Outlander: The Complete Seventh Season - Blu-ray Review

[Michael Scott]

Outlander: The Complete Seventh Season



Movie:
Video:
Audio:
Extras:
Final Score:



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Movie
Ah yes, Diana Gabaldon. Back in the 90s, my high school job was working at a local used bookstore called “Bookmans” in Tucson (a legendary Tucson establishment that is almost as iconic as Eegees). I still remember all the women coming in to ask about the “Outlander” series. As someone who was in charge of the Sci-fi/Fantasy section of the store, and being a huge fantasy nerd, I had to keep up with just about everything. And by just about, I mean anything that even remotely was popular in mass market appeal. So begrudgingly, I peeled away from reading “The Deathgate Cycle” or “Dragonlance” and actually got familiar with Diana Gabaldon’s runaway hit series known as the “Outlander” saga. Being that it was one of those book series that could bridge the romance and fantasy genres, we would put the books in both sections, and as a red-blooded 1990s teenager, I had zero interest in the romance section. But lo and behold, I was actually sort of intrigued by Gabaldon’s fantasy drama series. It had romance, but also was filled with great tales of war, battle, and time travel to keep the guys interested. Sure, it most definitely catered to the female audience, but Gabaldon cleverly brought over enough interesting ideas and tropes to appeal to the male demographic as well.

Fast forward almost 20 years later and STARZ decided to adapt the book series into a TV show. When it was released back in 2014, I once again passed over the series in favor of more interesting (to me) material and only ended up watching the series (or at least most of it) right when COVID-19 hit us full force. Once more, I had to eat a little bit of crow, as the series works way better than I ever expected, to the point where I started digging into the lore a bit more and catching up with the final few books in the franchise that came out while I was in college.

The story itself revolves around World War II nurse, Claire Randall (Caitriona Balfe), who mysteriously gets shot backwards in time to Scotland circa 1743. There she finds herself embroiled in the Scottish rebellion against the English crown when she meets and falls in love with dashing Highlander Jamie Fraser (Sam Heughan). Crafted against the backdrop of that gigantic rebellion, we have tales of love, greed, sex, and nudity (this is a STARZ show, did you expect anything else?) and an epic tale of war and brutality against a regime intent on keeping the Scottish people under their control.

For those who have been keeping up, after the harrowing events of season six, Jamie and Ian rush against time itself to rescue Claire before she’s tried and convicted of murder. But their mission is hampered by the changing landscape of shifting world powers. England has their attention shifted away from Scotland as the American Revolution kicks off, giving the Frasier family time to reorganize their fight. But at the same time, the world is changing rapidly, and they have to figure out how to fit into a world that is no longer dominated by the British crown. Especially when they’re thrown right into the middle of the American conflict and once more take up arms against the Empire.

As is the case with most long-running TV shows, Outlander’s “focus” shifts and changes as the seasons go by. Long gone is the simple revolutionary romance, and in its place is a season that focuses a LOT more on the rest of the world. And while that may be frustrating at times for not having a clear-cut ending, Outlander manages to not become complacent in their storytelling. This season may shift focus a good git from previous years, but much like the books themselves, they manage to intrigue you nonetheless. The pacing for this season can be a bit erratic and dodgy, but overall I found the 7th season to be nearly as engaging as the first 4 (it sort of lost its way in season 5, and righted the ship once more in season 6). It’s good, never great, but still a blast to watch.




Rating:

Not Rated by the MPAA




Video:

Sony has always released this series in picture-perfect video quality, and this latest season is no different. Set in North Carolina for the most part this year, we are privy to striking landscape visuals, filled with luscious green foliage, bright red coats for the Redcoats, and incredibly well-done fine details. You can see every fiber and every broken thread in the colonial garb, as well as cracks and visual imperfections on the musket stocks. Woodland areas showcase the same bright greens, but plenty of dark browns and dirt-laden paths to complement the well-saturated colors. Natural tones sparkle the most, but indoor shots with low lighting still look amazing. Black crush is nearly nonexistent, and I couldn’t really find any obvious banding instances as well. Needless to say, the video score has been, and still is, the best part of this entire show.









Audio:

Sony’s DTS-HD MA track found on board is almost equally impressive as the video score. It manages to satisfy on all fronts with an extremely robust and energetic mix. There are plenty of forward heavy moments that rely entirely on dialog and some mild background surround usage, but the show is filled with so much action and so much ambient energy (ranging from breezes, rustling of grass, and insects buzzing in the background) that you can never say that this isn’t an encompassing experience. Bass response is tight and clean with the screams, chaos, and general mayhem of wartime, but not so much that it overpowers. Dynamics tend to be wide and rather impressive, leaving me to give this a near-perfect rating once more.







Extras:

• Four Outlander Untold Scenes
• Blooper Reel
• Deleted Scenes

Final Score: ​

Over 11 years and 7 seasons later, Outlander’s cult status is still going strong. Jamie and Claire pull at the heartstrings when necessary, but also keep the blood pumping as the conflict in the colonies kicks off big time. The Blu-ray release from Sony Pictures looks and sounds fantastic as usual, but this time we have some rather meager extras compared to what we’re used to in the past (not to mention Sony using the stack pack method for their packaging, not a deal breaker, just a minor quibble). But overall, this is a very solid release for the show, and fans of the series will be pleased. Solid watch is my final recommendation.


Technical Specifications:

Starring: Anna Foerster, Brian Kelly, Metin Hüseyin, Jamie Payne, Stephen Woolfenden
Created by: Ronald D. Moore
Aspect Ratio: 1.78:1 AVC
Audio: English: DTS-HD MA 5.1
Subtitles: English SDH, Danish, Finnish, Norwegian, Swedish
Rated: NR
Runtime: 933 Minutes
Blu-ray Release Date: May 27th, 2025

Recommendation: Solid Watch

 

[JStewart]

I personally really liked the first 3 seasons, with the remaining being pretty good for the most part.
We’ve planned on running through the entire series again around the time the final season is released later this year or next. And these aren’t 8 episode seasons. It’s going to take a good long while.