Caitriona Balfe Had Outlander Fans Thinking A Surprise Guest Was In Season 4, And Hilarity Ensued

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Fans of Outlander have been eagerly awaiting the fourth season of the time travel romance drama since way back in December 2017, and there are still months of hiatus ahead before Season 4 finally kicks off in the fall with new characters. Leading lady Caitriona Balfe recently shared an update on social media for fans, filling them in on the fact that Outlander filming was wrapping up. She tagged a number of people who work on the show with her, including on-screen husband Sam Heughan and on-screen daughter Sophie Skelton. She also happened to tag somebody who hasn't appeared on the show: Once Upon a Time's Colin O'Donoghue. Take a look!

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For folks who actually read Caitriona Balfe's tags, they were likely surprised to see Colin O'Donoghue's name included. The Irish actor is fresh off his stint as Captain Hook on Once Upon a Time, which aired its series finale back in May. There had been no announcement that he would appear on Outlander, so Balfe's tweet seemed like a sneaky way for her to reveal that fans would get to see O'Donoghue on the show in the fourth season.

Well, as it happens, Caitriona Balfe's inclusion of Colin O'Donoghue in her tweet wasn't actually a reveal that he would be part of the show's Season 4, and it was O'Donoghue himself who called her out on mistakenly tagging him. Prepare yourself for something seriously amusing and check out his response!

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Caitriona Balfe's mention of Colin O'Donoghue among other cast members was as much of a surprise to O'Donoghue as everybody else on social media! In a follow-up tweet, O'Donoghue clarified that he was tagged by accident, and Balfe responded with a "Shiiit" and confession that she'd tagged the wrong Colin. She'd meant to tag Colin McFarlane, who joined the show to play book character Ulysses in Season 4. After tagging McFarlane in another tweet, that seemed to be the end of the story for Balfe. That wasn't the case for the people who saw Balfe's gaffe and had some commentary.

Richard Rankin, who plays Roger Wakefield on Outlander, chimed in with a teasing tweet of his own:

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ET's Leanne Aguilera had a comment of her own about Caitriona Balfe's "big reveal" of Colin O'Donoghue joining the show:

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Meanwhile, TVLine's Matt Mitovich wasn't ready to just let some other entertainment outlet get the official scoop:

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Now, in Caitriona Balfe's defense, Colin O'Donoghue isn't just a random Colin that she happened to accidentally tag on Twitter. Balfe, O'Donaghue, and Sam Heughan have engaged in Twitter banter in the past, so it stands to reason that when she thinks "Colin" on social media, she thinks Colin O'Donoghue. Mistakes happen, and not all mistakes result in nearly this much hilarity.

I'd say that a few laughs are always appreciated during an Outlander hiatus. For some viewing options between now and the return of Outlander in the fall, check out our summer TV premiere guide, and don't forget to check out our picks for reasons why Outlander is the best show on TV. Outlander has a long future ahead of it, so it's definitely worth watching.

Laura Hurley
Senior Content Producer

Laura turned a lifelong love of television into a valid reason to write and think about TV on a daily basis. She's not a doctor, lawyer, or detective, but watches a lot of them in primetime. CinemaBlend's resident expert and interviewer for One Chicago, the galaxy far, far away, and a variety of other primetime television. Will not time travel and can cite multiple TV shows to explain why. She does, however, want to believe that she can sneak references to The X-Files into daily conversation (and author bios).