‘Outlander’ shows dark(er) side in new key art

As “Droughtlander” winds down, Starz shares its final #4Droughtlander tease. March 4th, Starz released its key art for the second half of Season 1, its much darker second half.

First, the beautiful blue hue: Scotland is sky and sun and green and blue and beauty. Second, our heroine: The original key art released in 2014 depicted a hopeful, yearning Claire Elizabeth Beauchamp Randall (Caitriona Balfe), in a beautiful blue dress, reaching out to grasp the hand of her husband, Frank Randall (the hand truly was that of Tobias Menzies), and the handsome young Scottish warrior, Jamie Fraser, looking on, fiercely, in the background. She was truly a woman lost in time, who knew what she wanted: to return to the husband whom she loved.

These new posters are something else entirely. Gone is the blue. It is replaced with a gritty, real-life look that is devoid of the sunshine of the first. Here, Scotland is real and now and up front and menacingly tough. Claire Elizabeth Beauchamp (Randall) Fraser is armed and ready to defend herself against any attacker. She is in period clothing, her hair is wild, her face is stern. The Highland warrior, previously in the background, is now Husband, ready to protect what is his and all that he cherishes. The hand reaching for Claire is no longer that of her beloved husband, but of his ancestor, Black Jack Randall. Even more deliciously, Starz has released a poster of Menzies as Randall, shown coming toward Claire, sword drawn up as if ready to strike.

Starz on the new key art:

“The new image acts as a continuation and echo of the premiere key art, but with a dark and dangerous tone. It depicts heroine Claire (Caitriona Balfe) in a moment of confrontation rather than one of transition. She and Jamie Fraser (Sam Heughan) have moved closer and are now a united front. As opposed to reaching back and trying to stay connected to the life and husband she left in 1945, this new image depicts Claire brandishing a dagger at “Black Jack” Randall (Tobias Menzies). A reverse shot of “Black Jack,” as seen from Claire and Jamie’s perspective, shows the peril they face and what they are up against during the second half of this season. An animated version (GIF) of the image is available here.

“The key art was shot on location in the Scottish highlands by photographer Jason Bell with the three actors in the exact same location the original key art was shot.”