The long-awaited final season of Outlander is finally just weeks rather than months away in the 2026 TV schedule. The last chapter of adventures for the extended Fraser family is set in the heart of the American Revolution to pick up where Season 7 left off, with war following them back to Fraser's Ridge. The trailer (seen above) for the season is action-packed to the point that it warrants more than one watch just to catch all the details, but one moment has me genuinely worried about one of the leads after seven seasons of close calls and death fake outs.
With the end nigh, it's truly time to start worrying about Jamie's possible demise. Considering that the trailer only runs for two minutes, there's a lot to absorb from the early glimpses of Season 8. The farewell to the Frasers will have to be completed over the course of ten episodes, and it appears there's plenty to look forward to (and possibly dread) with the approach of what might truly be Jamie's last battle.
What You Shouldn't Miss From The Trailer
War may be coming to Fraser's Ridge, but that doesn't mean the trailer is two minutes of constant doom and gloom! It's nice to get a glimpse of Fergus and Marsali in the mix with the returns of César Domboy and Lauren Lyle after the pair missed all of Season 7, although the characters don't appear to having the nicest of times in the upcoming batch of episodes.
The glimpse of David Berry back in the British redcoat uniform is curious, but at least does confirm that Lord John continues to age spectacularly well in the 18th century. His eye is fully healed from the beating he took from Jamie last season, so it seems fans are in for a time jump. At least enough time has passed for the birth of Ian and Rachel's infant, with a shot of the young Mrs. Murray holding a swaddled baby.
But the emotional heart of the trailer involves Jamie's apparent impending doom at King's Mountain, as foretold/recorded in Frank's book that Brianna brought back to the past with her. The Battle of King's Mountain was a real historical event in the American Revolution, which means that at least part of Season 8 will be set in 1780.
I'm very curious about the shot of what looks like Roger decked out in militia uniform in the same trailer that reveals William back in his red coat in battle. With so much going on and Jamie's history of thwarting death in spite of what history says, why should we be worried about him dying?
Well, let's get into why the worst kind of tragedy may really happen this time.
Why The Trailer Makes Me Think Jamie Could Actually Die
Aside from the fact that anybody can die in a final season and Diana Gabaldon's book saga hasn't been completed to confirm Jamie's fate one way or the other, there's one line delivered by Sam Heughan in the trailer that knits all the action together and possibly points to the big death. He says:
If I'm dead, you should all go back.
It's just one line out of the whole trailer, but Season 8 really is the first time that Jamie could truly die and motivate his family to leave the 18th century and return to an era of indoor plumbing, electricity, and modern medicine. If Jamie does go into this particular battle, and if Roger and William wearing their uniforms indicates they'll be fighting on opposite sides of it, then perhaps Sam Heughan's character could die to save his loved ones.
Would Claire And Co. Really Go Back If Jamie Dies?
When you do the math, a lot of Jamie's loved ones would be able to time travel if he dies and they heed his advice. Confirmed time travelers are Claire, Brianna, Roger, Jemmy, and Mandy, with Frances presumably able to travel through the stones as well as Jamie and Claire's granddaughter. They would all still have each other if they went back to their futures.
The footage also reveals Claire vowing to "always" keep Fanny safe, which could be a tough promise to keep without drastic measures. She went back to the 20th century when Jamie was expected to die at Culloden in order to save her unborn child in Season 2; could she make that same trip through time to save her grandchild by the end of Season 8?
On the other hand, going back to the future would mean leaving characters like Ian, Rachel, Fergus, Marsali, William, and Lord John behind, as well as all of Fergus and Marsali's kids. As Claire points out, the 18th century is her "home."
Still, Ian is building a life of his own with Rachel, Fergus and Marsali will hopefully be just fine with their brood of youngsters, and William honestly might be better off without the Frasers. The non-time travelers have their own lives by this point, so maybe the others could conceivably go back to the 1980s.
When To Watch The Season 8 Premiere Of Outlander
All of this is to say that there's plenty to speculate about in the remaining weeks before Outlander returns for Season 8, and all bets are off now that the end is nigh. There is one specific thing I'm still holding out hope for, though: an explanation for Ghost Jamie from way back in the pilot.
Tune in to Starz on Friday, March 6 at 8 p.m. ET for the premiere of the eighth and final season of Outlander, or stream via the Starz app and all Starz streaming and on-demand platforms in the U.S. New episodes will continue debuting weekly on Fridays.
If you want to revisit Jamie and Claire's earlier days of the series, you can find the first seven seasons streaming with a Netflix subscription now. You can also check out the Outlander: Blood of My Blood prequel spinoff streaming on the Starz app and on-demand platforms to witness the respective love stories of Claire and Jamie's parents, decades before they'd meet and begin an epic romance of their own.
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