‘Outlander’: Every Season So Far, Ranked
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Outlander‘s seventh season remains at the halfway point, and as we begin to reflect on the series’ run ahead of its eighth and final season, we’re seeing how each season really stacks up.
Of course, there are no bad seasons of Outlander, and how could there be, with a love story like Claire (Caitriona Balfe) and Jamie Fraser’s (Sam Heughan)? But there’s no denying that some seasons tip the scales when it comes to excitement and storylines. Whether it’s their years spent in Scotland, their adventures spent in America, or their years spent apart, Claire and Jamie always know how to entertain.
Below, we’re ranking every season of Outlander so far, including the ongoing seventh season, which has yet to set a return date at Starz. As we endure the latest Droughtlander, see how the seasons stack up, and let us know whether you agree with the ranking or not in the comments section.
Outlander, Season 7 Return, TBA, Starz
7. Season 5
Kicking off with Brianna (Sophie Skelton) and Roger’s (Richard Rankin) wedding, Season 5 is the mark of a new chapter for the Frasers, who have settled in North Carolina. Featuring standout episodes like “The Ballad of Roger Mac” and “Never My Love,” Season 5 has some high points in terms of drama, but it’s nowhere near as exciting as some of the earlier seasons, or even the most recent seventh. Focusing on Jamie’s uncertainty about which path to follow amid brewing rebellion in the colonies, the Frasers are dealt with hardships, ranging from Brianna’s kidnapping by rapist Stephen Bonnet (Ed Speleers), Claire’s kidnapping and attack at the hands of the cruel Lionel Brown (Ned Dennehy), Jamie’s brush with death after a snake bite, and poor Murtagh’s (Duncan Lacroix) fate at the Battle of Alamance. Even with all these events, we can’t help but feel less attached to Season 5 as a whole than we do to others.
6. Season 6
One of the remarkable things about Season 6 is the show’s ability to deliver episodes chock-full of plot and detail where no minute is wasted. This was especially important for the extra-short season, which was cut down due to the Covid-19 pandemic and star Balfe’s pregnancy. Despite only clocking in at eight episodes, the season didn’t skimp on excitement as the Frasers adjusted to the shifting political climate amid the American Revolution and with the arrival of the Christies, who stirred up plenty of trouble for the family at the center of this time-traversing drama. Whether it’s Young Ian’s (John Bell) flashback episode or Claire’s self-medicating with ether, there’s plenty to keep viewers absorbed. Eventually, the season culminates in a Western-style shootout after Claire is accused of killing Malva Christie (Jessica Reynolds), who is found dead in the Fraser family’s garden. Spurred on by adversary Richard Brown (Chris Larkin), the attack leads to Claire’s imprisonment and a cliffhanger that left us on the edge of our seats with our breath held, metaphorically, until Season 7 finally arrived.
5. Season 4
Marking Jamie and Claire’s start in the American colonies, the lovers begin to settle into their own patch of property, reuniting with Murtagh after years apart and becoming more connected to the Native Americans with whom they share the land. Jamie’s Aunt Jascosta (Maria Doyle Kennedy) also makes her debut as a plantation owner, forcing Claire to confront the harsh realities of colonial politics. In the ’60s, Brianna and Roger deepen their relationship, and when she uncovers a newspaper clip indicating that Claire and Jamie died in a fire in the 18th century, she sets out to save her parents, with Roger following close behind. There are twists and turns left and right, but what makes the season so exciting is its jumps between the past and the 20th century, as well as Brianna’s many introductions, including her first meetings with Jamie, Murtagh, and Young Ian, and even her uncle Ian (Steven Cree) in Scotland. There’s no shortage of trauma either, as Bonnet’s rape makes Brianna uncertain about the paternity of her baby.
