During this Droughtlander, the Outlander fans have become an army of very thirsty detectives!

Some keen-eyed viewers have spotted a tiny “J” carved onto Claire’s palm and a little “C” etched onto Jamie’s hand in the deleted scenes from Outlander’s third season, but there was never an explanation for the appearance of these mysterious initials on the hit Starz drama.

In our quest to cut to the truth, ET caught up with Outlander executive producers Ronald D. Moore and Maril Davis at a special Television Academy panel in Los Angeles on Sunday, and we asked the creative duo to explain the behind-the-scenes secrets of Jamie and Claire’s carvings.

“Yes, our sharp-eyed viewers are at it again!” Moore said proudly to ET’s cameras on the red carpet. “Essentially, there’s a scene in [Diana Gabaldon’s] book — and actually in a different book — where Claire and Jamie carve their initials into each other’s hands. I think it was in the second book, [Dragonfly in Amber,] if I’m not mistaken.”

“Yeah,” Davis agreed. “Right before she goes back through the stones.”

Moore continued, “We did not do that [scene] in season two, but it was one of those little details that we kept thinking, ‘At some point we’re going to do this.’ So we shot a version of that scene in season three, but we weren’t really that satisfied with it and it didn’t really work, so we cut the scene — but we wanted to still sort of preserve the idea of doing that at some later date.”

“So we didn’t include that scene in the deleted scenes for the DVD, however, sharp-eyed fans found the initials in a separate deleted scene that we had not gone in and digitally erased so it’s like, ‘Curses! They found us!'” Moore added with a laugh.

Despite the fact that fans have foiled the executive producers’ plan to keep the initials scene a secret, Davis revealed that it’s “actually kind of fun” that the Outlander audience is so invested in each and every onscreen detail.

“I hope [the fans] know it’s something that we really want to do,” Davis explained. “And while you hope that you don’t have those little things happen, on the other hand, it’s kind of a fun, little tidbit for people to see and to recognize that people are actually watching.”

As for the actors who lived through the cut scene, (pun totally intended!) stars Sam Heughan and Caitriona Balfe expressed their reactions to learning that the highly anticipated scene had been edited out of season three.

“You know that happens a lot. We shoot a lot of stuff that doesn’t make it into the final edit,” Balfe dished to ET. “It’s sort of in a really organic place in the book and it sort of fits where it was supposed to be. I think it’s difficult sometimes when you’re trying to shoehorn something into another moment, but you know, it’s also a fan favorite. So we do try to do these things for the fans and so you always have to try and find something that works and it has to work for the story.”

Heughan echoed his co-star’s sentiments and said, “I think I was quite excited for the fans to see that because they wanted it from before, but you know, it may make an appearance somewhere else. But you know, that happens all the time. There’s so much that we shoot that doesn’t make it into the show and we can’t include everything.”

“And to be honest, “Heughan continued, “I don’t think the scene quite worked in the story and where it was, so yeah, they made a great decision.”

Dinna fash, Outlander fans! It sounds like this special moment between Jamie and Claire could be reworked into another season.

“I didn’t know that they were going to put it somewhere else, but I guess they will,” Balfe exclaimed with a smile. “So we’ll see it then, we’ll do that scene again!”

Heughan concluded, “Who knows, maybe you’ll see it somewhere else. Maybe Jamie gets a “C” carved on his toes next season.”

For more behind-the-scenes bonus material like this one, pick up your copy of Outlander: Season Three, which will be available on Blu-ray, DVD and Digital as well as on a Limited Collector’s Edition from Sony Pictures Home Entertainment on April 10.
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