Outlander EPs Answer Our Burning Question About Episode 10's Diana Gabaldon Deep Cut

Fans of Diana Gabaldon's Outlander novels and novellas might've picked up on a slender story thread woven into the Season 7, Part 2 premiere and continued in the most recent episode. (And if you didn't, don't worry: We'll explain).

During the midseason return, Jamie, Claire and Young Ian went back to Scotland and Lallybroch, the Fraser family home. While there, they became reacquainted with some of the young relatives they'd left behind years before who had matured into adults during their absence. These included Michael, Jenny and Ian's son, and Joanie, Laoghaire's daughter (and Jamie's onetime stepdaughter).

We learned that Michael had been living in France and was newly widowed. Later, we found out that Joan wanted to leave home and become a nun. After some diplomatic wrangling by Jamie, Laoghaire agreed to let her daughter go. (Read a full recap.) In Episode 10, Jamie noted that Michael had agreed to accompany Joanie to her convent in Paris.

While the brief update about Joanie's travel might've seemed inconsequential, it likely piqued the interest of rabid Diana Gabaldon fans. (It certainly piqued ours.) Because while Michael and Joan are not central characters in Gabaldon's Outlander novels, they do figure prominently in her novella The Space Between.

The Space Between — which is part of Gabaldon's Seven Stones to Stand or Fall story collection — follows the pair as they arrive in Paris and immediately get wrapped up in a mystery involving Master Raymond (remember him?). Joan and Michael also grow closer throughout the story, which ends on a note of potential romance between the two.

So, when we got a chance to ask Outlander co-showrunners Maril Davis and Matthew B. Roberts, we took it: Might the show explore The Space Between?

"No," Davis said with a laugh, dashing our hopes. "You pretty much saw it."

Roberts nodded. "What you saw is what you saw," he said, joking that TVLine had gone on a deep dive into Gabaldonia. "We can't go that deep. We start getting the bends when we come up, so we can't go down there."

Womp-womp, Sassenachs. If you've read The Space Between, were you also hoping to see some aspect of it on screen? In a perfect world, are there other Outlander novellas you wish the show would explore? Let us know in the comments!