Warning: gigantic spoilers ahead for the Season 3 finale of Outlander, called "Eye of the Storm."
The Season 3 finale of Outlander has officially aired, and it was such an intense hour that it's almost hard to believe that we're heading into another hiatus without getting to see what happens as soon as possible. An awful lot happened, and the main characters are in a very different place -- literally, figuratively, and chronologically -- than they were in the beginning of the season. The good news is that "Eye of the Storm" set up Season 4 in some pretty exciting ways that should give us plenty to talk about during the upcoming hiatus. Read on for the major ways the Outlander finale set the stage for the fourth season!
Jamie And Claire Have Come To America
In a continuation of Jamie and Claire having the worst luck at sea whenever they're not getting lucky, their ship hit a terrible storm while were sailing away from Jamaica. Claire very nearly drowned after being swept overboard, and Jamie could very well have drowned diving in after her, but the two managed to float to land on a piece of debris. When they washed up on shore, they encountered some local people who had a big bombshell to drop: the duo had not arrived on one of the islands of the Caribbean. Now, they were blown all the way to mainland America. They ended Season 3 on a beach in Georgia, very far from where they ever intended to go. Outlander Season 4 could very well be an American tale.
The Artemis Is Gone
The storm that took Claire and Jamie overboard into the flotsam and jetsam didn't spare their ship. The Georgians did reveal at the end that was what left of the Artemis had also washed up on shore, but we can bet that there's no repairing the ship this time. The sails had been destroyed and thrown into the sea during the storm, and it's really a miracle that there are any survivors at all. Claire, Jamie, and the survivors are without a ship of their own. That said, they may not be anxious to return to Scotland anyway, what with a warrant out on Jamie and Laoghaire likely not going to be thrilled about Marsali marrying Fergus. Claire even seemed to believe that Young Ian won't want to go back. Outlander may be set in America for quite some time.
The Jacobite Cause Is Probably Dead
The Jacobite mission to put a Scottish king on the throne seemed pretty definitively dead back in the beginning of the season. Nevertheless, the last couple of episodes revealed that one person was still carrying a torch for a Scot on the throne, if not Charles Stewart. Geillis turned up once again, and her intent to advance the Jacobite cause led her to interpret a prophecy to mean that she needed to sacrifice Young Ian at Abandawe to travel forward in time and kill Brianna. Obviously Claire and Jamie couldn't let that happen, and Claire ultimately nearly chopped Geillis' head off with a machete, killing her and presumably the last Outlander push for the Jacobite cause, at least for a while. If Outlander gets political in Season 4, the focus may be on the pre-Revolutionary War colonies rather than anything in Scotland.
John Grey Will Almost Certainly Return
Good old John Grey came through yet again for Jamie in the Season 3 finale, stepping in and pulling rank to prevent Captain Leonard from dragging Jamie back to Scotland to be executed for his crimes. While Jamie was grateful that John once again helped him, John simply stated that they saved each other enough times that he'd lost track of who was indebted to whom. When they parted, they seemed to agree that their paths would cross yet again. Given that John Grey is still the guardian of Jamie's biological son, it stands to reason that their next reunion could also feature young Willie. Of course, John Grey was just named the governor of Jamaica in Season 3 and Jamie seems likely to be landlocked in North America for a while, but Outlander has shown time and time again that reunions can take place in the unlikeliest places (and times).
Book Readers Can't Know What's Coming
While a great deal of Season 3 has stuck to the events of the Voyager novel in the Outlander saga, there have been some big departures, and Season 3 ended with some major differences between the book and the show. Those differences are bound to play a role in Season 4, as readers now have some big variables to deal with when speculating about what's going to happen. Readers may have an edge in the grand scheme of what's in store, but there are some plots that none of us can know for sure how they will unfold. Hopefully we'll get some solid first looks at Season 4 sooner rather than later.
Season 4 of Outlander will hit the airwaves at some point in 2018, which may mean a shorter hiatus than we had to wait through between Seasons 2 and 3. For what you can watch during hiatus, be sure to take a look at our midseason TV premiere guide, and stay tuned to CinemaBlend for news of an Outlander renewal and additional castings for Season 4.
