The New York Comic Con panel for Outlander has revealed more details on its season seven, part two. Following season seven trailer was an interview section with the hostess Lauren Puckett-Pope, Instagram patrons and audience members. Members of the panel included Caitriona Balfe (Escape Plan, Now You See Me), Sam Heughan (Love Again, The Couple Next Door), Richard Rankin (Burnt, Thirteen), Sophia Skelton (Day of the Dead: Bloodline, Stalker), John Bell (Wrath of the Titans, Life of Riley), Diana Gabaldon (Dragonfly in Amber, The Fiery Cross) and Maril Davis (Star Trek: Insurrection, For All Mankind).
The trailer showcases sneak peeks of the new half-season as Claire and Jamie discuss where they should go next and what home means to them.
Davis dives into the preview per the NYCC panel, which is an “emotional rollercoaster,” and how the second half includes more “death, loss and redemption,” making it more engaging than the first half of season seven.
The cast members give one-word answers about their character’s arc for the second installment of season seven. Via the panel, Heughan ponders for a moment before stating “revenge,” along with Balfe’s “confused,” Skelton’s “mama bear,” Bell’s “adorable” and Rankins’ “unexpected”. Gabaldon also shares her thoughts on continuing the seventh season and how she is confident fans will like it.
Heughan starts the conversation about returning home to Scotland and returning characters. He references the significance of Castle Leoch (as that was the first time Claire and Jamie said I love you) and how special it was coming back to their home before mentioning “griefs,” causing a bittersweet feeling.
According to Davis, episode eleven of the seventh season will cause lots of distress.
With the mention of the ten-year-anniversary since Outlander’s initial release, the panelists were asked how they felt about the idea of what they would get themselves into when signing up for the show. Gabaldon answered quickly, stating, “not in the slightest.” Heughan states he did not know about the books and assumed the show would only have one season after the first release. However, he takes the time to thank fans for the show’s success and outlasting time.
Balfe goes into how amazing it is to play these characters, watch them grow overtime and “build a life with them.” Adding onto the character growth, Skelton used her knowledge about the books to showcase Brianna’s progression. She is excited for Brianna and Roger to have a more realistic relationship for couples and how they develop individually and in their partnership.
Bell talks about how he was younger than the rest of the cast but has had an amazing opportunity to work alongside an amazing team. He did not know how Ian’s progression would end, so he went into it blindly each season. He will continue to be Young Ian to the cast members.
Davis discusses how Outlander wants to celebrate the characters and end on a good note before the sadder tones. Not everyone in the cast and crew has seen the finale script in case of leaks. Gabaldon adds that she was not upset at the show’s alternate ending and that it would work nicely.
The cast goes into how they are handling saying goodbye to the fandom.
Other discourses included how Rankin was originally going to audition as Jamie, Gabaldon’s one-liner experience, Balfe’s direction and life after Outlander, as well as fun questions such as the cast’s favorite costumes, which character correlates to a Taylor Swift song and recommendations for places to go in Scotland.
Season seven, part two of Outlander, will be released on Starz on November 22 of this year.