Outlander season 4 and beyond: The Tobias Menzies decisions that need to be made
As we enter what is officially the post-Jonathan / Frank Randall era of the show (i.e. the first full season without the characters around), there are many interesting questions worth pondering. There are also varying reports regarding his future.
Following the season 3 finale, there were interviews where it was suggested that Menzies could return in some capacity — whether it be in season 4 or down the road. At the moment, though, it’s pretty darn clear that the operative word here is “could.” There is no actual evidence that this is happening right now. He hasn’t been spotted on set, and there have been no quotes from him regarding an eventual return without question.
So, what is it? Are we getting more Tobias or not getting more Tobias?
Reality is reality
Black Jack Randall is dead. So is Frank Randall. By some measures, there is not all that much of a reason to bring Menzies back into the picture. Maybe it would be different if the character was some sort of actual great love to Claire Fraser, but that is not the case. The only person in the main cast who has a close bond to Frank is Brianna, who valued him on some level as the father figure throughout her childhood. Claire recognizes that Frank did a good job raising Brianna, but that doesn’t mean that she spends her time envisioning him still around. Maybe Brianna doesn’t, either, but we haven’t spent the same amount of time in her head.
The intrigue that would come in bringing Frank back, at least for us, would be seeing some flashbacks in order to see what some of his connection was like with Brianna; then, you could contrast that with a relationship that forms between Brianna and Jamie. That’s where such scenes could be useful — we would understand how Brianna would interact with her biological father based on how she interacted with the man she thought to be her father for most of her life.
Is there another reason? We’d say that there only is in the event there is some chunk from Claire and Frank’s past that turns out to be important, but we haven’t seen it yet. This is something that is hard to speculate on given that the writers could just make something up as they see fit. There isn’t a precedent to go on here. We’d be somewhat against the concept, given that it would feel almost like a ret-con unless there was no reason to bring it up until later in the future.
Related – The latest Outlander season 4 filming news
Obviously, we love Tobias Meznies and we’re super-thrilled that he has another series coming up in The Terror on AMC. We’d love to see him in more Outlander. It just has to feel right, and not just like they are bringing him back for the sake of doing so.
Do you think there are still ways for Outlander season 4 to utilize Tobias Menzies moving forward? Be sure to share right now in the comments! Meanwhile, you can also like CarterMatt on Facebook in the event you want some other updates regarding the series. (Photo: Starz.)