Outlander: There Will Be War In The Backcountry

Outlander has loomed large in the personal mythology of Clan Cornelius over the past decade. I was aware of the Diana Gabaldon book series because my brother John and his wife enjoyed them — to the extent that they honeymooned in Scotland in an early (1990s) exhibit of what has become known as the Gabladon Effect or the Outlander Effect. The ardent passion of millions of people for this story has led to an infusion of billions of dollars into the Scottish economy — from tourism and from the production of eight seasons of television drama there.

At John’s recommendation, I delved into the first season of the STARZ drama Outlander online in 2016, and was immediately swept up in this romantic tale of a woman who accidentally falls through time to land in the Scottish Highlands in the year 1743 — as the final Jacobite Uprising looms like a threatening thunderhead on the horizon. Lady Marilyn and Ceili soon fell under the spell of this Story as well.

Gabaldon has a book or two left to wrap up the Story (I am way behind) but the TV drama will end with Season 8, due out early in 2026. STARZ just dropped a teaser trailer:

The Story has taken Claire and Jamie Fraser from Scotland through the Caribbean to Fraser’s Ridge in the North Carolina backcountry. Jamie, a Highland warrior, has become a Frontier Partisan, fighting with Morgan’s Riflemen at Saratoga (and wielding a fine Kibler Colonial Rifle).

Due to the vagaries of time travel, Jamie has come into a copy of a book written by historian Frank Randall, Claire’s 20th Century husband (just roll with it if you don’t know the Story) in which it is recounted that a James Fraser is killed in the Battle of King’s Mountain. That’s a sticky wicket, because there’s no way Fraser is going to simply dodge the fight to save his life…. Well, we’ll see.

Outlander does several valuable and important things. It foregrounds pivotal moments in history that seldom, if ever, get much play in popular culture. The failure of the Jacobite Rising of ’45, the Regulator War in North Carolina, the Battle of Saratoga, the Battle of King’s Mountain — our world might be a whole lot different had the events played out in other ways. I think it’s wonderful that the books and the show have inspired so many people to take an interest in these world-shaping events — and simply to appreciate history.

Outlander depicts strong married relationships in a realistic, yet consistently positive light. In a contemporary culture where men and women seem to be increasingly at odds with each other, where notions like heterofatalism can gain traction among purported “thought leaders,” Outlander’s portrayal of relationships of deep commitment and sustained passion is downright countercultural.

We’re looking forward to the denouement, though we will be sad to see the Story end. It truly is the end of an era. But, then again, it’s not, because we will soon (August 8) delve into the backstory of the Fraser and Beauchamp forebears in Blood Of My Blood.