Outlander season 5: How long do you wait on Young Ian?
For non-readers though, we do think that there is quite the major mystery to ponder over in terms of Young Ian Murray: How long do you wait before bringing this character back into the fold? We’re not trying to draw assumptions on whether or not he will return, mostly because all indications suggest that he will. Young Ian’s story in the books isn’t over here, and we think that if you’re a producer on this show, there is going to remain an eagerness in order to get him back around the Fraser family sooner rather than later. This is a supportive set and one in which the cast has such a family bond; this bond is one of the reasons why Duncan Lacroix is still a part of the series, even if Murtagh is already dead in the books. Also, Murtagh feels like such an important part of the Frasers’ lives as one of the few relationships they’ve had from the early days.
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With bringing back Young Ian, there are a series of integral questions that do need to be answered and resolved at some point.
1. When do you bring him back? There’s going to be that temptation lingering to bring him back sooner rather than later, but the truth here is that you can’t do it too soon. You don’t want to put yourself in a position where not enough time has passed and that the character hasn’t had a chance to grow. While we do want to see Bell back, he needs to have transformed in his time away to the point where you can hardly think of him as a boy anymore at all — at least a few episodes could do the trick given that Outlander tends to push time forward a good bit over the course of the season.
2. How do you bring him back? We don’t think that you just have a situation here where someone goes and busts him out from Shadow Lake, or where Young Ian just escapes. For starters, Ian doesn’t want that; also, there’s a recognition that if that happens, the Mohawk tribe will just come and relentlessly pursue him. There’s no real sense of justice or freedom that comes with the story ending in this particular way, so there has to be another means to make this transpire.
3. Why do you bring him back? We think that this is the easiest question of the three to answer. You bring Young Ian back because he adds depth to the series and to the Fraser family’s life. You bring him back because you know his passion and enthusiasm could prove useful at Fraser’s Ridge. Or, maybe you bring him back because the character could be a great bridge between the Native-American community and also the local European settlers.
Want some more Outlander story debates?
Then be sure to head over here for our discussion of how Jamie can try to resolve his Murtagh problem. Meanwhile, let us know in the comments how long Outlander season 5 should wait before bringing back Young Ian. (Photo: Starz.)