Filming on the final season of Outlander may be complete, but even the people who lived inside the story for more than a decade don’t fully know how it all ends.
In an exclusive interview with PEOPLE, Sam Heughan admitted that the show’s cast is still unsure what the finished version of Season 8 will ultimately look like. The actor, who plays Jamie Fraser, spoke while promoting his new book, The Cocktail Diaries, and reflected on the challenge of closing out one of television’s most beloved romances.
“We don’t really know how it ends,” Heughan said. “We kind of know, but we shall see in the edit ourselves.”
After premiering in 2014, Outlander has followed Jamie and Claire Fraser — portrayed by Heughan and Caitríona Balfe — through centuries of war, separation, time travel, and enduring love. As the series heads into its final chapter, Heughan says uncertainty is part of the process, even for those at the center of it.
Still, he offered a glimpse of what fans can expect from Season 8, summing it up in three words: “Reconciliation… war and eternity.”
More than anything, Heughan hopes viewers walk away feeling the journey was worth it. “I hope they look back on the series and see it being an amazing adventure that they’ve gone on with us and perhaps, I don’t know, go back to season 1 and start watching from the beginning again.”
Ending the show, he admits, was never going to be easy — especially since the source material is unfinished. Outlander is based on the novels by Diana Gabaldon, whose book series began in 1991 and is still ongoing. The author has not yet published the final installment of Claire and Jamie’s story, meaning the television adaptation must create its own conclusion.
“I hope they feel we have done justice to the characters and to the story and to the fans,” Heughan said. “You know, it’s hard. How do you finish a show like that? Obviously, we didn’t finish the books. We had to finish our show, so it is a departure from the books in some ways, but for us, it was rewarding, and we wanted to finish it right.”
As the cast says goodbye, Heughan revealed that the final wrap was marked with a personal touch. In The Cocktail Diaries, the actor included a special Appletini recipe he created for the Outlander wrap party, which he hosted at his home in Scotland.
“They all like a tipple,” he joked of his costars. “But also yeah, it just felt nice to create something, you know, from my garden. It was a really nice moment to share with everyone that I have been working with — it was cast and crew that were there, and just to, you know, [celebrate] an amazing journey we’ve all been on for the past 11 years.”
“So it felt good,” he added. “We did finish the bottle that I created and had many other cocktails as well.”
Outlander Season 8 premieres March 6 on Starz. Seasons 1 through 7 are currently streaming on Starz, with the first six seasons also available on Netflix.
As the series prepares to close the book on Jamie and Claire’s story, even those who helped tell it are bracing themselves to experience the ending for the first time — just like the fans.
