Sam Heughan reveals the souvenir he'll take from Outlander set
Outlander season eight is currently in full swing and author Diana Gabaldon appears to have played a pivotal role in guiding the Starz flagship into port.
Series leads Caitriona Balfe and Sam Heughan recently gave fans an exciting update on social media as millions of them eagerly await the return of season seven this November.
Both taking to Instagram, they revealed the final table read took place earlier this week, so it won’t be long before the cast film their last-ever scenes as the beloved Frasers.
Certain eagle-eyed viewers have taken their magnifying glasses to the actors’ posts to look for any clues about what’s to come in Outlander’s final outing.
Given the last season is coming before the release of Diana’s 10th and final book in the saga, it seems the writer has stepped in to ensure her characters have a satisfying TV conclusion without spoiling the events of her upcoming novel.
One fan has zoomed in on Caitriona’s post and claims the script they're reading is credited to Diana.
“Zoom in! It says ‘written by Dianna Gabaldon’,” they said on Reddit.
“Could this mean she wrote the appropriate ending to the series that she always had in mind! Let's hope so.”
While another replied: “No, she will keep that for the books. I would be very shocked if she gave her thunder to Starz like that.”
Another fan claimed the episode isn’t the finale, which producer Ronald D Moore confirmed showrunner Matt Roberts has written in an interview with Collider.
“They [show writers and DG] were supposed to work out an ending that makes sense for the show at this point but doesn’t spoil DG’s ideas for the ending of the books,” they said.
Other fans are also convinced Diana wrote the second-to-last chapter of the series, which will set things up nicely for Claire and Jamie’s final chapter while still giving the Starz series to go out on its own terms.
“She always said she was writing an episode for S8,” another viewer claimed.
“Usually it's in the later part of the season, and since a shooting block is 2 episodes, I'm thinking she wrote the penultimate episode (2nd to last).
“In a recent interview when Ron Moore was asked about the last episode, he said he was leaving it to Matt Roberts, so I'm assuming Matt is writing the final episode.”
And a final viewer said: “It’s going to be an emotional final block read through for them both I think.
“It’s been a game changer for Sam and Caitríona as well as other cast and crew.
“After this is over, apart from pickups and ADR, along with promo, it’s the final chapter even though it’ll probably be 2026 before we see S8.”
Thankfully, there is still the concluding half of season seven to look forward to as well as a brand new spin-off about Claire and Jamie’s parents coming to screens next year.
Outlander season 7, part 2 premieres Sunday, November 22 on Starz.