Outlander recast Jenny Murray in season seven, debuting Kristin Atherton when Jamie (Sam Heughan), Claire (Caitriona Balfe), and Young Ian (John Bell) returned to Lallybroch. It now appears that the recast was only for a few episodes because Jenny Murray will not appear in Outlander‘s eighth and final season.
TV Line quoted showrunner Matthew B. Roberts with the news:
“The brief was: Nothing that doesn’t affect Jamie and Claire gets in. It’s gotta affect Jamie and Claire. All the main characters do, so they’re a part of it. But that’s the drive,” he says. The novels’ winding plots are the type of thing, he adds, that “makes the books so readable and fun. But when you have 10 episodes, you have to stay literally on track.”
And when it came to Jenny’s transatlantic voyage, specifically? “Again, with 10 episodes,” Roberts reiterates, “there’s a lot less you can do.”
I at least appreciate that they are keeping to the meat of whatever story they are trying to tell in season eight. However, they introduced an extraneous storyline in the season seven finale that must be addressed in season eight.
Source: TV Line
