When Diana Gabaldon published her novel Outlander in 1991, it was the stuff of fandom dreams: a genre cocktail of fantasy, romance, history, and science fiction. Nearly three decades later, the fandom is still going strong with novellas, a Starz television adaptation, and seven more novels (with two more on the way).
Sometimes it's overwhelming to process all that the series has to offer when it comes to Claire and Jamie's adventures, but that's where the loyal fandom comes to the rescue.
Below are nine of our favorite fan-run Outlander accounts. Whether it's blogging about the nitty-gritty details of Gabaldon's novels, doing video recaps of TV episodes, interviewing people involved in the Outlander world, or creating their own content, these pages have done it all.
So whether you just learned what Sassenach means or you can name everyone in the extended Fraser family tree (impressive), here's who to follow to dissect, analyze, and stay up-to-date on everything the Outlander world has to offer.
1. Outlander Homepage
A blog run by Dorianne Panich, Nancy McGehee Fontenot, and Susie Brown. Book fans first, the trio now covers all things Outlander, including episode recaps, Scottish history and folklore, and original interviews with the cast and crew. You can also find them on Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, and YouTube.
Your favorite scene from the Outlander TV series?
"'The Hail Mary,' Season 2, Episode 12: When Claire was trying to aide Black Jack's brother Alex while he was dying of consumption. All of that interaction was stellar ... The sheer hatred BJR had — in all black — distraught over his brother, those scenes in the apartment, and especially when he followed Claire out to the street in desperation."
The episode you've rewatched the most?
"'The Wedding,' Season 1, Episode 7: Caitriona Balfe and Sam Heughan had that innocence that mirrored the story from the books, in that they were truly getting to know each other after marriage."
Your best experience as a fan?
"In the last four years, [we] have hosted the Seasons 1 and 2 casts in four separate cocktail parties that benefited the actors' chosen charities — raising money on behalf of the cast with a lot of help from the very generous Outlander fandom who had purchased tickets to attend and mingle with their favorite actors!"
Answers from Dorianne Panich
2. The Outlander Podcast
A podcast run by sisters Summer Reynolds and Ginger Wiseman, who have been fans of the Outlander books since the '90s. They created the podcast in 2013 as "a way to follow matters related to Diana Gabaldon's books, the Starz production, and other subjects directly, indirectly, or tangentially, related to Scotland." You can also find them on Facebook (public page and private group), Instagram, Patreon, and Twitter.
Your favorite scene from the Outlander TV series?
"My favorite scenes [are] from Season 1. My favorite visual scene is the aerial of Jamie and Claire riding Donas to Lallybroch after the witch trial and after she reveals who she is to him [Episode 12, "Lallybroch"]. Drama wise, I would have to say Episode 6 ["The Garrison Commander"]. Tobias Menzies' dramatic dance with Claire (and the viewer!) is masterful."
The episode you've rewatched the most?
"'Sassenach,' Season 1, Episode 1: There is something about Episode 1. The music just before her first voiceover, before we even see Claire... The view of the Scottish Highlands. Magical. Ominous. Beautiful. And as a reader, we know everything that is about to happen, so it's a bittersweetness, as well. And that blue vase."
Your best experience as a fan?
"Probably the Season 1 world premiere during San Diego Comic-Con in 2014 ... It was awesome, ridiculous, heady, a little scary. But that was my first red carpet experience and it was amazing to see all the fans and meet a good number of the actors."
Answers from Ginger Wiseman
3. Blacklanderz
A site created by Vida Avery for "Black folks who love intellectual television, such as Outlander." Recognizing that the books cover heavy topics like slavery, Avery says, "Because we view events/issues through a different lens, we open a space to have such discussions ... that no other group could or would." You can also find them on Facebook, Instagram, Pinterest, and Twitter.
Your favorite scene from the Outlander TV series?
"The lead up to Jamie and Claire reuniting in Outlander Season 3, Episode 6, 'A. Malcolm.' I enjoyed how they changed the story from the book. While Claire prepared and traveled back in time to Jamie, the TV series showed the same timeframe from Jamie's perspective. It allowed the audience to see what he was doing while she traveled through the stones and found his printing shop."
The episode you've rewatched the most?
"'Dragonfly in Amber,' Season 2, Episode 13: I watch all the episodes at least three times. However, [this is] the one that I probably watched the most. There are several reasons I watched it so many times. It was 90 minutes long and it covered a lot of material. I enjoyed how they intertwined the 1960s with the 1740s and the introduction of Brianna and Roger right from the start ... I called this episode the battle royale — Culloden was happening that day; Jamie and Dougal's conflict; Jamie wanting to get Claire, Fergus, and the men of Lallybroch to safety; and Claire and Bree [arguing] over her parentage. The scene of Claire and Jamie at the stones, with that backward waltz, was everything."
