Unfortunately, Outlander season 8 won’t include a fan-favorite character, but that doesn’t mean their book story won’t be adapted to the screen. The upcoming final season of the romantacy series will have to really hone in on the specifics of the show’s ending, and that means several side stories won’t make the cut. As disappointing as this is, there is reassurance in the knowledge that the most prominent players of Outlander will get all the attention. This means Jamie, Claire, Roger, Brianna, Young Ian, Lord John, and William Ransom will be front and center, but we will have to say goodbye to most other characters.
The upcoming season of Outlander really has its work cut out for it in wrapping up these characters’ stories since author Diana Gabaldon hasn’t yet finished the book series. Season 8 will adapt some details from the existing novels, but the show’s ending itself will have to be pretty unique. This is all sure to revolve around the big reveal from Outlander season 7’s finale that Faith Fraser might have lived, which is something that never happened in the books. The changes from canon have snowballed, meaning that one character who should technically be around in Outlander season 8 won’t be.
Jenny Murray Won’t Be Featured In Outlander Season 8
We Have Said Our Final Goodbye To Jenny
Jamie’s sister, Jenny Murray, made a return in Outlander season 7, this time played by Kristin Atherton rather than Laura Donnelly. Even with the recasting, it was great to see this character again. Her reunion with Young Ian was touching, especially during their moment together in Lallybroch’s cemetery. According to the books, this Scottish reunion should have been followed up by Jenny moving to Fraser’s Ridge with Jamie, Claire, and Young Ian. However, the TV series made a surprising change when Jenny turned down Jamie’s invitation to come back to America with them.
Jenny said in Outlander season 7 that she may follow her brother eventually, but she chose to remain at Lallybroch for a time. This left the door open just a crack for Atherton’s return in season 8, but Outlander showrunners have officially dashed our hopes. They said that just about anything that doesn’t directly relate to Jamie and Claire’s ending had to be cut. This is disappointing, especially considering Jenny and Ian’s heartwarming moments together in season 7. However, even without Jenny, Outlander season 8 can pay off her story.
Jenny’s Outlander Book Story Revolves Largely Around Young Ian
Jenny’s Goal Is Her Son’s Happiness
Jenny Murray has been a fantastic character from the start of Outlander. She is strong, sassy, and intuitive, and her protectiveness over her family made Jenny easy to love. Saying goodbye to her character is hard, but it’s also understandable that Jenny wouldn’t make it into Outlander season 8. She’s a natural presence in the books, but her story in Gabaldon’s later installments, like Written in My Own Heart’s Blood and Go Tell the Bees That I Am Gone, revolves mostly around her son, Young Ian. Jenny’s goal is, naturally, her child’s happiness.
While Jenny may not be a part of the story in this version, her arc can still be paid off in the TV show’s ending.
Young Ian’s story has been set up much the same in the Outlander TV show as in the books. He and Rachel Hunter got married in season 7, and it was announced that they are expecting a baby. In Go Tell the Bees That I Am Gone, Ian gets word that his ex-wife, Emily, and his biological son may be in danger. So, he, his mother, Rachel, and their little son head out on a journey to find them. We can assume that this will play out in Outlander season 8, and while Jenny may not be a part of the story in this version, her arc can still be paid off in the TV show’s ending.
How Outlander Can Bring Jenny & Ian’s Touching Book Story Full Circle
Ian’s Season 8 Story Can Pay Off His Final Big Scene With Jenny
The primary reason that it would have been so wonderful to see Jenny travel with Ian to find his biological son in Outlander season 8 is that the mother-son duo began the emotional aspect of this story in season 7. When Young Ian visited Lallybroch, Jenny brought him out to the cemetery where she showed him that she had established a symbolic grave for his deceased daughter, Iseabail. Jenny had never met the infant, but it was important to her that Ian knew that this little girl, who was born thousands of miles away, still had a place at Lallybroch—she was still a Murray.
The best possible way that this emotional story could be paid off in Outlander is with the birth of Ian’s son with Rachel Hunter, as well as Ian’s reunion with his child with Emily, Swiftest of Lizards. By the end of the TV series, Young Ian will have a whole family of his own, full of the love and comfort established in his heart by his mother. Though Jenny won’t be in Outlander season 8, seeing Ian achieve this happiness would still, ultimately, bring her story full circle.