Outlander is no stranger to cliffhangers, and Season 3 ended on a doozy that saw Jamie and Claire washed up on the beach of Georgia after a terrible storm destroyed their ship and scattered their crew. Season 4 will see the duo attempting to build a life and family together in the American colonies, which are still a few years away from becoming states rather than part of Great Britain. Life in America will undoubtedly be quite different from life in Scotland and anywhere else they've lived, and star Sam Heughan has spoken out about what fans can expect in America:
It just changes all the time. The show is incredible. We're ending our fourth season, and we're shooting as if we were in North Carolina at the beginning of America. It's a world with Native Americans and different factors, such as the British, and the Scottish people, who are displaced by the British arriving there. We started season one in Scotland in a castle, and we've since gone to Paris and Versailles, and then to the Caribbean. Every season is different. In fact, every episode for me on Outlander is different. There's always a challenge. It's not like we go to work every day in a studio on the same set like a procedural. It really is very challenging.
Well, if you thought being swept across the sea to a whole new world with a whole new climate and filled with folks largely living a whole new way meant Jamie and Claire would finally escape the British, Sam Heughan's comments to Parade prove that the Brits aren't done ruining the Frasers' lives just yet. Despite a Scottish presence in the colonies -- including Jamie's formidable aunt -- there will be some trouble with the redcoats attempting to mess everything up for the Scots yet again. Something tells me some of those Scots won't exactly be inclined to fight for the British when the Revolutionary War breaks out.
Sam Heughan's comments will probably reassure book readers that aspects of the fourth season will closely follow significant aspects of the fourth book, and we already know of one tragic book scene that will be adapted into an episode. That said, we can bet that there will be some changes, and I can think of some that the actors probably wouldn't mind doing differently than written by Diana Gabaldon. Some of those characters have a rough time in the fourth book.
We won't find out until the show picks up for Season 4 in November, but the cast's enthusiasm for Season 4 as they shared on social media after wrapping filming points toward a solid batch of episodes. We also don't have to worry that the fourth season will be the last for the time-travel drama, as Starz handed down a huge renewal order for more than one season back in May. However Season 4 ends with the characters in America, it won't be the end of all of their stories.
Of course, some of them could bite the dust since this is Outlander we're talking about and Jamie and Claire can't be too happy for too long. Still, we can be hopeful at this point, despite the knowledge that this next season's upcoming villain will be worse than Black Jack Randall, which... can't be good at all. Will Season 4 be the point at which the stage is set for Outlander to become more like Game of Thrones?
For some ways to pass the time while we wait for the return of Outlander, check out our summer TV guide. If you find your love for the show waning over hiatus, swing by our breakdown of 5 reasons Outlander is the best show on TV for a refresher.