Your best experience as a fan?
"After Season 1 aired, I created the Blacklanderz™ group, Black women who love the books/show. Rather than write a weekly recap of the episodes, we create the Blacklanderz Convos where three of us have a discussion of the episode. I have thoroughly enjoyed getting to know these ladies and meeting some of the members.
I attended my first Comic Con in New York this year. There, I not only met some of our Blacklanderz members for the first time but also other Outlander fans I had connected with on social media ... I [have] never been a part of any fandom. Outlander is my first! I have met some wonderful people from all over the world and communicate with them regularly on social media. It is one of the most incredible fandoms that I know."
4. Outlandish Observations
A blog run by Karen Henry that covers "news, commentary, random musings, and occasional Deep Thoughts" about the books. You can also find Henry on Facebook, Twitter, and as the moderator of Gabaldon's section of TheLitForum.com.
Your favorite scene from the Outlander TV series?
"It's really hard to choose just one! Most of my favorite scenes from the TV show tend to be the ones that stay close to the books. Jamie and Bree's first meeting in Season 4, Episode 9 ['The Birds & The Bees'], for example."
The episode you've rewatched the most?
"'Of Lost Things,' Season 3, Episode 4: [It] tells the story of Jamie's time at Helwater, his encounter with Geneva, and his relationship with his young son, Willie. This episode is well-written and well-acted, very faithful to the book, and the ending always leaves me in tears."
Your best experience as a fan?
"For the last 12 years, I've been Section Leader (AKA, moderator) of Diana Gabaldon's section on the online forum where she hangs out (TheLitForum.com, formerly the Compuserve Books and Writers Community). Diana refers to what I do on the forum as 'herding bumblebees.' At a [2013] appearance in Annandale, Va., in front of a crowd of 1,200 fans, Diana [mentioned the forum and] looked straight at me and said, 'The fabulous Karen Henry manages my folder on Compuserve. She's the bumblebee-herder.' And I turned around and waved to the crowd. That was a moment I'll never forget."
5. Outlander TV News
A page started in 2013 that's dedicated to news about the Outlander TV adaptation. Currently, the site's staffed by Sarah Ksiazek, Johanna Underwood, Ashley Fendt, Amanda Cain, Katherine Stinson, and Brooke Corso. You can also find them on Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, and YouTube.
Your favorite scene from the Outlander TV series?
"Jamie and Claire's first fight scene from Season 1 after he rescues her from Black Jack [Episode 9, 'The Reckoning']. I felt like we really see Sam [Heughan] and [Caitriona Balfe] as actors. The second scene that comes to mind is from the first episode of Season 2, 'Through a Glass, Darkly' (all of that episode was amazing). But that moment when Frank realizes Claire is pregnant with another man's child. Again, extraordinary acting."
The episode you've rewatched the most?
"'The Wedding,' Season 1, Episode 7: Hands down 'The Wedding.' I think I watched that episode eight times the weekend it came out. I also absolutely adore Claire's quote about memories like pearls on a string. I keep it pinned up at my desk at work."
Your best experience as a fan?
"A very good friend of mine recommended we watch the show together when it debuted in 2014. She had read the books and thought I'd enjoy it. I actually laughed her out, claiming that romance shows weren't 'my thing.' In the week leading up to 'The Wedding' episode, I couldn't handle the anticipation. So I got a copy of the book. ... I finished it in four days, just in time for the episode. ... I'd never experienced that sense of full immersion into a story before Outlander."
Answers from Amanda Cain
6. The Outlander
A Tumblr page, run by Irina, providing favorite moments from Outlander through gifs and photos with no reblogs.
Your favorite scene from the Outlander TV series?
"Claire and Jamie's first conversation when she comes to the print shop in 'A. Malcolm' [Season 3, Episode 6] after 20 years."
The episode you've rewatched the most?
"'A. Malcolm,' Season 3, Episode 6: The most moving and touching thing to me in the entire show is how they meet again after 20 years; she thought he was dead but [it] turned out he wasn’t. And I just can’t even imagine how she felt and what she felt when he touched her again..."
Your best experience as a fan?
"I've only been in this fandom for four months, [but] my best experience as a fan is the emotions that this show gives me. It made me believe in love again."
