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Warning – spoilers for both the show and the books ahead!

This summer’s Droughtlander is finally over! Season 3 of Outlander premieres this Sunday on Starz and we are SO READY for it. It’s been way too long since we last saw Jamie and Claire Fraser making out on our screens and it felt like this hiatus would never end. We’ve had a lot to wait for too. When last we left them, the pair of lovers had been heartbreakingly separated, with time traveler Claire heading back through the stones to raise their child in the ‘50s and ‘60s, and Jamie charging into battle at Culloden in 1745. Twenty years have passed since they last saw each other, though neither have been able to forget the other. Season 3 promises to be the story of those lost years – and what happens when Claire finally decides to start looking for Jamie again.

Those of us who’ve read the beloved series by Diana Gabaldon have a pretty good idea of where the season is headed (OMG the print shop scene), but there are still some key things we want to see happen in Season 3. Here’s our wish-list for the coming season – including the one scene we absolutely can’t live without.

That Print Shop Scene

Have we mentioned that we’re excited for the print shop scene? Because it’s basically all we can talk about these days. In Voyager – book 3 in the series – the reunion scene is sweet and tender and awkward and exactly what you want it to be. If the previews can be believed, we know we’re going to get some version of it on the screen. And in a recent Biography interview with executive producer Maril Davis, she hinted that it’s not so much a print shop scene as a print shop episode. “It is a whole episode that we felt we wanted to have be our love letter to the fans,” she states. Can Sunday please come faster?

All the Delicious Angst

This is Outlander, so of course things can’t be rosy all the time. We know we’re going to have to sit through a lot of angst this season, first through the years that Jamie and Claire are separated and then through what happens after they find each other again. We’re dying to see all that mutual pining play out on screen. Claire might have running water again in the future, but she also has a very complicated relationship with her first husband, Frank. And as much as we love the way Tobias Menzies portrays the character, we’re more than ready to watch that relationship finally come to an end. Jamie has also spent years loving Claire across time, believing they’ll never see each other again. It’s going to be tough watching them miss each other for decades, but we’re hoping it’ll be the good kind of tough. After all, the more they pine, the more it proves how meant-to-be their relationship truly is.

Similarly, once the two find one another again, we know it won’t be all sunshine and happiness (although we would like some sunshine and happiness, please). It’s been 20 years since the pair last saw each other, and they’ve been living completely separate lives. We know that there’s a surprise or two in store for both of them as they rediscover each other, and, honestly, we can’t wait. We’ll just be sure to keep the tissues handy. 

Lots of Good…Chemistry

Assuming that Jamie and Claire actually do find each other again this season (we’re putting good money on it, btw), we want the chemistry between them to be as strong as ever. Sam Heughan and Caitriona Balfe pretty much set the screen on fire every time they come into contact, so we’re more than ready to watch them interacting again. If last season was lacking anything, it was the sheer number of love scenes that we got in comparison with Season 1. And, yeah, Jamie and Claire were dealing with a ton of stuff – like a war and Jamie’s ongoing trauma. But still, we’re not saying that Jamie without his kilt is the only reason we’re watching the show, it’s just definitely up there. Let’s get these two back into bed this season, and often.

Supporting Characters Getting a Chance to Shine

Part of the joy of Outlander is that all of the characters feel fully formed – from Jenny, Jamie’s sister, to Fergus, the French orphan he ends up adopting. It’s been twenty years for all of these characters, not just Jamie and Claire. We want to see how the years have affected them and their attitudes towards life, love, and the potential return of Claire. Fergus is all grown up now (and, apparently, stupid hot), while Jenny has clearly been affected by Jamie’s ongoing heartbreak. Beyond that, Jamie and Claire’s daughter, Bree, is still 200 years in the future, busy falling in love and mourning the loss of her mother. Her story is intrinsically tied to Jamie and Claire’s, even from hundreds of years away. All of these side stories and complicated feelings are explored deeply in the book and we’d love to see the same kind of attention paid to them on the screen.

An Awesome Lord John Grey

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Fans of the books tend to have mixed reactions to Lord John Grey, who connects significantly with Jamie when he’s the governor of the Scottish prison where Jamie spends several years. Lord John is smart and fair, and he and Jamie become fast friends. He also becomes extremely important to the Outlander series – so important that Diana Gabaldon even gave him his own set of adventures. We want to see Lord John handled right, particularly as he’s a gay character living in a time where his sexuality is something he must carefully hide. There’s plenty of tension around Lord John, Claire, and his feelings for Jamie, and we’re excited to see how actor David Berry makes the character come alive on screen.

Set your calendars: Outlander Season 3 officially premieres on Starz, September 10th at 9pm EST. It still feels like its years away, so in the meantime we’ll just be over here quietly chanting –

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Genre: Fiction
Rachel Carter

Rachel Carter grew up surrounded by trees and snow and mountains. She graduated from the University of Vermont and Columbia University, where she received her MFA in nonfiction writing. She is the author of the So Close to You series with Harperteen. These days you can find her working on her next novel in the woods of Vermont.

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