When I first saw the dam it really reminded me of the Empire base from Star Wars: Andor. So much so I had to go look it up. Turns out it wasn’t Loch Errochty Dam but instead the Cruachan Dam which seems to look very similar.
Lallybroch
Set Decorator Stuart Bryce described Lallybroch as the most complicated set this season. After all, how do you modernize such a classic?
Lallybroch is chock full of beautiful small details and Easter eggs: the gash in the wall from the Rising, a sketch of the Fraser’s Ridge cabin by Bree over the fireplace, a painting from Claire and Frank’s Boston apartment in the hallway, and of course, many family photos!
Fort Ticonderoga
Onto another epic set: Ticonderoga! Building this set from scratch is beyond the realm of some movies, let alone TV. Luckily, the locations team found Duncarron, a living museum that already had many of the necessary elements, like a perimeter wall, to bring Ticonderoga to life.
“We try and create [medical tents] like they’ve repurposed a lot of the things in there. That’s how it works when you’re in battle and on the move all the time—you use the skills you’ve accumulated. We’re very careful we don’t make them too modern.” -Stuart Bryce, Set Decorator
In a callback to Season 2, Bree mentions she has actually been to Ticonderoga before.
“One of my earliest memories is dropping an ice cream cone off the ramparts of Fort Ticonderoga while [Frank] held forth on the heroics of Ethan Allen and the Green Mountain Boys.” -Episode 213
What looks like a quick shot through a spyglass takes a lot of work to pull off! Here’s what VFX Supervisor Jon Neill had to say about the moment the Continentals realize the British are about to lay siege to Ticonderoga.
Loch Errochty Dam
The dam sequences were all filmed at a real Scottish hydro plant. And Brianna’s not the only one wearing a hard hat and boots—each member of the crew filming at the location was also required to wear full PPE at all times.
In many ways, the hurdles Brianna faces in the 1980s aren’t that far removed from those she experienced in the 1700s. Here’s what Director Tracey Deer had to say:
The Pub
The Ryeland Pub that Brianna’s colleagues drink at was named after a Ryeland sheep that befriended Executive Producer Toni Graphia on a recce. Look up a photo of these sheep, you won’t be disappointed.
Costumes
Quaker culture was a new topic of research for all our departments this season, especially costume. While Rachel and Denzell’s costumes might be simple… I’d wear them any day!
Less simple are William’s many costume changes over the last couple of episodes from his uniform to his “gentleman hunter” look in the Dismal Swamp to his Quaker plain clothing, which Costume Designer Trisha Biggar imagines he borrowed from a deceased Hunter relative.
Despite the ghastly looking bones poking out of the “rat” stew eaten at the Johnston’s Cabin, it was, in fact, vegan. Charles Vandervaart sung the praises of jackfruit as an on-screen meat replacement: “It just melts in your mouth when cooked properly. It’s perfect for scenes.”
Mohawk Village
We return to the Mohawk village of Shadow Lake, the community Young Ian lived amongst when he was married to Wahionhaweh. Coincidentally, Tracey Deer, who directed both Episode 705 and 706, was born and raised in the Mohawk community of Kahnawake.
Since Season 4, production has worked with Mohawk consultants John & Eva Fadden for all things Mohawk—translations, phonetic transcriptions, historical information, and cultural questions—and described them as “truly a wealth of knowledge.” Late last year, we were very sad to hear of John’s passing. He will be dearly missed by the Outlander team, and we hope that his legacy can live on through his contributions to the show.
