As any Outlander fan will tell you, the love story of Claire and Jamie Fraser has always been a bit star-crossed. That’s what happens when you mix romance and time travel. But Season 3 promises the rockiest road yet for the Frasers as the couple are ripped apart for what looks like a long time.

Calling in from the set in Scotland late last year, Jamie actor Sam Heughan told Vanity Fair that being apart from Balfe for part (we won’t say how long) of Season 3 was like “having a death in the family. Well, I don’t know. I mean, it’s just like a different show. It’s hard to separate yourself from the character. It’s always hard when we’re apart, actually, because she’s a great person, great to come to work with, and a very good actress. But I think it all adds to the reunion—if there’s a reunion, or when there’s a reunion—well, you know there’s one in the books. It should be very special.” Caitriona Balfe jokingly responded, “Och! He’s already killed me in his mind. Gone. Too sad.”

According to the official Starz description:

In Season Three of Outlander, the story picks up right after Claire travels through the stones to return to her life in 1948. Now pregnant, she struggles with the fallout of her sudden reappearance and its effect on her marriage to her first husband, Frank. Meanwhile, in the 18th century, Jamie suffers from the aftermath of his doomed last stand at the historic battle of Culloden, as well as the loss of Claire. As the years pass, Jamie and Claire attempt to make a life apart from one another, each haunted by the memory of their lost love. The budding possibility that Claire can return to Jamie in the past breathes new hope into Claire’s heart… as well as new doubt. Separated by continents and centuries, Claire and Jamie must find their way back to each other. As always, adversity, mystery, and adventure await them on the path to reunion. And the question remains: when they find each other, will they be the same people who parted at the standing stones, all those years ago?

If Claire has to be separated from her beloved Jamie, at least she can console herself with the fabulous fahsion of the 1960s. (Listen! I’m just trying to find a silver lining here.) “Probably, to the disappointment of all the costume fans, I did not miss that corset or bum roll for one second,” Balfe says of her more modern Season 3 wardrobe. “Being able to do 40s, 50s, and 60s—especially the 60s—it was just such fun. [Costume designer] Terry [Dresbach] had in racks and racks of clothing. She made some pieces in-house and other pieces are vintage finds that she had. I love what each era tells you about the women of the time—it’s just such an interesting barometer. Some of the 60s pieces are so cool and beautiful that I asked her to make me doubles of some things.”

The third season of Outlander—which will include 13 episodes based upon Voyager, the third of eight books in Diana Gabaldon’s best-selling series—will premiere in September. Fans eager to get an early taste can also catch the Outlander panel at San Diego Comic Con this summer.
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