‘Outlander’ Season 5: Episode 3 Could Be The ‘Stephen King-Esque’ Episode That Was Promised

SPOILER ALERT: This article discusses Season 5 of Starz’s Outlander as well as the book series on which it is based. Please proceed with caution if you wish to avoid potential spoilers.

While Season 5 of Outlander opened with a joyous wedding, the series is set to take a dip into the horror genre, according to Fansided.

With the release of the trailer for Episode 3 (titled “Free Will”), fans are suspecting that the promised Stephen King-esque episode is about to arrive. In a recent interview from Radio Times, cast and crew offered hints about what Season 5 had to offer. Executive producer, Matthew B. Roberts, told viewers to expect a “horror film kind of episode.”

“This season, we have one that’s extremely creepy – it’s almost Stephen King-esque. Well, I probably shouldn’t use another author, but he’s a good one, so… A horror film kind of episode that we haven’t really delved into before, but it was there in the book so we pulled it out and dove into that genre. What’s special about a show like Outlander is that you almost don’t know what you’re going to get when you tune in.”

For those who have read the book series and had heard that Bronwyn James had been cast as a character called Fanny Beardsley, already the suspicion was there that this storyline would certainly contain horrific elements. Those who have not read the books, and are happy with spoilers, need to know that what goes on in the Beardsley household is definitely the thing of horror stories.

In the books, Claire (played by Catriona Balfe in the TV series) discovers that Fanny’s husband has had a stroke. When she arrives at the household to attend to him, she discovers that Fanny has already been doing so. However, Fanny has also been making her husband suffer as a result of how he has previously treated her in the marriage. This leads to a conflict of interest for Claire as a doctor who is supposed to treat patients without discrimination. Instead, she is torn between whether Fanny deserves her revenge for the years of abuse or whether she should step in and attend to Mr. Beardsley as she would any other patient.

As yet, it is unclear how closely the Starz series will follow this storyline and whether it will turn out to be the Stephen King-esque episode that was promised. Viewers will have to tune in on Sunday night in order to find out more.

The Episode 3 trailer for Season 5 of Outlander can be viewed below.

Season 5 of Outlander will return to Starz on March 1 at 8 p.m. EST.