The Blu-ray and Collector’s Edition of Starz’s historic series Outlander is out. It includes all eight episodes of season six, two Outlander Untold stories, some blooper reels, and featurettes. The DVD also explores the animation used in the series, which goes into some respectable CGI.
The featurette dives into the ghosts of trauma, which took some considerable time in this latest season. As always, there are deleted scenes, a snapback at the shootout at Fraser’s Ridge, and a fan favorite–the original audition tapes for Sam Heughan and Caitriona Balfe. Casting Sam as Jamie was pretty straightforward but finding Caitriona as Claire took a bit of searching.
Season 6 starts when Jamie’s authority is tested as an old rival from Ardsmuir shows up to settle on the Ridge and Claire finds a dangerous new way to cope with the trauma of her assault by Lionel Brown. In episode two, Jamie struggles with his first request as an Indian Agent when local Indians ask for rifles and Roger presides over an unconventional funeral. In episode three, Fergus tries to come to terms with his new son’s quality of life when the baby is bullied by superstitious Protestants and Claire performs a simple surgery on Tom’s hand.
Episode four explores some quiet revelations with Ian, while Malva morphs toward the dark side of her nature. In episode five, Claire and Jamie are confronted with the escalating tensions in the colonies as they attend a Loyalist event in Wilmington in honor of the Scottish heroine, Flora MacDonald.
In episode six, Malva and the Frasers clash over Malva’s increasingly vicious lies. In the seventh episode, Claire struggles with her inner demons as rumors of her “evil nature” begin to spread on the Ridge. Tensions rise as residents begin to panic about Claire’s dangerous influence.
Which brings us to the finale of season 6, episode 8, leaving more questions than answers.
In episode eight, I Am Not Alone, Richard Brown (Chris Larkin) and his men, arrive at the Fraser home ready to arrest Claire for the suspected murder of Malva Christie (Jessica Reynolds). Naturally, Jamie comes to her rescue, and a gun battle erupts, leaving the couple to wait for reinforcements. Nevertheless, the settlers want justice for the death of Malva, who claimed she was impregnated by Jamie during an affair.
Meanwhile, Brianna (Sophie Skelton) and Roger Mack (Richard Rankin) share a few moments of bliss. When Jemmy’s hair is cut short, we see a unique birthmark on his scalp that matches Roger’s.
Back with the Frasers, Young Ian has miraculously found his aunt and uncle and promises to search for help. Will it arrive in time? Claire and Jamie have become separated on the orders of the treacherous Richard Brown. Will season 7 give us some answers? We’ll have to wait.
Season 7 of Outlander is already in production in Scotland.
Alex A. Kecskes is a published author of "Healer a Novel" and "The Search for Dr. Noble"—both now available on Amazon. He has written hundreds of film reviews and celebrity interviews for a wide variety of online and print outlets. He has covered red carpet premieres and Comic-Con events for major films and independent releases.
