Claire Randall of 1945 and Jamie Fraser of 1743 will be back together soon. Season 3 of Outlander premieres September 10 at 8 p.m. on Starz.
Did you hear that? It was the sound of the world swooning.
That’s right, you won’t have to wait much longer to catch up with your favorite star-crossed lovers. Deadline reports that season 3 of Starz’s fantasy drama hit Outlander will debut in September. The premiere feels like a lifetime away, but if Claire and Jamie can wait 20 years for each other, we can wait two months. Probably.
The last time we saw the Couple Whose Love Transcends Time and Space, things were pretty dark. About to fight a doomed battle with the Jacobites at the Battle of Culloden, Jamie insisted Claire go through the standing stones of Craigh na Dun and back to her time. The separation was made extra heartbreaking by the news of Claire’s pregnancy and the (false) assumption that Jamie would be going off to die.
In a flash forward to 1965, we caught up with Claire and her grown daughter, Brianna, whom Claire raised with the late Frank. The bad news: based on the Outlander season 2 finale, “Dragonfly in Amber,” Brianna sucks (like most children of amazing TV couples). The good news: Claire discovered that Jamie survived Culloden. The episode ended with Claire looking damned determined to go through the stones again and back to Jamie. The teaser confirmed that Jamie, too, will stop at nothing to reunite with the “rare woman” he loved so well.
Claire won’t return to Jamie immediately, unfortunately, despite star Caitriona Balfe’s promise that we can expect plenty of passion. It seems that the upcoming season—based on Voyager, the third of Diana Gabaldon’s Outlander books (get the collection at Barnes and Noble)—will begin in the aftermath of Claire’s return to Frank in the ’40s and Jamie’s experiences in battle. Here’s the season 3 synopsis, courtesy of Deadline:
"Now pregnant with Jamie’s (Sam Heughan) child, [Claire] struggles with the fallout of her sudden reappearance and its effect on her marriage to her first husband, Frank (Tobias Menzies). Meanwhile, in the 18th century, Jamie suffers from the aftermath of his doomed last stand at the historic battle of Culloden, as well as the loss of Claire. As the years pass, Jamie and Claire attempt to make a life apart from each other, both haunted by the memory of their lost love.The budding possibility that Claire can return to Jamie in the past breathes new hope into Claire’s heart — as well as new doubt. They are separated by continents and centuries, and the questions remain: Will they find each other, and will they be the same people who parted at the standing stones all those years ago?"
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No, after two decades the bond between Claire and Jamie probably won’t be the same as it was. It’ll be better, if the season 3 artwork is any indication. Take a look at the new poster below and tell me I’m wrong.
Outlander returns September 10.
Outlander season 3 poster. Image via Starz (via Starz press room)