How ‘bout that trailer, huh? What a nice surprise that was for us on Monday…a little sip to quench our Droughtlander thirst.
Should we attempt to break it down? I know there are a lot of people for whom any sort of scrutiny will kill the magic, much like having to explain a joke. I totally get it, trust me. But I’m an over-analyzer by nature, and I know there are a lot of obsessive folks out there who are Just. Like. Me. We’re a special bunch.
I hope this will be an open dialogue, meaning if you think I’m way off I want you to let me know and give me your input. All of this is MAJOR speculation and nothing more.
So, shall we dive in? Warning: TONS of spoilers ahead…from Drums of Autumn and all the novels. Read at your own risk!
Also: major thanks to Outlander Online for all the screengrabs. They are awesome!
Okay, I will jump on the bandwagon and agree that Jamie’s hair (wig) is…less than ideal. I’m not sure why the late 80s crimped bangs were the choice here, but I won’t hold it against anyone. They are adorable and I otherwise give these two all the emoji heart eyes.
The song used in the trailer is Higher Ground by the artist Seventh Sense (feat. Renae). I love it almost to the point of obsession. It’s a great song to use— higher ground can refer, of course, to Fraser’s Ridge. Metaphorically it can also allude to escaping danger, something which all the main characters will be attempting this season.
Maybe in North Carolina we can finally have peace and settle down and have hot sex without political rebellions and complications of time travel getting in the way?
Think again, kids.
But as far as Scotland standing in for North Carolina, this all looks fairly believable. Believable enough, anyway, with the dense woods and mountains of appropriate elevation. I’ve seen much worse (looking at you, Cold Mountain).
River Run! It looks great! Outlander Locations cites Abercairny Estates in Crieff as the filming location for Jacosta’s plantation; it appears a bit of CGI was used for the house and the surrounding landscape.
And here is Maria Doyle Kennedy as Aunt Jacosta and she looks FABULOUS. Totally believable sister of Colum and Dougal and her facial structure with those strong cheekbones make her a plausible relative of Sam Heughan and Sophie Skelton. Her somewhat stoic expression in this brief glimpse is likely due to her blindness.
Colin McFarlane as Ulysses also looks great. Love his splash of orange. An interesting note of bright color with a master who is blind.
I’m assuming this is the dinner party Jacosta throws for Jamie and Claire. Will we or will we not see an impromptu inguinal hernia repair? I’m actually okay if that scene is omitted altogether, but I know a lot of people love it.
Readers, this has me a bit perplexed. This appears to be an angry mob descending upon River Run…and there’s not really anything like that in Drums of Autumn? I had to brainstorm this one with my sister, so here are some thoughts:
This could be the mill scene, where a slave has been impaled and hung on the crane by the overseer and chaos ensues. This looks like the main house, though, and not the mill. It’s possible that production, either for monetary or logistical reasons or both, couldn’t build a whole set just for that scene; maybe they’ve reworked the scene to something different.
OR. It could be a scene from one of the later novels that they’ve fit into Season 4. The people in this scene appear to be mostly white, so I’m less likely to think it is a conflict dealing with River Run’s slaves. Possibly they’ve moved up the slave death/impromptu autopsy/interruption by Stephen Bonnet/fire/attempted stealing of Jacobite gold scene from The Fiery Cross.
OR…it could just be something entirely new. I welcome your input on this because, frankly, I’m a bit stumped.
This is Jamie very dramatically dropping his knife. Really, this could be anything but the point is it seems very significant and he looks quite handsome doing it.
So…is he dropping his weapon in front of someone so as to show he means no harm? Is he marking or declaring ownership of the Fraser’s Ridge property? Is he just extraordinarily clumsy? Time will tell.
Interestingly, superstition says that when you drop a knife and it sticks in the ground it foretells the visit of a friend who is a man. Lord John? Roger? MURTAGH???
Jamie’s bangs look much better when he’s holding fire and his shirt is half open.
