Warning: spoilers are ahead for Episode 4 of Outlander Season 8, called “Muskets, Liberty, and Sauerkraut” and available streaming now via the STARZ app.
The eighth and final season of Outlander is somehow already nearly half over in the 2026 TV schedule, and one romance is still in the early stages of picking up steam. William, somewhat recovered from what he went through in Season 7 after learning the truth about his parentage, has been getting closer and closer to Amaranthus, the widow of his late cousin. Sparks have been flying despite their strange circumstances, and stars Charles Vandervaart and Carla Woodcock opened up to CinemaBlend about the “enemies to lovers” storyline.
In “Muskets, Liberty, and Sauerkraut,” William once again had to face the fact that he’s technically Jamie’s bastard son, although legally still William Ransom, Eighth Earl of Ellesmere. Brianna’s arrival at Lord John’s house allowed the half-siblings to speak freely now that they both know the truth about Jamie, and William definitely handled the interaction a lot better than he handled… well, pretty much everything after getting the unwelcome news last season.
He ultimately opened up to Amaranthus with the whole story about not truly being the son of the Seventh Earl of Ellesmere, and she provided him with a perspective that he hadn’t considered before, along with what was more or less a marriage proposal. The duo have come a long way since they first met, when William had to be pushed by Lord John into being kind to her.
Charles Vandervaart, who previously spoke about William doing “horrible things” after getting the news about Jamie, addressed what kind of trust there is between William and Amaranthus as of Episode 4:
I think right off the bat, William didn't even trust that she was the legitimate wife of his cousin. Like, right away, he thought that this was some kind of scam. And I think that that kind of started off the relationship as a little bit rocky. But who doesn't love an enemies-to-lovers trope?
In fairness to William, Amaranthus didn’t really come with a lot of proof that she’d been the wife of his cousin, and he was getting a lot of news all at once when he first met her. He did make amends to her for his less-than-courteous introduction, so the “enemies” portion of the enemies-to-lovers trope fortunately didn’t last too long. He went on:
I think it started off a little rocky, but maybe that passion in that they had the mutual shared trauma of the passing of my cousin and Amaranthus' husband, I think that causes a real bond. And I think that chemistry between the two of them is undeniable, so I'm excited to see where it goes.
The chemistry between William and Amaranthus was of course written into the script, but the actors actually didn’t have a chemistry read before Carla Woodcock was cast for Season 8. That’s certainly not how Sam Heughan described his early auditions with Caitriona Balfe for Outlander! Woodcock agreed with Vandervaart, then went on:
I think with Amaranthus, she's a woman in a world that isn't really built for her, and she's moved in to live with a family that she doesn't really know. So I think she's doing what she can to protect herself and and secure her and her son the best life she can. But as Charles said, the chemistry between Amaranthus and William is really easy, and it's kind of undeniable. So I think she's kind of got the best of both worlds right now. She's found a guy that hits every mark.
It was a lucky break for Amaranthus that Lord John was the kind of man to take her and her infant son in without any proof that she truly was the wife of his late nephew, because otherwise she and William might never have met and bonded. (Also a lucky break for William that she met him in Season 8 rather than Season 7, which you can find streaming with a Netflix subscription.)
After William cleared up that the beautiful woman he had a private conversation with was his half-sister and not a love interest, Amaranthus seemed back to believing that he could be that man to hit “every mark.” When he noted that he didn’t have an heir who he could pass the Earl of Ellesmere title onto, she suggested that they could just get married and the title could go to their firstborn. So, how much did she pitch the idea in jest vs. seriously suggesting that they marry? I asked Carla Woodcock that very question, and she explained:
I think she sees that there's something between the two of them, but William just is not the type of person to come right out and say how he feels about anything. So I think she's trying to sort of just work out, 'Is this a thing between the two of us or not?' Because I think her saying that is kind of like a, 'Oh, haha, yeah, I'm joking. But if you do want to get married, I will say yes.' [laughs] So I think it's a little bit of both.
Honestly, that joking approach to somebody who you might be interested in romantically is still used nowadays, although less so for the purpose of proposing marriage and babies ASAP. William didn’t exactly look upset by the idea, and Woodcock noted:
She's thrown [it] out as a joke in case he says no, but I think if he was to turn around and be like, 'Yeah, okay, let's get married,' she would say, 'Yes.'
With just six episodes left and plenty of questions to be answered before the final credits roll, is there actually time for William and Amaranthus to get married, if they do decide to take that step together? The Outlander team knows how to use strategically-timed time jumps by this point, so it could work.
If we apply real-life history to Season 8, the Siege of Savannah during the American Revolution began in September of 1779. Assuming that the show will last until the Battle of Kings Mountain where Jamie was said by Frank to die, then the characters have at least until October of 1780. Just a couple of months of new episodes for fans doesn’t mean William and Amaranthus won’t have more time in-universe.
For now, you can keep looking forward to new episodes of Outlander’s eighth and final season on Fridays at 8 p.m. ET on Starz. You can also watch via the STARZ App, and all Starz streaming and on-demand viewing platforms. Even the stars still don’t know how the story is going to end after executive producer Matthew B. Roberts wrote multiple possibilities, so the wait is on for fans and cast members alike to see what’s to come.
.png?w=600)
