'Outlander' Season 5: Diana Gabaldon Explains Changes, Murtagh Scenes

The plot of “Outlander” Season 5 will be based on the novel “Fiery Cross.” For the fans who are worried about the possible changes while adapting this rather lengthy book, author Diana Gabaldon talked about the changes while answering fans’ questions online, and she also discussed how the presence of Murtagh (Duncan Lacroix) forces some changes.

While answering a fan on The Lit Forum, Gabaldon explained that the writers have taken specific scenes from the book and have faithfully adapted them for the show, keeping some of the dialogues without making changes. As far as the changes are concerned, they have added small “bridges” in between these scenes to make the story feel coherent.

There are some inventions, but according to Gabaldon they are not too substantial. The author pointed out that since the producers decided to keep Murtagh, as opposed to what happens in the books, it will lead to changes in the story.

Some of the inventions in the past have worked well, Gabaldon pointed out. The scene in the first season where Rupert (Grant O’Rourke) and Angus (Stephen Walters) get the jailers drunk, to get a certain someone out of prison, was not in the book, but it flowed well with the story.

Similarly, in “Outlander” Season 5, there are some changes that Gabaldon said are “reasonable inventions,” with “quite good acting,” and “pretty good dialogue.” The author, however, pointed out that there are some scenes that aren’t that good, but hoped that they get edited out or adjusted in the post-production phase of development.

Gabaldon added that she won’t make a fuss about the changes unless they are “awful” or “grossly illogical.” So far, she has read the scripts for eight episodes and she doesn’t have any major complaints.

While the fans wait for “Outlander” Season 5, the cast and crew celebrated the fifth anniversary of the show on the production set recently. Lead cast members Caitriona Balfe and Sam Heughan shared a fun video online to celebrate the occasion with the fans.

"Outlander" is set to return to Starz sometime around 2020.