4. Season 3
The anticipation for Season 3 was at an all-time high for viewers, who were anxious to see Jamie and Claire reunite after a 20-year separation, and let’s just say, it didn’t disappoint. While half of the season is spent on their time apart, kicking off with Jamie’s long-awaited face-off with Black Jack Randall (Tobias Menzies) on the Culloden Battlefield, we see how the lovers separated through time are forced to cope with the loss of each other. As the years pass, Jamie fathers a son, Claire raises Brianna, and when they seek answers for Jamie’s fate, Claire decides she can return to him through the standing stones at Craigh Na Dun. Their reunion is epically romantic but quickly turns tense when Young Ian is kidnapped and they’re forced to follow. Their quest leads to a brief separation, but you can only keep these two apart for so long. In their mission to save Young Ian, both Claire and Jamie come face-to-face with a figure from their past, which has life or death stakes. Thankfully, they come out on top, and as they set sail to return to Scotland, they’re put in the direct path of a storm, leaving them shipwrecked on the shores of the American colonies, where they’ll next settle in North Carolina. It’s a rollercoaster of a season that’s certainly among Outlander‘s best.
3. Season 2
When we think of Season 2, we can’t help but think of France as much of the show’s action is set there, despite actually filming in Prague. Most of the season follows Jamie and Claire’s efforts to change the future and avoid the history she’s burdened to know about in advance, which is the unsuccessful Jacobite Rebellion at Culloden. Despite their best efforts, which include schmoozing Parisian bigwigs (including royals), Jamie and Claire are thwarted, realizing that they alone cannot change a predetermined future. Along with facing threats from foe Black Jack Randall, those tensions turn to heartbreak as Jamie’s duel with the Brit sends Claire into labor early, leading to her miscarriage of their first daughter Faith. Even though Jamie and Claire go through a lot during their time in France, they’re stronger because of it when they return to Scotland in the second half of the season. Realizing the danger that looms, the pair are forced to separate as Jamie worries about Claire’s well-being amid the battle, revealing to her that he knows she’s pregnant. Bidding each other farewell in one of the series’ finest hours, “Dragonfly in Amber,” there is both heartbreak and hope as Claire realizes in the 1960s that Jamie might be alive in the 18th century, upon her and Brianna’s visit to Scotland or Reverend Wakefield’s (James Fleet) funeral. Ultimately, there are too many key moments for us to sum up how great Season 2 is among the collection of Outlander TV chapters.
2. Season 7
When it comes to recent seasons, the seventh is already a standout for its new layers previously unexplored in the show as the younger generation becomes more involved, and Jamie and Claire’s devotion to one another continues to deepen. Overcoming the obstacles they faced at the end of Season 6, Jamie and Claire reunite in the opening episode and find themselves thrust into war as Jamie agrees to take up arms, pitting him against his biological son William (Charles Vandervaart). At the same time, Brianna and Roger are forced to make the difficult decision to return to the future when their daughter is born with a heart defect requiring modern surgery. While away, they move into the Fraser family’s ancestral home of Lallybroch with Bree taking on engineer work. While on the job, she crosses paths with someone who is facing up to be a new foe as Rob Cameron (Chris Fulton) kidnapped Bree and Roger’s son Jemmy (Blake Johnston-Miller) with the intent of collecting Jacobite gold that had been hidden on the Fraser family’s property and later in a cave only known to Jamie and his grandson. As Roger sets off to follow Jemmy and Rob through the standing stones, the Frasers are returning to Scotland after years away. What will happen next? We’re dying to know, and feel as if the first half of Season 7 has only brushed the surface of what lies ahead.
1. Season 1
Outlander took the idea of first times and ran with it in the opening season of this epic show based on Diana Gabaldon‘s book series. It will forever be remembered as the season of firsts for time-traversing couple Claire and Jamie Fraser, who meet when she’s transported through the standing stones while honeymooning in Inverness, Scotland alongside first husband Frank (Menzies). When Claire realizes she’s no longer in 1940s Scotland, but back in the 18th century, she encounters Frank’s look-alike ancestor, redcoat Black Jack Randall, whom she is saved from by Jamie’s cohorts. When the muddy Highlander and his pals whisk Claire away to safety, ultimately the rest is history. But regardless of feelings towards the first season’s plots, this chapter belongs in the top spot for “The Wedding” episode alone. It’s merely a bonus that it encapsulates the start of Jamie and Claire’s beautiful romance, ranging from their early flirtations to the extreme limits they’ll put up with to support each other. In a make-or-break season, this chapter built the foundation upon which all others are built, and for that we’re grateful.
