After eight seasons, Starz’s Outlander concluded with a powerful (but ambiguous) ending to the timeless love story of Claire (Caitriona Balfe) and Jamie (Sam Heughan).
The final moments of the finale, which aired on Friday, May 15, showed a seemingly dead Claire and Jamie opening their eyes and breathing again (read the full interpretation here), but those who kept waiting for the post-credits scene got another treat.
The scene, directed by Balfe, takes place in the early 1990s as a group of “fans” wait in line at a bookstore to get new author Diana Gabaldon’s debut novel, Outlander, signed. Gabaldon, who wrote the book on which the series is based, published the first edition in June 1991.
“It was important to us that Diana be there. She’s the source of every word we’ve ever written on the show, and we couldn’t imagine ending the show without giving the story back to her,” showrunner Matthew B. Roberts told Variety about the scene. “She created this world, and it felt right that the final image in Outlander was hers.”
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As the camera pans, the room fills with cameos from Roberts, executive producer Maril Davis, and writer/executive producer Toni Graphia.
Plus, everyone else in the room, the fans in line and in the bookstore, are staff members. John Casey (props), Suzanne Smith (casting), Carly Paris (production buyer), Davey Stewart (Sam’s driver), Luke Coulter (camera), Katrina Luna (construction accountant), Chris Cameron (location), and Carol Ann Crawford (dialect coach).
There’s one more Easter egg for the astute observer. Every book on the shelves of bookstores, and in the hands of the people who appear on screen, has a title written by the staff based on the series’ area of expertise.
“After eight seasons and 12 years, we felt that the people who really built this world deserved to be a part of this world,” Roberts added. “Every face in that bookstore was someone who had been with us since day one, and every book on the shelf was something they worked on with the titles we created for them. That was a big enough thank you.”
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The scene ends with a special wink to fans, with one “fan”, writer-director Margaret Graham, asking Diana what the diary is next to the autograph table. (This diary was first shown in the penultimate episode as the diary in which Claire writes down her stories.)
“Just a little bit of inspiration,” Gabaldon replies.
Below is a partial list of book titles written by production staff.
Toni Graphia (EP, writer) — “It’s not what I imagined.”
Suzanne Smith (Casting) — “The Tall One Will Do”
Stuart Blythe (December set) — “Requiem for a Barrel”
Carol Ann Crawford (dialect coach) — “Dinnie Fash: Scottish Colloquialisms”
Luke Coulter (camera) — “Look at the eyeliner”
Scott Napier (DOP) — “Too shiny.”
John McCormack (Key Grip) — “Get a Grip”
Patrick Conroy (Producer) — “TV and Film Budgeting for Diddy”
Jamie Fleming (Accounting) — “Late Invoice Case”
Watch the post-credits scene below.
