'Outlander' EP Maril Davis Teases 'Buckle-Your-Seatbelt' Emotional Drama Coming in Mid-Season Finale

Today’s episode of Outlander marks the mid-season finale, but it is also the last episode of 2023—the Droughtlander begins—until the second half of Season 7 airs in 2024. But the good news is that it is brimming with goodies that includes all our main characters—Jamie (Sam Heughan), Claire (Caitríona Balfe), Brianna (Sophie Skelton), Roger (Richard Rankin), Young Ian (John Bell) and William (Charles Vandervaart).

“The Jamie and Claire storyline isn’t so much a cliffhanger as it’s a start of a next chapter, and it leaves them, I think, in a good place,” executive producer Maril Davis tells Parade in this exclusive interview about the mid-season finale. “Whereas Brianna and Roger is more of a cliffhanger. We don’t know what will happen with their son Jemmy’s storyline in the second half of the season. I’m so excited for people to see that back half, because you know the first half was so good, but the back half is, in my mind, even better.”

The decision to greenlight an eighth season of Outlander hadn't been made when the producers and writers were putting together Season 7 —which was supersized to 16 episodes after season 6 had to be shortened due to COVID—but a lot of thought and consideration went into the season in case it turned out to be the final one.

“This season just came together so magically,” Davis continues. “Part of it was we were all back together and that felt really wonderful. But also, this season is so jampacked because going into it and not realizing that there was going to be an eighth season, thinking it could potentially be our last, we just were like, ‘OK, let’s use all the material we have left and try to just get everything in.’

“And instead of feeling like it’s a kitchen sink approach and nothing makes sense, I think the writers did such an amazing job building this amazing cohesive season that makes sense and feels like it’s just one fluid book, but every episode is kind of like a buckle-your-seatbelt type of emotion and drama.”

Related: Outlander EP Maril Davis Teases What Will Happen in the Final Season (Season 8)

With that everything-but-the-kitchen-sink approach to the season, there were a lot of highlights like Claire nearly hanging for the murder of Malva Christe (Jessica Reynolds), the burning down of the Big House on Fraser’s Ridge, the first battle of the American Revolution, and more.

But for Davis, who is a fan of Diana Gabaldon’s series of Outlander novels which is how she first got involved in the TV series, it was the more emotional scenes that struck her to the core, like Jamie and Claire’s reunion on the ship, the Tom Christie (Mark Lewis Jones) and Claire moments, and Jamie’s seeing an adult William across the crowded thoroughfare in Wilmington.

“It’s a heartbreaking first part of the season because Jamie is so torn between his two children,” Davis continues. “You know what I mean? He’s fighting for his daughter’s future, for the future of America, but he knows his son is on the other side of the battlefield, and that’s tearing him up. I think Sam has done such a tremendous job this season showing that conflict.”

Related: Outlander’s Sam Heughan on Life Isn’t Worth Living for Jamie Without Claire

One of the things that Outlander is famous for is shooting enough footage that it always has exclusives for its DVD/Blu-ray releases and this season is no exception. Davis says there was a Claire/Roger scene early on that didn’t make the edit where Claire is asking him about his father that might be one such scene.

“There’s always so much material. It’s funny, we try to shorten our scripts so we don’t have too much extra material at the end of the day, but we always end up overshooting for some reason, and always have stuff that we can’t fit in. I wish we could have unlimited time in our episodes. I really do. Then we could include it all.”

During our mid-season finale chat, Davis also talked about how Jamie has matured over the seasons, where the Jamie-Claire relationship is now, this season’s new characters, and whether Gabaldon will be providing them with story ideas for season 8, which will wrap up the TV version of Outlander.

Related: Why Caitriona Balfe Is Afraid to Direct Sam Heughan in Outlander

Jamie has had an interesting quandary twice this season. Tom Christie had to save Claire from hanging in the beginning, and then when she’s a prisoner in the fort, Young Ian has to go in. Jamie does help with the arrows, but what does that say about Jamie now? Has he matured to the point where he can ask for help with things that are really important instead of impetuously rushing in to do all the rescues himself?

