I thought to end on.
Caitriona Balfe on Claire's Evolving Marriage and Returning to Scotland
"Nothing Good Ever Happens When the Frasers are Seperated"
Caitriona Balfe shared how Claire and Jamie's relationship will evolve and change going into Season 7:
Caitriona Balfe: Look, nothing good ever happens when the Frasers are separated. And I think this season is probably the greatest example of that. The relationship is tested more than it's been for many, maybe a couple of decades.
Claire learns a lot about herself... But I think they also learn that, you know, at this point, it's never a what if, like, will they won't they? You know, we know that they're together and they love each other. But I think it's more like, how are they going to get through this, rather than will they? And that's the kind of interesting thing about its growing marriage.
Outlander's Season 7 will see both Jamie and Claire return to Scotland, somewhere they haven't been in a very long time, as they've been busy building a life in the United States of America:
Balke: I mean, Lallybroch, that's a set that we hadn't been at for quite a few years, and that castle that we shoot at is so beautiful, and it has so many memories for us... For Jamie, obviously, as a character, it's a lot more complex, like his feelings about going back. And for Claire, the stakes aren't quite as high, but yet, as his wife, and as somebody who loves Jenny and me, and you know, I think she feels just very excited about being back, and then she has to leave.
Sam Heughan Teases the Evolution of Jamie and William's Relationship
"It Really Is a Catalyst for the Explosiveness and Drama of the Next Two Seasons"
One of the biggest parts of Jamie Fraser's storyline in Outlander in recent seasons involves the relationship between him and son––who doesn't know who his father really is.
Verging on a fairly spoiler-y answer (so, be warned, readers), Sam Heughan teased how their storyline might develop over these new episodes:
Sam Heughan: There's a separation of Jamie and Claire this season that's hugely traumatic. And when Jamie comes back, he comes back into a situation that's highly difficult for him to understand, between Claire and John Gray, and then at that point, William, you'll find out, discovers who his real father is.
And it's, of course, hugely dangerous for William, but also really hard for William to fathom, to put together. And Jamie's always wanted to be a part of his son's life, but could never be directly. So it's gonna be a huge storyline that's played out throughout Season 7 and perhaps into Season 8...
It's a catalyst for William. It sort of sends him on this spiral that has all these repercussions. So, it really is a catalyst for the explosiveness and drama of the next two seasons.
Richard Rankin Briefly Teases Roger's Time-Travel Adventure
His Trip will Lead to Some "Unexpected But Brilliant Encounters"
At the end of Outlander Season 7, Part 1, Richard Rankin's Roger frantically found his way back to the Craig Na Dun stones in Scotland in an attempt to go back in time to find Jemmy, his son, who he believes was abducted and taken into the past.
The actor briefly teased how that story will unfold in these new episodes while deftly avoiding spoilers:
Richard Rankin: Without seeing too much, yeah, he was flung in the past. Did he or did he not make it to the time that he was supposed to? Is he or is he not where Jemmy is it? He's definitely a man on a mission, and he has quite a few, shall we say, unexpected but brilliant encounters. There's a lot happens through his story in Season 7, Part 2.
Sophie Skelton on Brianna Being Stuck in the Future
"It Adds an Extra Layer of Fear for Brianna..."
While Roger was able to get to the stones and fling himself into the past in an effort to catch his son's kidnappers, Sophie Skelton's Brianna is still stuck in 1980s.
Skelton spoke about how her character will fare being stuck in the future while still trying to figure out what happened to her kidnapped son:
Sophie Skelton: I definitely think that it adds an extra layer of fear for Brianna because I think, in the past, somebody steals your kids, then you've got a little bit more time logistically to maybe chase somebody, even just talking purely practically.
But for her, I mean, she doesn't know if he's gone to stones or if he's been taken on a plane, like your mind is going to go to 1000 different places when it's your young that is being [taken]. And I think Brianna spent her whole life kind of fending for herself.
She's always been her first and last line of defense. And now, you know, the through line of 'Outlander' is what lengths she goes to protect your family. And let's see what Brianna does go to, and whether it's in the 1700s or the 1980s, she'll find a rifle, and she'll use it.
Skelton also spoke a little about how she felt filming the final season of Outlander (Season 8) and what it was like to leave behind her character of Brianna Fraser:
Skelton: We started quite young on the show... I feel like we really have grown up with these individual characters. And I feel like some people will take things from their characters and their character or make them grow, and you learn things, but I think we probably put bits of ourselves in.
And so there is a little Venn diagram where there is some entanglement, and so sometimes separating which bit is you and which bit is them is quite hard. And yeah, I definitely feel like Brianna has given me a lot of strength in a lot of areas, and it's quite scary and sad to leave that behind... I think knowing that your characters are left in a place that you're content with, whatever that may be in the 'Outlander' story world, is a beautiful thing.
I think had you asked a season ago, I would have been like, I don't know if I'm comfortable leaving Brianna yet, but it's nice to know that she's at peace in herself and her decisions. And that's a really beautiful thing as an actor, to be able to kind of lead the character [to be] sound in their own in their own world.
John Bell on Representing the LGBTQIA+ Community
"I've Discovered Who I Was During This Show"
Actor John Bell, who plays Ian Murray spoke about how he has been able to represent the LGBTQIA+ as a gay man through his time on Outlander:
John Bell: It kind of makes me emotional. I mean, the show, obviously, I've grown up on, and I've discovered who I was during this show. With the support of my colleagues around me, they've really supported my identity and who I am, and so I know that I can kind of be myself with them, and that was a huge part of what this show's legacy means to me. Now, obviously, Ian is a straight character, right? So his story has more taught me how to be butch than it has to be anything else. But again, it just instills the confidence. You develop these characters alongside each other, and that leads to that.
Outlander returns for Season 7, Part 2, on November 22.
