Before the release of the newest season this summer, STARZ announced the Season 8 renewal of Outlander. Sadly though, they also announced it would be the final season of the series, which is surely a disappointment to many fans who expected the show to continue for a few more seasons. Outlander is based on a series of books by Diana Gabaldon, and each season has generally followed one book in the series. While nine of the novels have been released thus far, a tenth book is said to release at some point in the future, although there’s no definitive date planned. Per the source material, fans were hoping to see ten seasons of the series, which means the upcoming penultimate season and its subsequent final season will have a lot of ground to cover in order to sufficiently wrap up the unique love story of Claire (Caitriona Balfe) and Jamie (San Heughan).
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Before STARZ announced the eighth season would be the show’s last, the expectation of Season 7 was vastly different from what fans can hope to see now. Rather than expanding the Outlander universe as previous seasons have done in the past, Season 7 will need to put the show on a trajectory that will eventually lead to a satisfying conclusion for its fans. Outlander’s world is vast, complex, and has continued to grow and introduce new characters each season. However, anything new that might be introduced in the upcoming season will need a fairly quick resolution now that the finale of the show is on the horizon. The announcement of the final season of Outlander means fans can expect a lot from the penultimate season, and although bittersweet, it should delight audiences as the premiere of Season 7 inches closer.
Season 7 Will Set the Stage for the Final Season
STARZ
Although the final season of Outlander will only consist of ten episodes, the penultimate season of the series is slated for 16 episodes, which means fans can expect to see a substantial amount of storytelling unfold before Season 8 graces the screen. The first season of the show was the only other season to include 16 episodes, which allowed for extensive character development as well as considerable storytelling. With the newest season spanning a higher number of episodes once more, the show will have the ability to lay the groundwork for the final season in a big way. There is a lot left to tell before Outlander says goodbye to its viewers, and Season 7 will be vital in setting up the final season for a worthy farewell.
Season 7 Will Probably Involve More Than One Book
While Season 7 is said to follow the seventh book in Gabaldon’s series, An Echo in the Bone, it’s likely the upcoming season will also include vital details from the eighth and ninth books, Written in My Own Heart’s Blood and Go Tell the Bees That I Am Gone. As a result, Season 7 has a lot of ground to cover in order to set up the final season in an enjoyable way.
As the series has progressed over the years, material from multiple books has entered seasons ahead of schedule. However, Season 7 is sure to be different from the rest and is likely to include multiple aspects of the book series’ latter novels. As a result, the storytelling throughout Season 7 is likely to ramp up everything much quicker than expected. Thankfully, with the number of episodes slated for the upcoming season, there’s a lot of room for multiple storylines to converge as characters begin to settle into how their narratives will end ahead of the final season.
Major Aspects of the Books Will Be Completely Ignored
One major disappointment fans of the books as well as the show can expect is that major occurrences or characters in the latter books will be completely removed from the television series. Given the extensive content in the books, coupled with the limited amount of time there is to finish telling the story of Outlander, it’s all but guaranteed aspects of the book will be completely ignored in Season 7.
Since the series is ending with eight seasons rather than ten, STARZ will have to exclude various aspects of the book in order to wrap the show in a reasonable amount of time. While the tenth book in Gabaldon’s series has yet to be revealed, her close involvement in the show should at least reassure fans that the series finale will align with how the author intends to end Jamie and Claire’s unique story.
Before Season 7 of Outlander airs this summer, viewers can watch the previous six seasons on demand now or streaming via STARZ.
