Outlander Season 4: The lack of sex was purely due to time

Many fans noticed the lack of sex and intimate moments between Claire and Jamie in Outlander Season 4. The lack of sex wasn’t due to the actors or the writers’ choices but due to time.

Outlander Season 4 missed some of the steamier moments of the earlier seasons. While there has certainly been a shift in character, executive producer Maril Davis has shared that we can blame time constraints more than anything else.

There’s certainly plenty of steamy moments in the novel, “Drums of Autumn,” so it’s not like there was a lack of material to work with. However, there wasn’t the time. The bigger plot points needed to be included in the episodes, which meant the quieter moments couldn’t work. According to an interview with TV Guide, sometimes it’s the network or production company that says no to the steamier moments.

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It does make sense. While many fans complained at the lack of sex scenes in the show, I often wondered where they would be put. I couldn’t see any other moments removed for the steamier moments. There was just too much to fit in and parts needed to be cut out.

When the moments did happen, they were strategically placed. We got one at the very start, one towards the middle, and one towards the end between Claire and Jamie. They got other moments as they reconnected or showed how they were dealing with life in the Colonies and the stresses of the events happening around them.

A book gets away with slowing down for the more intimate moments and then picking the pace back up again later in a chapter. TV shows just don’t get away with that. Each episode needs drama and the intensity needs to keep going up. This show also needs to be written for those who have and haven’t read the books.

Outlander Season 5 could see a return to the steamier moments, although they may be between Brianna and Roger more than Claire and Jamie. Bree and Roger certainly need some development and the steamy moments will be the way to gain that. However, we don’t want to lose moments between Claire and Jamie.

Outlander — Courtesy of STARZ — Acquired via STARZ Media Center /

With the families now at the Ridge, life can slow down temporarily between them. With a slower pace, the steamy moments work.

There are, of course, the actors to think about. They’re the ones that have to act out these scenes and they won’t always be that comfortable with it. During the earlier seasons, they may have felt more pressure but, especially now that Caitriona Balfe and Sam Heughan are producers, they’ll have more abilities to say no if they’re just not comfortable with the sex scenes.

At the end of the day, the sex scenes need to feel organic. The ones we had in the fourth season were mostly there — I didn’t find the first one all that comfortable considering the subject matter before it, to be honest — and there’s more chance to bring them to the fifth season.

Next. 25 best Claire and Jamie moments on Outlander so far. dark

What did you think about the lack of sex scenes in Outlander Season 4? Would you like to see more in Season 5? Share your thoughts in the comments below.

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