7. My Outlander Purgatory
My Outlander Purgatory (MOP) is a website created by sisters Tracey Randinelli and Carol Stark in 2009. Stark blogs, Randinelli runs the Twitter (including live-tweeting episodes), and they both do video recaps that Randinelli says "feature our own special brand of pop-culture infused commentary/hilarity." Gabaldon even thanked them for a story idea in the acknowledgments of Book 8, Written in My Own Heart's Blood. You can also find them on Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, and YouTube.
Your favorite scene from the Outlander TV series?
"I think we're both still really big fans of BJR's interrogation of Claire in Season 1's 'The Garrison Commander' [Episode 6] — it was just a master class in acting by both Caitriona Balfe and Tobias Menzies. More recently, the scene between Claire and Lord John, AKA David Berry, when he had the measles [Season 4, Episode 6, 'Blood of My Blood'] ... was, again, such a great acting tennis match between two greats...
And there are just too many to mention between Sam Heughan and Caitriona Balfe ... The [recent] one between Claire and Jamie in Season 5, Episode 4, 'The Company We Keep,' where they're just a little tipsy and having a heart to heart about more children. Just a slice of life, [a] real moment."
The episode you've rewatched the most?
"I don't know that there's a particular episode that we've watched more than others, but only because we watch them three-four times each to do what we do. We've definitely read the first book more than any other though, because... it's the first book! It's like comfort food."
Your best experience as a fan?
"So many great ones! ... We'd say the best part is getting to know other fans and being able to call them friends. One of the best weekends we've had in forever is a few years back, where we went to a Diana [Gabaldon] book signing in Virginia and met tons of online friends for the first time — it was like we had known each other forever!"
Answers from Tracey Randinelli
8. Julia LaBlanc
Julia LaBlanc creates YouTube videos and compilations of Outlander moments. You can also find LaBlanc on Instagram, Twitter, and Tumblr.
Your favorite scene from the Outlander TV series?
"It is really hard to pick just one scene, but I think I'd have to say the 'Kill them all' scene was probably the one that stuck with me the most [Season 5, Episode 12 'Never My Love']. It shows Jamie’s primal instincts to do anything to keep Claire safe and avenge her. For me, it encompasses so much of what Jamie is."
The episode you've rewatched the most?
"'The Wedding,' Season 1, Episode 7: There are so many cute, sweet, funny, and downright hot moments in that episode. How the two of them got from being so shy and unsure in the beginning to being intimate on so many levels (physically and emotionally), it was a really wonderful experience that they took viewers on."
Your best experience as a fan?
"I always get such a thrill when the cast and Diana [Gabaldon] share one of my videos, I can't explain the feeling I get. I've been fortunate enough to meet Diana, Sam [Heughan], Caitriona [Balfe], and Graham [McTavish]. Those were wonderful experiences. If I had to choose one, I think I'd pick meeting Sam. ... He really has such a warm presence and you feel like he's connecting with you, with each fan, like we're each important to him."
9. Angus' Angels
Angus' Angels is a Twitter account created by Jackie Merrell in 2016. While it's named for Stephen Walters' Highlander character Angus Mhor, it's a community covering everything in the Outlander universe. You can also find them on Facebook.
Your favorite scene from the Outlander TV series?
"My favorite scene from the Outlander TV series is from Season 1, Episode 10 ('By the Pricking of My Thumbs'). Colum had just ordered Jamie away with Dougal, and he's saying their goodbyes to Claire in the courtyard. It's a touching scene, their concern for one another [is] on full display. At least until Dougal injects a line about kissing Claire, not swallowing her!"
The episode you've rewatched the most?
"'Famous Last Words,' Season 5, Episode 8: I've watched so many episodes of Outlander more than once, but [this is] the one I keep coming back to recently. ... I'm so awed by the performances in Sam [Heughan] and Caitriona [Balfe], certainly. Sophie [Skelton], of course. But, it's John Bell and, especially, Richard Rankin that had me tied in knots. The relationship between these two men, and how they count on each other to help heal incredible wounds is heartbreakingly beautiful; it’s also something you rarely see on TV."
Your best experience as a fan?
"I'd have to say it's something that happened while attending Sasnak City (an Outlander convention). There's an event, a sort of round table, where the actors come speak to small groups of fans in turn. They were all fantastic and engaging. Graham McTavish was intriguing (as always), David Berry was both sweet and shy, Annette Badland was amazing, and Richard Rankin told me that my real-world job [construction manager for the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers] was 'sexy as bleep!' How can you beat that?"
These interviews have been edited and condensed for clarity.
Images: Starz; TheOutlander/Tumblr