If you look closely, you’ll see someone appears to be pointing a rifle at Jamie in the background. Possibly their visit up to rescue Roger? Possibly one of the aforementioned mob scenes? I’m also curious to see if they’ve moved up the fire of the Big House to this season (originally in A Breath of Snow and Ashes). It might make sense? They’ve obviously introduced the Ottertooth plot line (see below) and the fire is the whole impetus for Brianna’s time-hop journey, so it’s possible they’ll wedge it in to Season 4 just to neatly tie things up. These screen grabs from the trailer also look suspiciously like the Wendigo Donner and gang attack that precedes the house fire:
The actor in that bottom photo is maybe Flint Eagle. We know from his Instagram that he filmed a few scenes for Season 4.
Edited to add: A lot of people have pointed out these scenes could be from the river boat attack, which I think is very likely.
This is Claire looking very worried and searching for someone or something. Also, really, could be anything; I feel like Claire’s default mood is Worry. But I’m thinking this is when she gets lost after coming home alone from the Muellers; that scene was set in the late summer and everything looks fairly green here. It could also be the scene where she sets out to find Jamie after he throws out his back, but that was set in the winter and this doesn’t seem very wintery to me.
I suspect this shot of Claire in the rain is also this scene:
Production has been known to change timeline and seasons, though (thinking of pretty much all of Season 1), so anything is possible.
I’m pretty confident that’s Jamie teaching young Willie how to shoot; the actor appears child-sized so I’m thinking this is when Jamie takes Willie away from the Ridge to keep him safe from the measles outbreak.
Some have speculated this could be Young Ian, but he appears too small to be Ian and I would assume shooting would be something Ian knows how to do at this point.
This is likely from the first few chapters of Drums of Autumn. Jamie and Claire are burying Gavin Hayes (a hanged acquaintance) in the dark of night (no money for a proper burial) and Stephen Bonnet (having escaped the noose himself) stows away in their wagon. At this point in the story we don’t yet suspect Bonnet is our villain.
And there’s Hayes up on the gallows with Jamie in the crowd, a scene that obviously precedes the clandestine burial. At least I’m pretty sure that’s Hayes- the image is fuzzy but I think it is actor James Allenby-Kirk.
Question: did we know that this Hayes from Ardsmuir and Season 3 was the same as Gavin Hayes from Drums of Autumn? I never put that together.
Here is Stephen Bonnet again, looking quite handsome and dangerously charming. This appears ocean-adjacent and Bonnet appears well-dressed, so I’m guessing this is maybe before Roger sails to the colonies with Bonnet as the ship’s captain. Not sure if that fabric around his neck could be a pulled-down face mask, so it is possibly the scene in which Bonnet pirates their river vessel.
More Bonnet, and Jamie is roughing him up a bit? This could also be when Bonnet pirates their river vessel. Although, I don’t recall Jamie ever really having the upper hand in that scene and this seems like it’s on land (trees in the background). It’s possible they’ve worked in a vengeful encounter between Jamie and Bonnet into the season.
The Ottertooth storyline, in which Claire learns of others who purposely time-traveled to warn Native Americans about their eventual cultural demise. I loved this storyline and I’m so happy to see it here.
Clarence the mule?
(Edited for correction: not a mule! Perhaps Clarence has been reincarnated as a horse for Season 4)
These look like standing stones with obligatory dancers and fire. It doesn’t look like Craigh na Dun— the stones are smaller. So maybe they’re the standing stones Roger discovers when he’s attempting to escape?
In which Claire discovers the dancers at the standing stones? As she is wont to do? This could be anything. That appears to be her blouse from last season.
This appears to be someone from the Mohawk tribe, and all looks historically appropriate here I think:
I’m going to need an actor credit for that gentleman because he is very handsome, indeed.
I can’t tell too many details from this screen grab. The men appear to be wearing red leggings, which may be consistent with Mohawk dress. Someone more knowledgeable than me can weigh in on that.
This is Craigh na Dun with a paved road behind it; I’m guessing this is Brianna.
This all is pretty self-explanatory.
Claire protecting her dishes.
Maybe: the scene where she’s left alone with LJG and Ian to nurse them through measles and they get unexpected visitors.
Here, unfortunately, the dishes suffer. As does Ian. Again, this could be any of the angry mob scenes I’ve speculated on previously. But this appears to be up on the Ridge.
