The ultimate time-travelling fantasy show Outlander is officially set to end its run with season eight this month – to the upset of fans the land over.
It feels like some time since the period drama blazed onto our screens in 2015, when we first met Claire Randall, played by Caitriona Balfe, as a military nurse in 1945.
In a Scotland castle (not that one) with her soldier husband, Claire nodded off for a post-coital nap against a standing stone, only to be spirited back in time to Jacobite Scotland.
The show is based on a series of fantasy romance books by Diana Gabaldon, who got the idea from the 1960s Doctor Who companion Jamie McCrimmon – and from that, we have had eight seasons, a spin-off show and viewers who have labelled Outlander ‘one of the best period shows of the decade’ over on IMDb. Thank you Doctor Who!
Having met, fallen in love with and married dashing young Highlander Jamie Fraser, played by Sam Heughan, their epic love story concludes this month, with finale episodes dropping on Amazon Prime Video in the UK, via the streamer add-on MGM Plus.
The latest seventh season of the show ended with Jamie’s decision to resign his Continental Army commission and return to Fraser’s Ridge with Claire.
Then, the finale delivered a haunting cliffhanger, leaving the fate of Claire and Jamie’s first daughter Faith unclear.
The eighth season trailer has dropped ahead of its release on March 6 and suggests heartbreak awaits, as well as the looming threat of war.
Referring to that first time travelling moment in the show, Claire is heard saying via voiceover: ‘When I first touched those stones, it wasn’t a choice. I don’t know if it was fate or destiny, but what I do know is that I am meant to be here.’
With conflict threatening the now-thriving settlement of Fraser’s Ridge, the official season eight synopsis promises this will be an emotional farewell for the show, after a devastating prophecy foretells Jamie’s death.
‘Knowing they’ve been unable to alter history in the past, the Frasers grapple with the question of whether Jamie’s fate is sealed,’ the synopsis reads.
‘The Frasers are confronted with the question of what they are willing to sacrifice for the place they call home and, more importantly, what they would sacrifice to stay together.
‘While the Frasers keep a united front against outside intruders, family secrets finally coming to light threaten to tear them apart from the inside. Although they’ve left the war for America’s freedom behind, their fight for Fraser’s Ridge has only just begun.’
Fantasy fans and the Scottish Tourist Board alike are no doubt in bits over the show’s imminent end. But there is still the prequel series Outlander: Blood of My Blood, which is set to return for a second season, so the franchise will live on.
Outlander is available to watch on Amazon Prime Video via MGM Plus. Season eight debuts on March 7.
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