- The first episode of "Outlander" premiered on August 9, 2014, exactly 10 years ago.
- Jamie (Sam Heughan) and Claire (Caitríona Balfe) are the only original characters still on the show.
- Many of the cast look a lot different now from when they first joined the series.
When "Outlander" first graced our screens in 2014, it quickly captivated audiences with its compelling blend of historical drama and heart-racing romance.
At the heart of the series, which is celebrating 10 years since its premiere on August 9, are the characters brought to life by the exceptionally talented cast.
Based on a series of best-selling books by Diana Gabaldon, the series follows Claire Randall (Caitríona Balfe), a former World War II military nurse who travels through time and falls in love with Jamie Fraser (Sam Heughan), a dashing 18th-century Highland warrior.
Both actors were relatively unknown when they first landed the parts that would transform their lives and make them globally recognized stars.
Let's dive into how Jamie and Claire have changed over the years alongside other key characters on the show.
At the beginning of the series, Claire Randall was a combat nurse living in the 1940s with her university professor husband.
But everything changed for her when she stumbled through some magical standing stones while honeymooning in the Highlands, which transported her to the 1740s and into the arms of her second husband, Jamie Fraser.
However, she's still a nurse. In the show's most recently aired season, she was seen administering medical aid to survivors of the Second Battle of Saratoga.
As of season seven, Claire — who is supposed to have aged over 30 years since the series began — is living in North Carolina with Jamie with their daughter and grandchildren.
Audiences were introduced to the young, redheaded Highland warrior Jamie Fraser in the pilot episode shortly after Claire's tumble through the standing stones of Craigh na Dun.
On the run from the English, Jamie initially hid the fact that he was a Laird and had a castle to his name when he and Claire married to protect her from being captured by the English Army too.
Viewers have seen Jamie stay true to his wedding vows to protect Claire time and time again.
Over the last seven seasons, which have spanned over three decades, the characters have faced myriad challenges — including a 20-year separation — but they've always found their way back to each other.
Brianna was born after Claire traveled back to her own time and was raised believing that her father was Claire's first husband.
Upon learning the truth about her biological father, she followed her mother back through the stones in season four.
Brianna initially struggled to adjust to life in the 18th century, having grown up strong and independent like her mother.
However, her strong bond with Roger helped her through and after marrying at Fraser's Ridge, the two became parents to children Jemmy and Mandy.
After it was discovered that Mandy had a life-threatening heart defect that required more advanced surgery than Claire was able to perform, Brianna and the rest of her family traveled back to their original timeline.
While Roger is the adopted son of Claire's friend Reverend Wakefield, he also has ties to the Frasers as a direct descendant of Dougal MacKenzie and Geillis Duncan.
When audiences first met Roger, he was a thirty-something Oxford don, keen to help an old friend of his father's on a project about the Jacobite Rising of 1745. It didn't take him long to fall for Claire's daughter, Brianna.
Roger has had to learn to adapt to the past and endured brutal hardships as a result. After questioning his place in the 18th century, he has felt much more at ease since returning to his time period with Brianna and his children.
Frank was Claire's first husband, whom she met while serving as a WW2 nurse.
Audiences are shown from the beginning that Frank has a passion for uncovering his genealogy and his ancestor's links to the 1945 Jacobite uprising.
Although he was devoted to Claire before she disappeared, after she returned carrying Jamie's unborn child, he struggled to accept what happened.
In season four, while planning to leave Claire after falling for another woman, he died in a car accident.
In the book series Frank and his 18th-century ancestor are said to bear a strong resemblance, so the show creators decided to have Menzies play both roles.
While Frank was a mild-mannered and principled professor, Black Jack was the total opposite. He was introduced in the pilot as a sadistic British officer who later develops an obsession with Jamie that leads him to commit violent and depraved acts against the Scot.
Audiences thankfully saw the last of Black Jack Randall in season three.
He died in a final, fateful encounter with Jamie on the battlefield, symbolizing the culmination of their brutal and destructive rivalry.
Murtagh followed Jamie on his early adventures and protected Claire when Jamie himself couldn't.
While he gave the outward appearance of a curmudgeon, audiences soon realized that Murtagh was as loyal as they come and cared deeply for those around him.
Jamie's godfather's fate is probably the biggest departure from the books in the television show.
In Diana Gabaldon's book series the show is based on, Murtagh died on the battlefield at Culloden at the beginning of the third book, "Voyager."
However, the show's creators kept his character alive until season five after realizing just how popular he was with audiences.
He was introduced as the governor of Ardsmuir prison, where Jamie is serving time following the Battle of Culloden.
Like his brother, William Grey, whom Jamie met by chance some years earlier, Lord John has a strong sense of honor and duty.
He and Jamie initially clashed but came to have mutual respect for each other, although it has been hinted since the show's early seasons that Lord John harbors deeper feelings for Jamie.
Over the seasons, Lord John has emerged as a loyal ally to the Frasers, often caught between his duty to the British Crown and his personal loyalty to Jamie.
He is also the father figure of Jamie's son, William, who was reintroduced as a young man in the most recent season. Audiences can expect Lord John to have an even bigger presence in the second half of season seven, due to be released in November.
At the time, the young William was played by child actor Oliver Finnegan.
William is legally the son and heir of the Earl of Ellesmere and his wife, Geneva Dunsany (Hannah James). But as audiences know, he was secretly fathered by Jamie after Geneva blackmailed Jamie to take her virginity before her wedding night.
Jamie and his son, who has since grown up and become a British soldier, came face-to-face for the first time since season three in the mid-season finale of season seven.
Audiences can expect to see William feature more in the upcoming episodes if the series continues to follow the arc of the book series.
When first introduced, Ian is an adventurous and spirited teenager, eager to prove himself. He was more than eager to join Jamie and Claire when they emigrated from Scotland to the newly founded colonies in America.
In season four, Ian was taken prisoner by the Mohawk and has since embraced their culture by adopting their style of dress and language.
While he previously had a Mohawk wife, Ian has been back living with the Frasers for a while and has since set his eyes on Rachel Hunter (Izzy Meikle-Small).
His birth name was Claudel, but Jamie gave him the Scottish moniker shortly after employing the youngster.
It didn't take long for Jamie and Claire to begin to see Fergus as a son, and he returned their kindness by loyally serving the family and helping them through numerous dangerous situations.
Fergus has remained fiercely loyal to Jamie over the last few seasons. In season five, he married Marsali (Lauren Lyle), whom Jamie helped raise during his separation from Claire.
Season six saw Fergus deal with his insecurities after he wasn't able to protect his wife and family from an attack. He and Marsali didn't factor into season seven's first batch of episodes, but audiences can look forward to seeing them both reprise their roles in the future.