Starz’s hot series Outlander is gearing up for Season 2, and recently creator Ronald D. Moore spoke out to explain that while Season 2 will undoubtedly be exciting, it will be different for fans of the book series the show is based on, created by Diana Gabaldon. Don’t worry, though, Moore says the new season has earned the Gabaldon stamp of approval. Check out his comments, below.
The thing that gives me the most comfort is that Diana likes it a lot. She had said, 'Oh, I really liked the way you did it. it was a difficult plot, I know, but I think you really found the essence of it. You really found the through line that really defines what this part of the journey is.' So I feel good about it. It's not going to be a literal adaptation because I don't think that's possible with the second book ... But I think it's very much the same story, the major characters are all represented, the major scenes are all represented, and it still gets you to all the same places you want to go.
Minor setup spoilers are going to be listed in this next paragraph, so if you haven’t read the books, now is a great time to bail. While the setup of the first book in the Outlander series is pretty straightforward, the second book, Dragonfly in Amber is a bit more complex, with early chapters taking place in the 1960s, where we are introduced to a grownup version of Jamie and Claire Frasier’s daughter, Bree. Claire is hoping to look into what happened with her former lover and the Battle of Culloden, which leads to flashbacks when Claire explains what happened in the time following the events in the first book and how Claire ended up back in the present.
It’s actually a really nifty setup for a book, but it does lead to some confusion near the beginning and could definitely be extremely hard to set up on the small screen, especially as the novel switches perspectives more often and is more convoluted plot-wise as a whole. Still, according to EW, we are certainly being promised scenes in Paris and plenty of fun information regarding the Jacobite rebellion in Scotland.
The big story point picks up from where we left Season 1, which is Claire and Jamie deciding to attempt to change history by stopping the Jacobite rebellion and changing history so as to prevent the slaughter on Culloden Moor and the destruction of the Highland culture after it. That’s the major plot going into the season.
So, even though Starz’s TV series may be making some big changes, it overall sounds like we will get to meet many of the new characters from the original work—Master Raymond, for instance, has already been cast—not to mention get to see some of the quirkier and more emotional scenes. The sixties-set scenes are definitely going to be a part of the new season of Outlander, however, and we’ll just have to wait and see who the popular series casts as the likes of Brianna and Roger.
