Outlander perspectives: What’s the greatest season 3 location?

Today, we’ve made it to the final edition of our Outlander perspectives series — it’s been a fun week looking back at season 3, and today we conclude things off by talking about a subject that still doesn’t feel like it gets enough love — locations! We do think that, in addition to the cast and the writing, the geography and cinematography are what sell Outlander to viewers. It’s a visually-stunning showcase of Scotland and beyond; one of the biggest appeals, at least so us, is that you get to see places that aren’t commonly featured on television. Even considering that South Africa doubled as the Caribbean at the end of season 3, we don’t really see all that much of South Africa, either, save for Black Sails.

Below, we’ve compiled what we think are the five best locations of the season, both in terms of intrigue and also in terms of how they popped off the screen. At the end of the article, we want to hear from you in terms of your favorite! Voting will be open for one week — we’ll announce the results on Monday, February 19! Vote however often you like. If you are on mobile and cannot see the poll, you’ll need to scroll down and select to view the non-AMP version of the page.

Claire and Frank’s apartment – The only interior that we are going to reference in this article. It’s hard for a location built in a studio somewhere to stand out as memorable, but this did almost as perfect evidence of contrast. From the appliances to the furniture everything was period-appropriate. It felt different than almost anywhere else we saw on the show; the fact that so many important moments for Brianna happened there only add to the significance.

Culloden – Its total screen time was rather brief, but the crew did a masterful job here using fog and color to create a battle of epic scale without having to bring in hundreds upon hundreds of extras to do the job. The stills from this battle feel almost like a painting.

Lallybroch – It’s not a new location, but we feel like it’s multiple appearances on the series this week are another reminder of why it’s the idyllic Scottish home for so many viewers. It’s quaint, and yet also stunning and historic. It’s the perfect play for Ian and Jenny to call home.

Helwater – The challenge here was to create the image of an estate that was reminiscent of much of what we saw through the first two seasons, and yet different enough to pop and feel like it’s own world. “Of Lost Things” almost feels like its own magnificent movie and the staging of Helwater is a big part of the reason why.

Saint Domingue – The island that we saw Claire arrive on during “Uncharted” was nothing sort of stunning, with crystal-clear water and gorgeous beaches. Were it not for the fact that she was desperate to save Jamie from being arrested by Captain Leonard, this could have functioned at times for a resort commercial.

Now, your turn

What was your favorite Outlander location? Vote in the poll or, in the event your choice was not mentioned, share in the comments!

Also, be sure to like CarterMatt on Facebook to get some more insight when it comes to the series. (Photo: Starz.)