The seventh season of Outlander wrapped up with a shocking revelation that Jamie Fraser (portrayed by Sam Heughan) and Claire’s (Caitríona Balfe) firstborn, Faith, might not be dead as previously thought.
Claire experienced visions where she was visited by fellow time traveller Master Raymond (Dominique Pinon), who offered an ambiguous apology. Additionally, Claire and Jamie discovered that their young ward Fanny Pocock’s (Florrie Wilkinson) mother was named Faith, thanks to a golden locket.
There also appeared to be a striking resemblance between Faith’s daughter Jane Pocock (Silvia Presente) and Brianna Fraser (Sophie Skelton). Season seven drew inspiration from both An Echo in the Bone and Written in My Own Heart’s Blood by Diana Gabaldon, with the first half adapting the seventh book and the latter half covering events from the eighth novel.
While the Starz series has remained true to the books in many ways, season seven saw the writers take some creative liberties. In the books, Claire learns that Jane and Fanny’s mother is named Faith and briefly wonders if it could be her daughter, but she and Jamie quickly dismiss it as a coincidence.
The tune I Do Like to Be Beside the Seaside, featured in both seasons two and seven of the TV series, does not appear in the novels, reports the Scottish Daily Express.
Chatting with Parade, author Gabaldon reflected on the season seven finale of Outlander, revealing: “No part of the ending is from the books, save that Frances’s mother’s name was Faith.”
Despite the television adaptation straying from her written word for the climactic close of season seven, Gabaldon – who’s got a hand in the Starz saga as a consultant – had a chat with showrunner Matthew B. Roberts about this bold twist.
The American wordsmith spilt the beans on her contribution to the altered plot: “They actually did get the [general] idea from me, though.”
She delved into the details during a discussion with Roberts, saying she’d once toyed with penning another graphic novel (which never came to be for various reasons) that would’ve explored what truly went down after Faith was thought dead at L’Hôpital des Anges, including how Master Raymond secretly brought the wee one back to life and cared for her, but couldn’t reunite her with Claire and Jamie before they upped sticks from France. The show’s bigwigs took a shine to her concept and ran with it.
So, even though the series is veering off the beaten book path, Gabaldon’s not only fine with it, she’s given it her seal of approval as Outlander embarks on a fresh timeline. This hints that Gabaldon’s novels and the screen version might start to look like chalk and cheese, especially since she’s busy working away on her last Outlander tome.
We could be looking at two very different farewells – one for the screen and one for the page.
Outlander’s top boss Maril Davis has spilled the beans, and while she’s “happy” to snag any crumbs Gabaldon tosses their way for the telly adaptation, she drew the line at showcasing scenes that haven’t hit the bookshelves yet. Her stance could be a nifty clue hinting that Outlander might wrap up with two separate endings, one for the page and one for the screen.
Outlander is streaming on MGM+ via Prime Video