The Shot: Inside Jamie, Claire, and Ian’s return to Lallybroch on ‘Outlander’

The Frasers are back in town.

In this exclusive new image from part two of season 7 of Outlander , Jamie (Sam Heughan), Claire (Caitriona Balfe), and young Ian (John Bell) are seen returning to Jamie’s childhood home, Lallybroch, in the Scottish Highlands. And if the shot looks familiar to you, well it should if you’re a day one Sassenach.

“We chose this shot because it’s very reminiscent of another shot when we went back to Lallybroch in episode 112, and Claire and Jamie are riding up to Lallybroch,” says executive producer Matthew B. Roberts. “It’s one of those Easter eggs that we try to plant for the audience.”

Midhope Castle, the real-life location that stands in for the fictional Lallybroch, was one of the very first locations Outlander producers discovered while scouting for locations in pre-production on season 1. So, it holds a special place in their hearts too. “When you walk up the drive like this, you go, ‘Wow, this is an amazing place,'” Roberts remembers.

There’s also a practical reason for recreating the shot — any other angle spoils the historical location. “It’s this epic setting, but it really only lends itself practically to this shot in a weird way,” explains Roberts. “So, every director comes and goes, ‘Oh, I’d like to do this.’ And we’re like, ‘Yeah, that’s the shot. You got it.’ Because there’s modern things on the other side.”

“I don’t ever tell any director, ‘Hey, you have to replicate something,'” he continues. “We always love to suggest the essence of something. But this location and this driveway really dictate this shot. There’s modern-ness on both sides once you get up into that open area. So right where the horses are, if you turn the camera left or right, it would be modern.”

But aside from practicality, this shot also hints at one of the major arcs of the back half of season 7. Last year, Part One ended with Claire and Jamie resolving to return to Scotland with the body of his cousin, Simon Fraser. Now, they’re making good on that promise.

“Ian and Claire and Jamie have come home,” Roberts notes. “They’ve brought Jamie’s cousin’s body back home. And in season 3, when Jamie left Scotland, he made a promise that he would return one day and this is that return. He’s bringing Claire with him, and obviously, Ian wants to go home and see his family as well. We packed the house. It’s this big homecoming, and there might be some other special guests too.”

Might that include Jamie’s sister, Jenny, the matriarch of Lallybroch and Ian’s mother? The character was played by Laura Donnelly in early seasons, but Donnelly was unable to return in prior seasons due to her commitment to the play The Ferryman on Broadway. Roberts is mum on whether Donnelly might be back in season 7, saying only, “[Fans] should hold out hope that they see the character Jenny.”

If nothing else, we know from previously released stills that the Frasers will be reuniting with the elder Ian — and we’re certain that young Ian will have a lot of explaining to do when it comes to his new appearance. “We have a scene where there’s a lot of questions being peppered at him,” Roberts says. “It’s really fun, as you might imagine if you showed up a completely different person in [your parents’] mind.”

The teaser also showcases plenty of Revolutionary War action, so does that mean their visit home will be brief? “There’s different timings for different people,” notes Roberts. “They don’t all necessarily stay the same amount of time, but the story definitely goes back to the American colonies.”

Story points, double-booked actors, and encroaching modernism are the least of producers worries, however, when it comes to shooting at Lallybroch. Their biggest problem is one of their own creation — the reams of tourists who come through Midhope Castle every year to take a picture at the home of Jamie Fraser.

“When we first went to Midhope, it was dilapidated and it wasn’t even safe to go inside,” Roberts says. “We had to make it safe so we could have people walking in and outside of the door. Now, there’s multiple buses and fans walking up that drive and taking pictures on the steps. The irony is that the tour operators are upset that we’re shooting there, so they can’t bring the fans there to look at the place that the shooting made famous.”

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“We started this phenomenon where people started to come to Scotland and they go to all the locations that we film, and each one becomes this iconic place that ends up being on the tour,” he concludes. “And if you want to give Lallybroch a body part, it’s the heart.”

When Outlander returns on Nov. 22, fans everywhere will be able to see how well (or not) it’s still beating.