Outlander season 4 review: A thrilling season of love, change, and reunions
By Ariba Bhuvad
Sassanechs, Outlander may be over for the season, but there is simply too much to talk about during its hiatus.
Outlander had a pretty solid fourth season, and that is putting it lightly. Unlike past seasons, where we had a balance of back and forth timelines, this season spent most of its time in the past–and we loved every moment of it. Sure, this season did have its setbacks and things we wish could have gone differently, but overall, it was a thrill to watch.
It’s honestly difficult to fathom just how much went down through the course of the fourth season. We started off in the present, ended up in the past, and had some major revelations thrown our way. Like, Claire and Jamie supposedly die in a fire?! Say what?! The fourth season also brought forth new relationships, namely the handfast union of Roger and Brianna.
But perhaps what stood out the most about this season of Outlander was how much Brianna’s character grew. She started off as a young, naive American girl and by the end of the season was a mother to a beautiful baby boy. Her journey was difficult to watch, no thanks to Stephen Bonnet, but it also paved a pathway for us to appreciate her more than we have since she first arrived in the series. Kudos to Sophie Skelton who brought her A-game this season–we love you!
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Speaking of Stephen Bonnet, ugh, he was the villain we couldn’t stop hating all season. His presence this season really threw a wrench in everything, but in a way that helped the series in many ways. He was such a horrendous human and his storyline forever changed the course of the major characters, namely Brianna.
But it also made this season of Outlander thrilling to watch–minus that one episode. I just wish that we could have learned more about his fate in the finale, but I guess that’s the intrigue going into season 5.
It was nice to see Outlander change things up a bit this season and give Claire and Jamie some semblance of stability. Well, their version of stability, at least.
They made a home for themselves finally and reunited with their daughter. The moment Jamie and Brianna first meet is so beautiful, and it is one that we had been waiting for. Again, kudos to Skelton along with Sam Heughan for breathing so much life into the scene. They simply blew us away.
The fourth season of Outlander did have its questionable moments and even made us wonder the point of Richard Rankin’s character Roger. It was difficult to grasp if we should hate him or love him, and as a result, the end of the season gave us mixed feelings over his and Brianna’s reunion. It was nice to see them come back together, but I don’t know, it just didn’t feel as wonderful as it should have given everything that happened.
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The other qualm about this season is regarding the final moments of the finale. What was supposed to be a cliffhanger just didn’t come off that way. It was expected that Jamie would be given this task at some point and it just didn’t feel like the usual Outlander way of ending a season. There could have been so many ways they went about ending the season so I’m not sure why they went with that.
Like, it could have ended on a dramatic note regarding the fire that is supposed to claim their lives. Or perhaps something Bonnet related because we’re going to assume he didn’t die in the prison explosion. I’m sure the writers had a reason for this, and perhaps, those who have read the book could explain it all better, but I don’t know. It just didn’t have that same “O-M-G” moment that the series is known for in its finales.
dark. Next. Outlander season 4 finale recap: Man of Worth
Nonetheless, it was an action-packed emotional season that has propelled the story forward in a way we didn’t quite see coming. There is so much to look forward to as Roger and Brianna learn to become parents together and Jamie has to face the reality of holding Murtagh’s fate in his hands. While the season didn’t quite end the way I would have wanted to, it was still a great watch. There were just enough questions answered to keep us satisfied, but also enough mystery to keep us counting down the days until the Droughtlander is over once again.
What did you think of Outlander season 4? Tell us your thoughts and comment below–we’d love to hear what you thought.