Sam Heughan and Caitríona Balfe in “Outlander.” Photo: Starz.
Chicago – After two long (long, long) years, it’s finally time to head back to Fraser’s Ridge.
“Outlander,” the hit Starz series adapted from Diana Gabaldon’s best-selling, genre-bending novels, returned to television on Sunday, Mar. 6 with a super-sized premiere. Clocking in at 80 minutes, it might feel just a wee bit long to even the most dedicated fans, though that’s a feature, not a bug. The sixth season, based on Gabaldon’s novel “A Breath of Snow and Ashes,” will include only eight episodes, though each will have an extended runtime — a decision made to accommodate the complexities of producing a series of this scale during the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic.
But episodes can be too long for very different reasons, and “Echoes,” the show’s gripping sixth-season premiere, slightly overstays its welcome for all the best ones. Written by showrunner Matthew B. Roberts and directed with aplomb by “Call the Midwife” alum Kate Cheeseman, this is an episode densely packed with story and the lovely character beats that define many of the show’s best outings. A few moments of thinking, “okay, let’s move this along” seems like a fair trade when the result is otherwise so strong.
For those unacquainted with “Outlander,” the series follows Claire Fraser (Caitríona Balfe of “Belfast”), formerly Claire Randall, a World War II nurse who, during a second honeymoon with her husband Frank (Tobias Menzies) in the Scottish Highlands following the end of the war, finds herself mysteriously transported back to 18th century Scotland. There she meets Jamie Fraser (Sam Heughan), a Highland warrior, polyglot and extremely handsome man. Sparks, swords and a “marriage of convenience” follow, and before you can say “och, aye,” Claire and Jamie are caught up in a romance for the ages.
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