Filming officially wrapped in September 2024, the countdown begins for Outlander’s grand finale, expected to air in late 2025 or early 2026. Now lead Caitríona Balfe is preparing to say goodbye.
She has portrayed Dr. Claire Fraser for 11 years in Outlander, so saying goodbye to her beloved character was never going to be easy for Caitriona Balfe.
The actress, who plays Claire in the time travel show which has just finished Season 7, has been making preparations for her farewell, and is making sure she gives her character the send off she deserves.
Speaking about how she will bid farewell to Claire, who is wed to Jamie ( Sam Heughan) in the show, Caitríona told The Standard: “I went off and did like a very hippie retreat,” she revealed. “So that was my version of [memorializing the character]. It was very hippie.”
TV fans have followed Claire on her journey as she navigates love, war, and the perils of time itself. Filming has officially wrapped in September 2024, the countdown begins for the show’s grand finale, expected to air in late 2025 or early 2026.
Reflecting on the final day of filming, Balfe admitted to The Standard that while there were plenty of tears, the true weight of saying goodbye may not hit until the last episodes air.
“There was definitely tears. There’s a lot of tears. You know, it’s funny, it’s been five months now, and I think I’ve kind of, like, sort of said proper goodbye,” she shared. “But you know when the final season airs, I’m sure there’ll be a whole other layer of goodbye that has to happen.”
The recently concluded seventh season, which aired in two parts, ended with shocking twists that has prepared fans for an explosive final chapter. The finale delivered emotional reunions, intense surgical drama, tragic losses, and a major cliffhanger tied to Claire and Jamie’s (Sam Heughan) past.
Reflecting on her time playing protagonist Claire, it’s hardly surprising she said the beloved character in her DNA. She told the publication: “I’ve played Claire for 11 years. She’s not going away. She’s in there. She’s like a part of the DNA, and everyone that I’ve worked with are family now, so they don’t go away either. So that’s good. I think.”
She is no stranger to stitching up limbs of wounded people as Dr Claire Fraiser in Outlander’s most gruesome episodes, and now TV fans have been given a clue as to how Claire Fraser actress Caitriona really feels about getting her hands dirty in some of the most gut-wrenching scenes the show has seen.
In a behind-the-scenes interview on the official Outlander podcast has revealed how Caitriona copes with the blood and gore.
Outlander show writer Anne Kenney and executive producer Ronald D. Moore opened up about Catriona’s process for the surgery scenes on the podcast. Anne said, “Caitríona, I’ve never known her to be any kind of squeamish about any of this stuff,” adding that even “cooked rabbits” didn’t perturb the Belfast star.