I see modern clothes and car headlights in the background. I think this is the 1960s Gathering Brianna and Roger attend.
“I trust you with all my heart.” Kissing! Yay!
The End
So how did we do? What did I miss? Let’s watch it again:
I’ll tell you what STARZ notably missed, and that is any significant presence of Roger and Brianna in that trailer. All I can say is that they better get their own trailer of equal length before November. There are plenty of scenes they can show without too many spoilers. No excuses! I’ll leave you with this to tide you over:
Slàinte.
Outcandour 
I am fairly sure that the pic of Clarance the mule is actually a horse! Ears too small and tail all wrong!
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I couldn’t tell but I’ll take your word for it! All I could see was the light gray color. I suppose I should know, being a veterinarian and all…(I’m not an equine person)
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Agreed Lisa, definitely a horse from earlier scenes. Mules don’t have thick tails like that.
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Oh Tracy I love it. So funny in parts! Love your suggestions. I’m sure STARZ show things out of sequence just to mislead us… I made the connection with Hayes in the beginning of season 3 and so wondered who they would hang this season. I thought there must be two Hayes because doesn’t his son Archie meet Jamie at the gathering when he is the leader of the Scottish regiment? I hope they don’t combine the storylines too much. I’m thinking that the producers didn’t know about the renewal for seasons 5 and 6 when these scenes were written. I agree the mob scene does look like when they tried to take Claire and when Donner was there but that’s too far into the next books surely? I guess we’ll just have to wait!
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Thanks, Pam! Yeah, all the angry mob scenes have me a bit perplexed. Someone on Facebook mentioned it could also be the Regulators, as discussed at the beginning of the Fiery Cross. I guess that’s part of the fun, though, is waiting to see what the adaptation will bring!
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I had the same thoughts on the Hayes character. The one in the books was separated from his father at Culloden. His Father was captured & spent time in Ardsmuir with Jamie & co. He always used to ask new prisoners about his missing son. Perhaps they’ve used the Hayes we know from S3 as a way of putting in the incident (an important plot line for introducing Bonnet etc) at the same time saves them paying another actor. Makes sense for production costs. S3 Hayes never got it easy did he
. I admit the angry mob at River Run puzzled me too. But bringing the mill scene to River Run would also make sense to condensing the story & keeping costs down whilst including another important plot line.
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Thanks for that, I missed so much! I’m very excited about the new season, the trailer looks great. Very interesting to pretty much completely leave out the ministers’ cats though, as you say there’s plenty they could include without spoiling fans. Fingers crossed the next trailer has more!
Lots of interesting speculation, could well make sense to tie up the Fraser’s ridge fire in this season.
As to your question, my recollection is that we did know it was Hayes from Ardsmuir that was being hanged, but that he’d been sent to the colonies with the rest when Ardsmuir closed. I can’t remember him working for Jamie or going to Jamaica with him in the book.
The actor however seems a bit young to have had a 12-ish year old son fight with him at culloden so they may make Archie his brother instead?
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Thank you! Yeah, I knew it was a Hayes from Ardsmuir but I didn’t put it together that it was *this* Hayes. There are so many names to keep track of sometimes! You’re right, they probably will make them brothers. And perhaps they gave him a more prominent role last season so we would feel the impact of his hanging more.
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Thanks so much for this. I watched the trailer several times, but I missed an awful lot. Your screen caps were very helpful. As far as the scene with Jamie dropping the knife, I suspect it will take place during the “bear killer” section of “Drums of Autumn.” I’m looking forward to seeing if I’m right. And I’m sure that your right about having a Gavin Hayes as part of the crew that went on the trip to Jamaica. We know him, so we’ll feel his loss if he’s the one who is hanged.
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Claire found Ottertooth’s head with the silverfillings in Drums of Autumn when she got lost for the night but the plot itself was end of Fiery Cross when Ian came back and brought her that “diary” from the indians. I don’t think they will mix it into this season. There is so much more of a plotline.
The riot I think is the regulators. It would have happened in book 4 though the talking about it started in book 5.
