Outlander ended its third season on a shocker that meant a whole new world and a whole new set of adventures for Jamie and Claire in the fourth season. Since this is Jamie and Claire we're talking about, of course they're going to run into some trouble with the British, time travel, and their overall lack of luck when it comes to meeting new people. Nevertheless, not everything will have them in constant crisis mode. Stars Caitriona Balfe and Sam Heughan recently spoke out about how their characters' relationship will be different in Season 4, with Balfe saying this:
I think this season we've had a chance to explore what their relationship is without the external forces ripping them apart in the same way as we have previously. It's a more mature relationship. I think there's a deeper love there. It may not be the kind of on-the-surface passion that you have when you're first falling in love, but the passion runs deeper. They're just a really solid team this season, which I think is really nice for us to be able to play.
Jamie and Claire spent a couple of decades apart after the pregnant Claire returned to the 20th century to escape the fallout of the Battle of Culloden, and it took a while for them to meet once more in Season 3. Even then, they had to get to know each other all over again, taking into account the lives they lived over those 20 years and all the ways they changed. Judging by Caitriona Balfe's comments, Jamie and Claire will work as a team in Season 4. There may not be as much uncontainable passion as in seasons past -- although we do already know that the sex scenes will still be present -- but the love will be as strong as ever.
Given some of what has been confirmed to be coming their family's way in Season 4, they'll undoubtedly need all the love and teamwork they can muster. The new villain will be even worse than Black Jack Randall, even though he hardly looks like the most menacing man in the 18th century. Jamie will undoubtedly be out of his element to a certain degree as well. While the man is capable of fending for himself and living in a cave for years in the Scottish wilderness, he's not familiar with everything he'll encounter in America, ranging from the animals to the weather to the Native Americans.
Sam Heughan went on in the chat with ET to share his thoughts on the Claire/Jamie dynamic in Season 4:
We get to see them functioning [and] working with each other in very domestic situations. It's really nice how they interact with each other and I think, for once, we get to breathe for a short time.
The first look at Season 4 from way back in December indicated that Claire dreamed of starting a new life with Jamie in the American colonies after they washed up on the shores at the end of the Season 3 finale. With no plans to travel back to the 20th century and a fresh start in a new world, they'll get to settle into a domestic way of life, at least for a time. Fans of Diana Gabaldon's book saga that inspired the series know that their lives can't stay too peaceful for too long, and the trailer for Season 4 proved that Claire and Jamie will face new time-travel complications.
Season 4 of Outlander will premiere on Sunday, November 4 at 8 p.m. ET on Starz to show off a whole bunch of new characters and more. The show already scored a huge renewal for beyond Season 4, so there's no need to worry that Outlander will get the axe in the near future. For some viewing options while we wait for more Outlander, swing by our fall TV schedule.