Maybe, but I think of Jamie as the puppet master. Jamie is always behind all these things. Like it’s Jamie’s idea to send in Young Ian. It’s Jamie really who allows Tom to do his thing and has the maturity to say, “That’s the right way to go; let this man sacrifice for Claire. That’s the only way we’re getting her off the ship.”

So, yes, I think both in the books and on the TV show, Jamie has matured in a way. And like the Jamie of young, though, he’s always thinking one step ahead of the other characters, and I’ve always loved that about that character, that he’s always two steps ahead of everybody else. He’s always thinking. He sees life like a chessboard.

We don’t have those hot sex scenes that we had in season 1 and 2, but it seems that they’re even closer in that their romance has matured into intimacy. Do you think that’s what we’re getting from their relationship in season 7?

Every season we kind of portray their relationship in different ways to try to show different unique aspects of their relationship. Season 1 was unique. It was the first time we saw them kiss. It was the first time we saw them make love. There are certain things that as time goes on, you’re looking for new ways. And for some of us, also, it’s like the sex scenes are important and there will be more of them, but it’s also about the intimacy of them and growing older as a couple and that continued not only sexual relationship, but also that bond in terms of trust and intimacy that’s also those conversations in bed and that closeness that we’re trying to show as well.

So, this season introduced several new characters. William is not new, but he is as an adult. And then we have Denzell (Joey Phillips) and Rachel (Izzy Meikle-Small). How has it been to work them into the story when we still want our Jamie and Claire fix?

This is very close to the story that Diana has written that as the books go on, more and more supporting characters get their due. I like to think of Jamie/Claire as the center of the wheel and every story spokes off of them. Even the Brianna/Roger storyline this season, everything still comes back to Jamie and Claire. So, it’s always kind of they’re there, even when they’re not there.

But in order for people to care about other characters – the Williams, the Rachels, Young Ian, everybody else – they do need to have their stories, too. Jamie and Claire aren’t just Jamie and Claire because of who they are, but also all those people surrounding them. So, you bolster Jamie and Claire up by also bolstering the supporting cast.

Related: Here's a Look at Everything We Know So Far About Outlander Prequel Blood of My Blood

We’re 100 days now into the writers strike as we speak. You have not been able to work on season 8 or the spinoff Blood Of My Blood. When you do go back, will Outlander season 8 take precedence because that needs to air, or are they hoping to premiere them both together so they’re both equally timely?

They were both in process prepping. I don’t know how STARZ is going to air them or what their big plan is for that. I know they have their ideas. I don’t know what they are. Both of their preps have obviously stopped and will be pushed back accordingly to the time we lost. I hope we get back soon. Obviously, I’m in support of everyone getting what they want, but I hope we get back soon because I know a lot of people are out of work and would like to be able to talk to everyone again.

Since season 8 is the final season and Diana hasn’t written the final book, how much is she going to consult on it?

We talked to Diana and, certainly, we’re open if she wants to give us stuff from book 10, but I don’t know if she’s going to. I understand if she doesn’t because, obviously, she sometimes wants her books to be the books and the show to be the show. But right now, we’re moving forward and not anticipating necessarily getting any of that book and trying to figure out ways to do a satisfying ending for the show, but also not step on Diana’s toes in any way.

New episodes of Outlander are available to stream weekly on Fridays at midnight on the STARZ app, all STARZ streaming and on-demand platforms, and internationally on the Lionsgate+ premium streaming platform in the U.K. New episodes will air weekly on the STARZ linear platform on Fridays at 8 p.m. ET in the U.S.

Next, Outlander Author Diana Gabaldon Weighs in on the Complications of Fraser/MacKenzie Family Ties and Obligations in Season 7's Seventh Episode