Outlander has always been vague about its time travel
Outlander season two official trailer
The team behind the hit series Outlander has disclosed that they had to tweak a particular scene due to an error in the time travel narrative.
The Starz show, which incorporates elements of time travel, has largely kept the mechanics under wraps, but author Diana Gabaldon has set certain rules within her literary world.
In the Outlander universe, the ability to time travel is genetic, meaning only a select few can journey across different periods.
Moreover, time travel is restricted to specific times of the year, such as Samhain and various equinoxes.
Additionally, gemstones can facilitate time travel, and blood sacrifices have been shown to play a role, as demonstrated by Gillian Edgars/Geillis Duncan (portrayed by Lotte Verbeek), who murders her husband to time travel in Inverness, reports the Scottish Daily Express.
The traveller’s desired destination is also influenced by their emotional connection to the place they wish to go.
During the second season, the producers were compelled to modify a scene involving Claire Fraser’s (played by Caitríona Balfe) rings in post-production.
Speaking on the Outlander podcast, executive producer Ronald D. Moore explained: “At the very beginning – way back at Craigh na Dun, her discovering that she lost the ring and trying to find the ring, and then realising the stone of the ring was gone – that was something we added much later in the process, well after the show was done for various story reasons of time travel that we needed to establish – that you will discover later.”
Moore’s comments hint at the importance of gemstones for safe portal travel, a fact Claire only uncovered later after perusing Geillis’ notes.
It seems the show’s creators only later realised that Claire had to lose the gemstone from the ring Jamie (Sam Heughan) gave her, which was originally his father’s.
The seventh season witnessed a fair amount of time travel, with Roger MacKenzie (Richard Rankin) landing in 1739 while searching for his son, whom he suspected Rob Cameron (Chris Fulton) had abducted.
During his time in this period, he encountered his father Jerry MacKenzie (Nicholas Ralph), who’d ended up in the past following an aircraft crash.
Roger attempted to assist his father in returning to his own era, hoping that in doing so his parents would have survived and he wouldn’t have been orphaned.
Unfortunately, given Outlander characters’ history of failing to alter events, Roger couldn’t change his father’s destiny.
The final season of Outlander is expected to provide more insight into the mechanics of time travel within its universe, especially since Master Raymond (Dominique Pinon) managed to transport Claire Fraser’s stillborn baby to another era and save her.
Furthermore, lingering questions about Jamie and the origins of his ghost in 1940s Inverness are set to be finally addressed.
Outlander season 7 is available to buy now on Digital and is streaming on MGM+ via Prime Video now
