Movies & TV Outlander Outlander Stars Reveal Why Brianna and Roger Didn’t Return to the 1980s In an interview with Reactor, the actors explain how the decision to go to the 1770s came to pass By Vanessa Armstrong | Published on March 6, 2026 Credit: Starz Comment 0 Share New Share Credit: Starz This post contains mild spoilers for the first episode of Outlander’s eighth season; if you’ve seen a trailer, you won’t receive additional spoilers below. The premiere of Outlander’s eighth season was a homecoming. Not only do we see James and Claire Fraser (Sam Heughan and Caitríona Balfe) back at Fraser’s Ridge, we also see the two reunited with Brianna (Sophie Skelton), Roger (Richard Rankin), and their two children. For most of last season, Brianna and Roger lived in the 1980s after they left their life in the 1770s to go forward in time to get crucial medical care for their daughter. In season seven, however, a man kidnapped their son and saw Roger go back to 1739 in an attempt to find him. It turns out that their son never left the 1980s, and once Brianna found him, she and her two children went to 1739 to reunite with Roger. In the first episode of season eight, we see Brianna, Roger, and the children back at Fraser’s Ridge with James and Claire. What we don’t see on screen, however, was Brianna and Roger’s decision to head to the 1770s rather than back to the 1980s. In an interview in the lead-up to the show’s season eight premiere, I asked Skelton and Rankin how they thought that off-screen conversation went for Brianna and Roger. Credit: Starz “After that reunion in 1739, at the end of season seven, they thought, ‘Listen, is there any point, really, to go back to the ‘80s now? I mean, we’re here, we may as well just stop off at the Ridge on the way back.’” Rankin speculated. And that decision, it seems, was likely made by Brianna before she and the children met up with Roger in 1739. “Brianna must have bought everything to [Roger], knowing that she was going to go to Jamie and Claire, right?” Skelton asked Rankin. “Because I brought Frank’s book [the book Claire’s first husband wrote about the history they are all living through in the 1770s] and everything, so I must have planned it.” She added, “I mean, I think once your kid’s been kidnapped in the ‘80s, you may as well just be like no time is safe—we may as well just go and be with family.” Both actors acknowledged that their characters might have underestimated the danger of living in the 1770s. “I wonder if they got back there and then thought, ‘Ohhh yeah… there’s a war.’ That seems like that could be bad too,” said Rankin. Skelton also hinted that the first few episodes will be “a harsh welcome back” for Brianna and Roger. “I’m sure there’s times where they question their decision making,” she said, “but I do think the fact that [their son] Jemmy was kidnapped in season seven, and that world [the 1980s] proved just as dangerous, will be in the back of their minds to back up their decision each time. But yeah, I don’t think it ever gets easier.” New episodes of Outlander season eight premiere on Starz on Fridays. [end-mark] The post <i>Outlander</i> Stars Reveal Why Brianna and Roger Didn’t Return to the 1980s appeared first on Reactor.