After more than a decade of time travel, war, heartbreak and enduring romance, Outlander is approaching its final chapter.
For Caitríona Balfe, who has portrayed Claire Fraser since the series premiered in 2014, the end of the long-running drama marks a farewell and a moment to reflect on the journey.
Across eight seasons, Claire has evolved from a sharp-witted World War II nurse unexpectedly transported to 18th-century Scotland into one of television’s most resilient heroines. Yet while the show’s devoted fan base has spent years theorising about Claire’s fate, Balfe prefers to keep her distance from the speculation.
“I always think we have no business knowing what other people want for our characters,” she tells marie claire. “The writers write it, and I just sort of have to do it, so it’s not helpful.”
Season eight arrives in the wake of the shocking events that closed season seven, a cliffhanger that left fans with more questions than answers.
“The end of season seven is so shocking,” she says. “It’s like, okay, well, what does that mean? If she knows that song, how does she know that song?”
The final season is premiering several months after Blood of My Blood, the prequel series exploring the origins of Jamie Fraser’s parents. For Balfe, the expansion of the Outlander universe feels both surprising and fitting, particularly with the inclusion of Claire’s own family history.
“I’m so glad that they did include Claire’s parents,” she says. “It obviously changes a lot of the origins of our stories.”
More than twelve years after production first began, the scale of the experience is still difficult for Balfe to process.
“It’s just mad to me that we did all that,” she says. “Every season brought new things. And it was incredible getting to share that with Sam [Heughan] and Sophie [Skelton] and Richard [Rankin] and John [Bell]. We became this tight-knit little family.”
When the series wrapped, Balfe requested one small memento from the set: Claire’s rings.
“I asked for my rings, and I’m still waiting to get them,” she laughs. “I feel like they should be handed to me on a little tray.”
Looking back, one moment from Diana Gabaldon’s books still lingers in her mind as something she wishes had made it to screen. In the novels, Claire struggles to balance her early career as a doctor with motherhood, rushing home to care for Brianna after work.
“It was such a cool insight into her life,” Balfe says. “The struggle of a working mother. I fought really hard for it, but there just wasn’t space in the season.”
Part of what has kept Outlander’s central romance so compelling for so long, Balfe believes, is the honesty between Claire and Jamie. Their relationship has endured betrayal, loss and distance, yet always finds its way back to itself.
“They’ve always allowed each other to be who they are,” she says. “Sometimes they’ve really hurt each other. But they always fight to get back to each other.”
Claire herself has changed profoundly across the years. When viewers first met her in season one, she was pragmatic and fiercely capable, able to compartmentalise the trauma of war and simply carry on. Now, after centuries of conflict and loss, Balfe sees her differently.
“As we age, we become stronger and more vulnerable,” she says. “You’re able to withstand more pain the more pain you’ve endured. Claire in the beginning could compartmentalise things and just get on with them. Now, so much has happened that things aren’t as easy to move past.”
Since Outlander wrapped filming, Balfe has spent the past year exploring new creative territory. Among the projects is Tenzing, a film directed by Australian filmmaker Jennifer Peedom, alongside a new adaptation of Sense and Sensibility from director Georgia Oakley. She has also recently worked with filmmaker Andrew Haigh on an upcoming project titled A Long Winter.
“It’s been really lovely getting to work with these incredible directors,” she says. “Not always big roles, but really beautiful projects.”
Still, like many working parents, the biggest challenge remains balancing work with family life.
“It’s always about where the job is, how long the commitment is, and trying to spend as much time as I can with my son,” she says.
For now, though, Balfe is simply grateful for the extraordinary journey Outlander has been.
“It was the most incredible experience,” she says.
Outlander is officially set to hit screens on March 6, 2026 in the US, which will be March 7th for those in Australia.
Related stories
Native ad body.
Native ad body.
Native ad body.
