With Droughtlander coming to an end in just under two weeks, fans are looking forward to seeing what is next for Jamie and Claire. The last time fans saw their favorite time-traveling family, Jamie had just received word from Governor Tryon that he had to kill Murtagh. Outlander fans also had to bid farewell to Young Ian, who decided to trade places with Roger so he could return to Brianna.
While the book lovers know that it would be a long time before Young Ian is seen again, this would have been a great opportunity to have a spin-off series showing how the Scotsman coped being separated from his family. In fact, instead of making fans endure another Droughtlander, there could be a spin-off of several other characters. Keep reading to discover which 10 storylines from the books should be made into their own TV series
Jenny and Ian’s story
If no one will give Jenny and Ian’s love story their own series then they deserve to have their own film at least. As fans know, Jenny ended up getting married to Ian, who was Jamie’s best friend. When Jamie and Ian were in the army, Ian got seriously injured in the battle at Daumier, where he eventually lost his leg.
When Jamie was imprisoned by the English, Ian helped out with Jenny at Lallybroch. Ian and Jenny were close when they were growing up, but the seeds of romance were planted the more they spent time together. Eventually, Jenny was the one to make the first move and proposed to him. We could easily get six episodes out of that.
Laoghaire’s perspective
Possibly one of the most hated characters in the Outlander franchise, fans don’t hide their dislike of Laoghaire. After all, the maiden had almost sent Claire to her death by accusing her of being a witch and tormented her out of jealousy. However, she did prove she wasn’t totally heartless when she asked Claire to save her grandson (An Echo in the Bone).
It’s worth keeping in mind that everything seen is told mainly from Claire’s perspective so any redemptive stories would be overlooked. Surely Laoghaire wasn’t always like this so it would be interesting to see the reason behind her motives and why she turned out the way she did.
William finds out his true parentage
In An Echo in a Bone, a bombshell was dropped on the Englishman when William discovered that Jamie was his father. As you can tell, William didn’t take the news lightly that he had been lied to by his parents or that his real father was a criminal.
It would be a great starting point in creating a memorable pilot episode. How would the Earl of Ellesmere cope with such a secret? How would it affect his relationship with his stepfather? Did he want to get to know Jamie more now that he knew the truth? The series could have followed the events in the book, where his friendship with Jane helps him to become more humble.
Young Ian’s life living with the Mohawk tribe
In “Drums of Autumn” (in season 4), Young Ian decided to stay with the Mohawk tribe in exchange for Jamie and Roger’s life. Later on in the novel, the Frasers receive a letter from Ian stating that he has gotten married and that the couple is expecting their first child.
This letter comes eight months after the trade, which means there are a lot of narratives that could be created. For instance, you could have an episode focusing on his relationship with “Emily” and how they got married. How Ian learned about the Mohawk tribe’s culture and became a Mohawk himself.
Jamie finds out Claire married Lord John
Although it sounds like something that belongs in a soap opera or a romantic-comedy, there are a lot of premises to be explored in the storyline where Jamie found out about Claire and Lord John’s marriage. In An Echo in a Bone, Claire and John get married after both parties are grief-stricken with the news that the ship Jamie was on had sunk.
As fans know, it is impossible to kill the Fraser as Jamie and Jenny turn up alive and well after taking a different ship. However, the friendship between John and Jamie becomes strained when the Scotsman finds out that his best friend had slept with his wife.
Brianna and Roger’s life in the 1980s
Another storyline that could become a stand-alone television series is Brianna and Roger’s return to the twentieth century. In the sixth book, Roger and Brianna decided to return to the twentieth century to protect their family. Here, Brianna was able to graduate from Boston with a degree in mechanical engineering and attains a job as a plant inspector.
However, in An Echo in a Bone, Brianna was forced to go back through the stones after one of her colleagues tries to kidnap Jem and make him disclose the information Charles Stuart’s gold. There is easily at least one season’s worth of episodes here that could be made.
The Lord John Grey novels
One of the fans’ favorite characters in the series is John Grey, who won their hearts with his kind soul and relationship with Jamie. Fans of the series know of the strong bond between Jamie and John, which grew after the Englishman promised to become the stepfather to Jamie’s illegitimate son, William.
However, were you aware that the diplomat stars in his own set of novellas? With nine in total, each book fills in what John had been doing during the years Jamie was at Helwater and what he did after leaving his position the Governor of Jamaica. He also battles an alleged “succubus” and “plague of zombies”, which sounds like a new supernatural series in the making.
The Witchcraft Trials
In several of the books, the plots have seen several women under the suspicion of witchcraft and trialed for the crime. The first time the trials were seen was in the book Outlander, where Geillis and Claire were accused of witchcraft. While Jamie came to Claire’s rescue, Geillis confessed to save her and was taken to be burnt at the stake.
While the show did display how many witnesses were bribed to testify, it didn’t fully explore the torture Geillis and Claire had to withstand. For instance, Claire refuses the Catch-22 test where the accused can only show their innocence if they drown after being submerged in water. Since both women escaped execution, it would be interesting to see the trials from the perspective of someone who had already been condemned.
The Battle of Culloden
One element that was a little anti-climatic on the show was the Battle of Culloden, which fans hoped would have lasted a bit longer than ten minutes. While everyone knew that Jamie and Jack Randall would have their final showdown on the battlefield, it would have been nice to see how the other clan members got on, such as Murtagh - who actually died in battle in the book.
For this show, you could have a couple of episodes exploring the lives of the other members of the clan Fraser (which was a real family, known as clan Fraser of Lovat). Further research could also explore the other people who were on the battlefield too.
Jenny and Claire’s excursions
Jenny and Claire are the duo we didn’t know we needed. In the Outlander book and the episode “The Search,” Jenny and Claire teamed up to track Jamie down after the Scotsman was taken by redcoats. Together, they made quite the pair, with the duo managing to track and kidnap an English soldier.
While the excursion was cut short after Jenny had to return home to feed her daughter, it would be great to see the women team up more. They could have been the eighteenth-century version of Cagney & Lacey or Thelma & Louise, taking down the English soldiers and solving crimes.
