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fuckyeahjamieandclaire · 7 years

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1. The new location means new dangers

Now that Claire and Jamie have arrived in America, that's where Outlander will be based moving forward. "If season three was a transition, season four is a year of settling down and trying to make a home, literally and figuratively," executive producer/showrunner Ron D. Moore says. "There's elements of Little House on the Prairiewith elements of the frontier and wilderness. We're there at a time of tumult in the American colonies, there's slavery in the South, there are American Indians on the frontier, there's a rebellion that will blossom into the American Revolution, and they land smack dab in the middle of all of this."

Jamie and Claire may not have to worry about their marriage, but their freedom comes with a price. Living in the colonies is more dangerous than anywhere they've lived before. Balfe enjoyed digging into Claire's complicated emotions about returning to America. "Claire knows so much about the history of America and what was going on at the time but to see it firsthand can be quite difficult, some of the aspects of that colonial time," she tells THR. "She believes that this is her home, but it's hard to watch and see some of the things that are going on at that time."

Portraying America in its infancy meant including all the parts of history, good and bad, Heughan says. "We see this melting pot of cultures that it really was," he says. "I didn't know Scottish people were a big part of that and how many Scots came to America and North Carolina because it does look like Scotland in places."

2. A new ally joins the group

Starting from scratch in a new home is hard enough. Thankfully Jamie already has some roots in America with his Aunt Jocasta (Orphan Black's Maria Doyle Kennedy). The youngest sister of his mother and uncles, she's as strong-willed as any MacKenzie, which is sometimes good for Jamie and Claire. Moore notes that the TV character stays pretty true to the book version, and producers have made sure to keep that MacKenzie resemblance alive. As the last living reminder of his mother, Jacosta represents more than just ally for Jamie. "She sounds and looks like his mother," Heughan says. "Jamie really is a family man so for him this is a huge moment, but she's a MacKenzie and the MacKenzies are notoriously big players in politics so that definitely comes up. This season is about family and Jamie getting all the pieces in place before it gets thrown on his head."

4. A new chapter in Jamie and Claire's relationship

Settling down in America has its dangers, but at least Jamie and Claire finally get to see how their relationship can mature without the risk of being torn apart. "They're now with each other for the longest period of time," Moore says. "They've spent 20 years apart and they only had a short period of time together before that. They're now coming to know each other in a different way at a different point in their lives."

Because of that time apart, however, there are new things they both must relearn about the other. "It's almost like they're two new characters getting to know each other even though they've know each other for a very long time," Moore says. And for the actors, this new chapter in Jamie and Claire's relationship signaled a change they didn't know they'd been craving. "It's been a really nice change of pace," Balfe adds.

Creating a home together in America allows Jamie and Claire to explore their marriage in a "calmer" way. "There's this beautiful domesticity that's happening where we see them find their home for the first time and create it in the way that they want," the actress adds. "It's still the frontier, there are still dangers, it's still Jamie and Claire, there will always be something going on, but I've liked this. You feel that they've both matured and settled into their roles."

For Jamie, the ability to stop running for the first time is a freedom he's never known. "That's what Jamie wants, to be a laird and to have a family," Heughan says. "Finally they begin to have time together to settle down and live as a married couple. That becomes the priority for Jamie. But of course, that comes with a price and they arrive in America with very little. Jamie has to make some pretty big decisions to gain land and resources."

Ultimately, the question of whether Jamie and Claire's relationship will survive has been answered. "They're strong and there is so much love there," Davis says. "We're showing their healthy relationship moving forward and hopefully we see them grow together well into their 90s."

5. The new print shop reunion is almost here

Last season centered on one specific moment: the print shop reunion. And season four has a very similar reunion that is as, if not more, anticipated. [...]

While the scene will not go down exactly as in the book, Moore made sure keep all the major beats from that moment in the script. "Every year we make choices about what's the primary thread, what are the little pieces we can include along the way, maybe we don't do them in the same order," he says. "Sometimes we switch up even what season certain things happen in because we know fans love certain moments and iconic lines and ideas, so when we can't include them we figure out a way to get back to that notion. Nothing ever really dies on the show."

Heughan is excited to get to that material as it is has such big implications on the season as a whole. "It's imminent. It's huge," he says. "It's the primary storyline for Jamie this season. It is the catalyst to almost everything he sets up in the season and their life there gets thrown upside down by it. It's the ignition of the spark to the drama of this whole season."

Roberts and Graphia co-wrote the episode in which the reunion happens, and they made sure to prioritize the emotions first. "All the viewers who have never read the books, we want them to have the exact same feelings as those who have, which is difficult because 28 million people have 28 million different views of that scene," Roberts says. Adds Graphia: "We do like to mix things up and in the end, people are rarely disappointed with how we put the pieces back together. That episode will be a different spin here and there but ultimately satisfying."

8. Yes, the infamous bear scene is coming

There's a chapter in Drums of Autumn that involves Jamie, a bear and an event that earns the latter the nickname "Bear Killer." Moore promises that producers are bringing that specific scene to life on the series but it won't be exactly what readers are expecting. "We have a specific spin on that whole thing," he says. "So I'm interested to see how people react." Adds Heughan: "There's going to be some surprises there for fans of the books. But it's fun. It's a new world and there are a lot of dangers there and the bear is one of them."

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