Fans of the hit series Outlander have been revisiting previous episodes in anticipation of the eighth and final season, expected to air in 2026, though no official date has been confirmed. The upcoming season is set to diverge significantly from Diana Gabaldon’s original Outlander novels, as the author continues to write her book series.
Notably, the twist involving Faith Fraser in the season seven finale will play a significant role, following an alternate timeline. Over the years, the show has made numerous adjustments from the books to better suit the screen adaptation, reports the .
One such change occurred in season two, involving characters Jamie Fraser (portrayed by Sam Heughan) and Fergus Fraser (Romann Berrux). In Gabaldon’s second novel, Dragonfly in Amber, Fergus meets Jamie while the latter is escaping attackers and ends up in the brothel where Fergus was raised.
Jamie subsequently hires the boy to pickpocket for him. However, in the Starz adaptation, Fergus is depicted as a Parisian street urchin who steals from the Frasers, primarily Sawny the snake, a keepsake from Jamie’s late brother William.
Fans may recall that William, who was set to inherit the Lallybroch estate, sadly passed away. William used to affectionately call Jamie ‘Sawny’, a nod to his middle name Alexander, and had crafted a wooden snake with the nickname etched into it.
Outlander’s writers have made many changes from the books (Image: STARZ)
[UPDATE]
Sawny the snake, a character from Outlander, made its journey across the English Channel with Jamie and Claire as they ventured to Paris and sought to infiltrate the Royal court and alter history’s trajectory.
This change was discussed by Executive Producer Ronald D. Moore and Executive Producer and writer Anne Kenney on the official Outlander podcast for the episode Useful Occupations and Deceptions.
Sawny the snake wasn’t in the second Outlander novel (Image: STARZ)
Kenney explained: “Sawny is one of those things that sometimes we take things from different books and people will go, ‘Oh, I missed this or I miss that,’ and I would say to them, ‘Well, don’t give up hope because we pull things from all over the place’.” She added: “Because now Sawny has made an appearance here and I don’t think he was actually in this [book].”
Kenney further elaborated: “I think [Jamie] originally tells [Claire] about Sawny back at Lallybroch in the first book, so we brought him back here.”
Sawny was deeply precious to Jamie Fraser (Image: STARZ)
Moore shared their thought process, saying: “We were just looking for something for Fergus to steal. Wouldn’t it be good if he stole something from Jamie too? What could he steal from Jamie?” He revealed that someone had suggested Sawny the snake “as a joke” in the writers’ room, but it eventually became part of the script.
Sawny holds significant sentimental value for Jamie as it’s the only memento he has of his older brother. The backstory of Sawny might be delved into in the Outlander prequel series Blood of My Blood, which focuses on the parents of both Jamie and Claire Fraser (Caitríona Balfe).
Outlander Season 7 is available to buy now on Digital and streaming on MGM+ via Prime Video now