My fellow Sassenachs! With each passing day we are finally getting closer to the end of our current Droughtlander, as one of the best shows to stream on Starz prepares to return. Outlander Season 7 is on the way this summer (June 16, to be exact), and while Sam Heughan has helped to get everyone pumped for the fantasy drama to return, we can’t help but think about Season 8, which will be the show’s last. After working on the seventh installment for nearly a year, the star has now revealed what the vibe was like on set as the cast started to “feel it” with regards to the end of the road.
What Did Outlander’s Sam Heughan Say About The Cast Realizing The End Of The Show Is Near?
Filming on the seventh season was still going on back in January when it was announced that everyone’s favorite time-traveling romance would be ending with Season 8. Despite leads Heughan and Caitríona Balfe already having worked on the series for basically a decade at this point, fans were still shocked that the show wouldn’t end with tenth season, seeing as how author Diana Gabaldon’s book series is planned to end with her upcoming tenth novel.
While speaking with the Happy Sad Confused podcast, Heughan opened up about everyone making the decision to end with the eighth season while in production on Season 7, and how the vibe on set changed when the cast realized they were nearing the end, saying:
The end of this, Season 7, suddenly you could feel it on set. Everyone was starting to go, ‘Oh, actually, we’re going to come back and do this one more time and that’s it.’ Everyone was getting pretty emotional about it. I think it’s going to be a huge change in our lives and also really sad to say goodbye to this amazing journey.
Though Outlander fans have been very grateful for every season we’ve gotten, it’s only been natural for us to think of the end, and when it might come, because we want so badly to see the on-screen story come to a satisfying conclusion. When you think about how difficult it must be for the actors to work on a series with a number of heavy, emotional scenes in each season, combined with how long it takes to film, you can see why they’d be ready to wrap it up. But, it’s also clear that this has been a big, important part of their lives for a long time, so it also tracks that it would lead to an “emotional” time on set, even when they still have a whole season left to film.
It was just last fall that the actor reflected on what he’d miss about filming the romantic drama, and noted that while the process is “hard work,” everyone was “in it together” and he’d miss the “camaraderie.” For now, though, fans still have two more seasons to look forward to, and when asked about the quickly approaching Season 7, he teased its virtues and how it will help get the story to its eventual end point:
It’s kind of mind blowing how much we’ve crammed into one season. There’s going to be more than enough for people to quench their thirst…In the first few episodes a lot of big stuff happens. Some of the storylines tie up quite nicely, some time travel stuff, as well, so we’re getting there on this journey. I also can’t wait to tell the end of the story. I wanted to finish it; I didn’t want to just walk away.
So, while it will be sad to have to let go of Outlander in a few years time, at least it sounds like a plan is in place to get us there in a way that’ll make viewers pretty happy.
