Outlander TV series vs. the books: Understanding the change to the months

There are a lot of questions about the times in the world of Outlander. Some of those questions go all the way back to the start, as there are differences in times in the first book and in Outlander Season 1.

The first book is set in May 1945. It is worth pointing out that there was a change to the book at points with some versions being set in May 1946. This is for good reason, and we’ve looked at that before.

The TV series changed the timing completely. Rather than pushing it back to May 1946, the show put the initial story in October 1945 instead. Why was that?

Outlander Season 1 filmed in the fall

The simple answer is due to the timing of the filming. Outlander Season 1 filmed in fall 2013 in Scotland. Trying to make the fall in Scotland look like the spring would have been next to impossible, especially with all the outdoor filming. It was just much easier to push the story to October, instead.

The move from spring to fall doesn’t change too much in the world of the books. It actually helps to fit a bit of a plothole in the book story.

You see, in May 1945, Claire would have still been on the Western front. We see Claire learning about the end of the war while she is treating wounded soldiers. VE Day was on May 8, 1945. There is no way that Claire and Frank could have been honeymooning in Scotland around Beltane, which is at the start of May.

Even October would have been difficult. It’s not like Claire and co. would have just immediately made it back to Britain. Frank would have also been somewhere dealing with situations, and rationing would have still been going on in October 1945. The idea of them vacationing anywhere around that time is slim, but it makes more sense than May 1945.