[Editor’s note: The following interview contains spoilers for the series finale of “Outlander.”]
Like any showrunner, Matthew B. Roberts has to hear the good feedback and the bad feedback. “Outlander” fans are known for their passion, so when it comes to the story of Jamie and Claire, if they feel there’s been a misstep, Roberts will come to hear of it. Caitríona Balfe and Sam Heughan have played the lead couple since the show first aired in 2014. Now, 101 episodes and 8 seasons later, Balfe, Heughan, Roberts and executive producer, Maril Davis celebrated the end of their show in Los Angeles. Since the “Outlander” series finale aired just one day ago, fan reactions have been overwhelmingly positive. Roberts sat down with “IndieWire” to chat all about the finale, the future and the past. Call him, Claire Fraser. Roberts dives into the finale, addresses some critiques that have been made of season 8, and shares which scene that was filmed in season 1 and season 8, holds a special place for Balfe, Heughan, Davis and him. Watch the exclusive video above.
The eighth and final season of “Outlander” is based on Diana Gabaldon’s book, “Go Tell the Bees That I’m Gone.” For the most part, the show and books have stayed loyal to one another. There have been notable exceptions. One storyline that had the television show deviate quite far from the book, was the retcon of Claire and Jamie’s daughter Faith, who the audience saw die on screen in season 2, with Claire holding her still born baby in her arms. At the end of season 7, Claire tells Jamie, “I think Faith lived, I think our daughter lived.” It was a bombshell. For the audience, for the actors, and for Gabaldon. The cliffhanger loomed into the final season, rife with possibilities.
Roberts gets frank about the fact that they didn’t know in season 7 that there was going to be a season 8. So, in the final season, when Claire and Jamie learn the details of why their very much alive daughter was never given to them, fans were confused. When asked if Roberts wrote more than they had time to put on screen, he goes into detail about why certain characters made the decisions they did for that storyline. But Roberts explains story beats that unfortunately never made it into the show. “I would have loved two more episodes,” Roberts says, “Not only did we get a season 8, but then we got two less episodes to tell this story and that’s quite a chunk of space.” Perhaps an “Outlander” movie will include what the audience didn’t see.
The other strong feedback “Outlander” viewers have given for the final season is that Balfe’s Claire Fraser was not as prominent in many episodes this season. Roberts addressed the critique by explaining it was question of time and space. He felt that they had a lot of story to tell. “If I write for Claire, I have to take away from Jamie’s story, and if I write for Jamie, I take away from Claire’s story.” The last season was just 10 hours of television, based on Diana Gabaldon’s very hefty book, which is more along the lines of 3 more seasons of “Outlander.” “We certainly didn’t go, ‘Hey, let’s diminish Claire in these episodes, it was a time thing.’” One thing Claire Fraser has plenty of is time. Notably, the strongest episodes this season were the ones that included Balfe and Heughan equally. The finale was indicative of this. It is why the audience fell in love with the show. A love story with passion and equality at the heart of it.
The last moment of the finale finds Jamie and Claire, both seemingly dead on the mountain, open their eyes and take a breath. Then cut to black. When we ask Roberts to explain what he thinks that meant, he refuses to answer. “I don’t want to interpret what happens to them. We show that they open their eyes, we show that they take a breath. That’s there on screen, that’s not ambiguous in any way.” Roberts explains why he won’t give his opinion on what happens next, and he does, indeed, have an opinion. “I don’t want to say because I don’t want to affect the audience that sees it.” He confesses, it’s not only the fans he didn’t tell, but also the director of the episode. Emer (Conroy) said, “I’m nervous! I don’t know how to shoot it!” Balfe and Heughan also were given little information at the time. In fact, the two of them only watched the finale for the very first time, the day before it aired for everyone.
As for what Roberts will remember most fondly about his time on “Outlander,” he first points to the story that he, Balfe, Heughan and Davis talked about at the Paley Center panel, when the cast had a whisky tasting that took them all out. And as a result, their readthrough found all of them, potentially still drunk trying to get through it. According to Heughan, Balfe’s legs were on the ceiling of their car the next morning. Balfe explained she was simply trying to get her boots on. Hopefully, that read through will be released as an entire blooper reel.
The one memory Roberts has that isn’t whisky challenged, is Heughan’s scenes in the finale episode by the iconic “Outlander” stones. Roberts says everything about the filming of it, from the light to the wind was exactly what they needed, every single take. “The light was just perfect. We toasted and everybody had a drink. It was really a magical moment, and I’ll never forget that. When we first started, Caitríona and Maril kind of had that day. When she (Claire) went up to the stones (in the pilot episode), Scotland was giving her that perfect, when her hair blows, that was not a wind machine, that was natural and every take it would happen! So, it kind of bookends the series for us, because Maril and Caitríona had that moment at the beginning, and Sam and I had it at the end. Scotland was like, ‘I’ll give you some magic.’”
And magic is indeed what the “Outlander” cast and crew have delivered for over a decade. Roberts put it best when he said at the Paley panel, “It’s an amazing feeling when somebody comes up to you and says ‘I love “Outlander” and it changed my life,’ and that’s the most rewarding thing anybody could say.”
The “Outlander” series finale is streaming now on Starz. Watch Balfe and Heughan’s finale interviews with IndieWire here.
All episodes of all seasons of “Outlander” are now streaming on Starz.