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The scene where Ian has been knocked down by an assailant could be the fight aboard the boat when the Frasers were robbed by Bonnet and his gang
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Yes, good point.
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Thank you for doing this. I currently do not have the ability to stop or slow down videos, so it is especially appreciated.
Regards.
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I owe it all to Outlander Online- they made all the screengrabs!
Thanks for reading
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I was wondering if the scene where he drops the knife was when he came upon Roger and beat the tar out of him.
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It definitely looks like he’s raising his hands up, so it definitely could be an encounter or show down with someone (like Roger)
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Ohh…that could be it!
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Not a glimpse of Murtagh? I’m so hoping to see him again!
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You and me both! They’re keeping that one under lock and key…
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I read with laser interest your blog and thank you particularly for this line: “Jamie’s bangs look much better when he’s holding fire and his shirt is half open.” Still laughing over that one! I’m from New Jersey and in 2 weeks am attending the Outlander Convention Weekend here, just outside of New York City. Purchased my tickets in JANUARY, only to find out last week that Sam (Jamie) will not be able to attend because of his filming schedule. Ouch! But, good for Sam – saw his new movie “The Spy Who Dumped Me” and he really did great in it – People Magazine says it establishes him as a “genuine leading man” – as if we Outlander fans didn’t already know that – duh!. Anyway, Cait (Claire), Graham (Dougal), Steven Cree (“older” Ian), David Berry (Lord John Grey) and Stephen (Angus) Walters as host will all be appearing at the convention.
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I’m so jealous! I tried to make Las Vegas work out but it just didn’t happen this year with our family’s summer plans. I’m sure you will have a great time! I understand the disappointment in cancellations but you’re right, things that are good for Sam’s career are good for Outlander, too.
Thank you for reading 🙂
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That is definitely Gavin Hayes from Season 3 standing on the gallows. If you look closely at one of the shots of Jamie looking on, you can see Leslie behind him. In the book, Hayes was one of Jamie’s Ardsmuir men that was transported to the Colonies. He never came back to Scotland. He did have a son, Archie, that fought at Culloden but then joined the British army. That is him that we see in Fiery Cross. Since the actor seems way too young for that, I agree with another poster that they will make him a younger brother.
I think the knife dropping is when they first meet the Tuscaroran Indians after the bear attack. However, his clothing look intact, so maybe they have added some time between the bear killing and the Indians arrival for Jamie to recover.
I think the lack of Bree and Roger in any recognizable form in the trailer is because they don’t want to spoil for non-readers that they both go back. I think the next one will show a little more of them in the 60s. They will save the time travel reveal until it happens on the show.
The angry mob is totally perplexing. Maybe it it the Regulators from FC but they move it down to the coast instead of at the Ridge ? This could help with the motivation for J & C to move to the Ridge as I’m not sure they will bring the Jocasta wanting to give River Run and its slaves to Jamie storyline into this. It’s controversial and I think they will try to downplay anything to do with slavery.
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Great insights- thank you! 🙂 Yeah I’m beginning to suspect it might be the Regulators. I’ll be really interested to see how the writers approach slavery in the series; I think they’ll do a good job bringing it responsibly into the storylines. So far I’ve been pleased with how the show approaches more controversial topics.
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Loved this and your insights. Thank you. Was wondering tho’ if that was Brianna that Jamie was teaching to shoot when they went hunting bees for Claire the day after Bree arrived with Jamie on the Ridge.
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Thank you for reading! It definitely could be, although to me this actor looks pretty small and more boyish?
I always loved that scene with Jamie and Bree, though, so I hope it makes it in. I love when she tells him about the moon landing.
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I think that the young boy is definitely young William. The clothing looks right & looking closely that looks like the nose of the actor who plays William. Definitely does not look like Ian. He came from living on a remote farm. Shooting would have been something he would have been taught early on at Lallybroch.
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My thoughts exactly
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I was thinking the mob scene could be from when the laundress dies during the abortion attempt. Maybe they made their leaving River Run a little bit more exciting?
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I always found that subplot really confusing. I’ll be interested to see what the show does this it.
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Maybe the bonfire is the Father Alexander BBQ bonfire…
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