SPOILER ALERT: This post contains spoilers for “And the World Was All Around Us,” the series finale of “Outlander,” now streaming on Starz.
While the ending of “Outlander” has closed a chapter in lead stars Caitríona Balfe and Sam Heughan‘s lives, they’re still debating the fate of their beloved characters, Claire and Jamie, by the end of Season 8.
“Are they in this realm or the next? Jamie is a ghost or another ghost, maybe it’s his younger self calling Claire to him,” Heughan said during Variety‘s In Conversation With series presented by Starz, moderated by Emily Longeretta. “And if you look closely, you’ll see they’re both lying there on the magic stone, so maybe they’re in a different realm.”
“Every single person has their own idea about what, perhaps, should happen,” Balfe said. “And as people who were on the show from the very beginning and lived and breathed these characters, you have your [own] desire.”
Based on Diana Gabaldon’s historical fantasy book series, “Outlander” follows the romance between Jamie (Heughan), a Scottish highlander, and Claire (Balfe), a time-traveling nurse. Season 8 ends with Claire and Jamie lying next to one another with their eyes closed, Claire’s hair having turned grey, before they suddenly gasp for air right as the credits roll.
On the day they were filming that scene, Balfe explains it was extra emotional for her “because it was almost the end of the shoot. I remember [Sam] being really sweet because I had an absolute breakdown on one of the days … I was in bits!”
Another memorable scene for Heughan was the final montage that brings the season together and tells Claire and Jamie’s love story: “We get to see all of the wonderful moments that we’ve had on the show and all the great characters,” he said. “There’s lots of goodbyes to every character, and each character gets their moment. The series as a whole is our legacy.”
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“Outlander” almost didn’t go the full eight seasons, though; the pair explain that originally, their show contracts only went through Season 7.
“At the time, it felt like we would have been cheating the story, wrapping it up very quickly,” Balfe said. “We wanted to honor this journey and say goodbye in the right way.”
Heughan added, “When we got to the end of [Season] 7, it just didn’t feel satisfying.”
Two years after wrapping production, Balfe and Heughan have said goodbye to the acclaimed show they were on for eight seasons, and made their peace. Heughan said, “But I think the last goodbye is to the fans, isn’t it?”
From Variety US