Warning: This story contains spoilers for the series finale of Outlander.
Last week, Outlander came to an end — not with a bang, but a “huh?”
The series finale of the hit Starz romantic fantasy left the conclusion of Jamie and Claire Fraser’s epic, space-time continuum-spanning love affair decidedly ambiguous. Did they both really die? Did Jamie have some knowledge of the stones at Craigh na Dun? Was Claire somehow able to revive them both? The final episode, titled “And the World Was All Around Us,” doesn’t provide hard answers, but plenty of room for interpretation.
At least, that’s how stars Caitríona Balfe and Sam Heughan understand it. The actors stopped by Gold Derby ahead of the finale to share their experience capping off the series that changed their lives 12 years ago.
Both actors had their own personal theories over the years about how the show would end. “Earlier on, I thought it was going to be more romantic — dare I say, a little bit like they lived happily ever after,” Heughan said. “And then once we got more into it, I was hoping Jamie would die, but then I was like, ‘Where does that leave Claire?'”
Balfe’s predictions went in a more magical direction, befitting of the series’ time-traveling premise. “I think no matter what, [Jamie and Claire] would have to be together,” she said. “I thought it was going to be more mystical. I had thought that was going to be a bigger thread, because it’s been such a thread of our series, and I know it’s mystical in a way.”
Whether Outlander would get a proper finale at all had been a question for the pair since at least the penultimate season. Balfe and Heughan, who were only contracted through Season 7, had received scripts for all but two of the remaining episodes when they began to wonder. “It sort of didn’t feel like there was an ending in sight,” Balfe said. “The two of us were sort of like, ‘How can they wrap this up in two episodes?'” It was shortly after that moment that producers approached them about making an eighth and final season.
“The coming back for [Season 8] was a way for us to give a satisfying end, not only for ourselves but for the fans,” Heughan said.
But even once filming started on the last season, it was some time before Balfe and Heughan would learn how Jamie and Claire’s final moments would play out, and they only discovered that once they got the finale’s script. “Maybe a week before [shooting], at most,” Heughan said. The specific details were closely guarded and shared largely on a “need to know” basis, with dummy scripts and call sheets handed out missing some keys facts.
As for what the fates of Jamie and Claire are beyond the credits, Balfe and Heughan find themselves like the moors of Scotland: a wee bit foggy.
“We’re still trying to process what it is,” Heughan said. “What does it mean? I think it’s very ambiguous, and I think it’s for people to interpret.”
“Yeah, I’m still not sure what it means,” Balfe agreed.
And while Heughan might not be able to say with absolute certainty how Jamie appeared in 1940s Scotland, as was seen in the pilot, he knew he wanted to circle back to that moment in the finale. “I asked for it, and I know a lot of people did and pushed for it,” he said. “And I think initially — [showrunner Matthew B. Roberts] may say different — he didn’t want to go there, I don’t think. I said ‘I’d really love to go back there,’ and I think eventually he agreed, and I think it’s a great moment.”
That flashback then led to another curious sequence, one that saw Season 1 Jamie standing at the stones of Craigh na Dun, seemingly sensing something. Heughan acknowledges that while the moment doesn’t explain itself, he has his own theory.
“I think [Jamie] goes to these stones knowing that they are perhaps magical,” he said. “I think he’s looking for something. I think he’s looking for perhaps the love of his life, whether or not he knows it. It’s just a moment for him that’s not a big deal, but I think it sets in motion everything that happens in the show. He called [Claire] in some way.”
