Outlander season 8 will have to wrap up each character’s story, but for Brianna to have the best possible ending, the show must completely ignore the books. As of the end of Outlander season 7, Starz has one more book’s worth of source material to adapt to the screen. Unfortunately, this book, Go Tell the Bees That I’m Gone, is only the ninth of Diana Gabaldon’s planned ten Outlander books. Her final novel in the series, which should fully bring Jamie, Claire, Brianna, Roger, and everyone’s stories to a close, won’t be published until after Outlander’s final season airs.
Outlander season 8 is sure to bring several big moments from Go Tell the Bees That I Am Gone to the screen, especially in the way of Claire and Jamie’s story, but significant alterations are needed to bring things to a satisfying close. Go Tell the Bees That I Am Gone ends with a bit of a cliffhanger, and that’s no way to conclude a TV show. Still, Outlander season 8 should be able to take the events of this book and shift things around to give Jamie and Claire the perfect ending. Brianna is a different story, however. I’m not often an advocate for tossing out the source material, but for this Outlander character, it’s a must.
Brianna’s Existing Book Story Just Won’t Cut It For Outlander Season 8
This Would Be No Way To End Brianna’s Story
Brianna’s story in Go Tell the Bees That I Am Gone is undoubtedly sweet, but it is by no means how Outlander season 8 should end her adventures. In this book, Brianna and Roger get settled back at Fraser’s Ridge in the 18th century (this will certainly happen in season 8). Shortly after, they discover that they have another baby on the way. The Frasers and MacKenzies welcoming little Davy into the world was beautiful, and Brianna continues to prove herself a great mother in the Outlander books. However, motherhood has never been the central purpose of Bree’s story.
Brianna deserves a final on-screen story that fully pays off who she is as a character. I would be severely disappointed if these final episodes of Outlander were spent on pregnancy and birth, when the series has always implied that Brianna has a very specific and magical destiny. We need to see this paid off in Outlander season 8, and for that to happen, the TV show will have to ignore Brianna’s book story entirely.
The Best Story For Brianna In Season 8 Would Connect Her To Faith Fraser
Brianna Can Have A Fantastic Adventure To Find Her Sister
Of course, Outlander has already begun to diverge from the books more than ever before. The ending of season 7 came with the massive reveal that Faith Fraser, Jamie and Claire’s first daughter, had somehow lived after being deemed stillborn in Outlander season 2. Though Claire considered the fact that Fanny’s mother, Faith, might have been her daughter in Go Tell the Bees That I Am Gone, she quickly came to the conclusion that this was foolish. Outlander seems all but guaranteed to confirm that Faith really was resurrected, and this is sure to be a powerful primary storyline in season 8.
For me, the best case scenario here would be for Brianna to volunteer to travel through the stones to when Claire gave birth to Faith in France to see if and how the infant was resurrected.
I would love to see Brianna brought into this mystery. She had never had a close living biological sibling, and I imagine that Bree would apply her keen mind to discover what had happened after learning what her mother suspects. For me, the best case scenario here would be for Brianna to volunteer to travel through the stones to when Claire gave birth to Faith in France to see if and how the infant was resurrected. Perhaps we could even find out that Brianna has something to do with how Faith survived. This would be deeply exciting and could lead to more answers about Brianna’s implied destiny in Outlander.
Outlander Season 8 Could Lean Into Brianna & Faith’s Powerful Destinies
These Two Characters Could Pay Off Jamie & Claire’s Story With Their Own Destinies
Brianna is implied to be a child of destiny, but the TV show has done little to explore this. In season 3, Geillis Duncan determined that Brianna was the 200-year-old baby who would be key in putting a Scot on the throne, but this detail has since been ignored. Outlander season 8 could see Brianna discover the truth of this, and since Faith is her sister and something of a miracle herself, their connection could mean something powerful for Outlander’s final season.
Ultimately, a final story that explores Brianna and Faith’s destinies would also contribute to Jamie and Claire’s final resolution. There has always been a sense in Outlander that Jamie and Claire were meant to come together for some powerful reason. They are soulmates connected through time and space, and the universe did a lot of twisting and turning to bring them together. It would make sense that the reason for this would have something to do with the children Jamie and Claire were destined to create. It may not be a feature of the Outlander books, but it would be a powerful way to end the series.