Caitriona Balfe teases an “epic” Outlander season 7

Entertainment Weekly recently spoke to the cast of Outlander about the upcoming seventh season. It’s been a long time coming, and hardcore fans know a lot is on the line.

In case you’ve forgotten, Outlander season 6 ended with Claire (Caitriona Balfe) getting arrested for allegedly murdering Malva Christie (Jessica Reynolds). Once again, Claire and Jamie (Sam Heughan) were separated, but based on the trailers we’ve seen thus far, that won’t last for long.

The final scene of the season 6 finale is Jamie and Young Ian (John Bell) riding off into the sunset to rescue Claire and bring her back from the gallows for a crime she did not commit. But Claire’s trial/arrest/rescue is just one part of the story in season 7. The American Revolution is finally happening, for reals this time. And it looks brutal.

Outlander season 7 will be super-sized and “epic”

The seventh season, as promised, will have 16 episodes and be split into two parts. The first half premieres on June 16 and the back half will air in 2024. As has been teased by Outlander’s executive producer Matthew B. Roberts, we can expect season 7 to throw the “kitchen sink” at us.

“We load that kitchen sink up with everything,” Roberts said. “In comparison to other seasons, there’s more going on in season 7 than every one of our other seasons, not necessarily combined, but pretty close to it. We finally get to the Revolutionary War and how it affects all of our characters.”

Balfe also weighed in. “This season is so epic,” she said. “It’s the season that’s closest to season 1 in terms of the scope and the span.” What she means by “span” is that Jamie and Claire will be taken away from Fraser’s Ridge due to the Revolutionary War. We’ll meet new characters, including Jamie’s grown-up son William (Charles Vandervaart), who executive producer Maril Davis says will be caught in a “love triangle” of sorts between his biological father and his adopted father, Lord John Grey (David Berry).

There will also be the Quaker siblings Rachel (Izzy Meikle-Small) and Denzell Hunter (Joey Phillips), who come from a non-violent background but will be thrust into the violent lives of the Frasers. And while we’re talking about violence, Davis has teased that this season will have a different take on villains. “Season 7 is all about fractured villains,” she said. “A supersized season calls for supersized villains — or multi-pronged villains.”

Outlander season 7 has “a lot of heartbreak and joy and disappointment”

But Outlander’s biggest villain this season will be the chaos of war, which Claire and Jamie know all too well. What I’m looking forward to is seeing how the other characters now along for the ride react. Folks like Young Ian have never experienced something like this. It will throw him and the others for a loop, and I’m here for it.

But it’s not all bloodshed and war. Claire will meet some important historical figures. “It’s an opportunity for the show to delve behind what the assumed narrative is,” Balfe said.

Then there’s the question of time travel. In the latest trailer, we see the stones of Craigh Na Dun and Jamie handing Claire gemstones. Does this mean what we think it does? It’s unclear, but Roberts and Davis have said that there will be multiple timelines in this season. So maybe we’ll see some time travel.

Whatever is going to happen, one thing is for sure: Outlander season 7 is going to have us on an emotional rollercoaster. “We did go all out,” said Roberts. “It’s one of the most emotional seasons. There’s a lot of heartbreak and joy and disappointment. Everything you want in a drama, it’s all there.”

And we cannot wait to see how it unfolds!

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