Outlander fans have been gripped by the adventures of Claire (played by Caitriona Balfe) and Jamie Fraser (Sam Heughan) for the past 10 years.
Ahead of the second half of season seven beginning later this month, the fanbase has only grown larger with many more TV viewers and readers checking out the series and Diana Gabaldon’s original novels.
Unfortunately, not everyone is as caught up in the romance and time travel as most of the Starz drama’s ride-or-die enthusiasts.
One fan recently went online to complain about the tragic storyline which saw Claire abandoning Jamie to return to her original timeline when she believed her husband had been killed in the Battle of Culloden.
They began their rant on Reddit: “This bothered me so much I stopped in season 3 (first two are still masterful though).”
The user went on to propose a solution to their separation which would have clued Claire into the fact that Jamie actually survived the Jacobite uprising.
“I don’t think there is any good reason Jaime couldn’t have carved some kind of edifice that Claire would have seen in the future to let her know he is alive,” the post continued.
“I mean, he could have put a large, difficult to remove stone RIGHT there in the henge that said ‘Claire, I survived the battle, come back to me’. She would have seen it the second she left.”
Many fans offered a reasoned defence of the decision, including one observant viewer who made the case that Claire and Jamie had no idea how time travel worked in those days.
“She is pregnant. Her and child's safety are essential to both of them - Jamie and Claire,” they argued. “They know hard times are ahead in Scotland. Jamie wouldn't want them living through them. Claire was a wife of a traitor, she would need to hide as well. Pregnant, in a cave?
“Or giving birth to a child and going back, leaving baby behind? Claire had NO reasons to believe Jamie survived. He went to die there, so she didn't go poking around, investigating. He went to die.
“It is not so simple and easy, nor is going through the stones like [an] elevator ride.”
Moreover, Jamie’s life in 18th Century Scotland was far from peaceful after being caught by the redcoats and thrown in jail, so it would have been much safer for his time-travelling wife to remain in the 1940s.
“[In the books] Jamie explains to her how he was in hiding for years and then in jail,” another fan explained.
“Claire and Bree would have both been in danger. He was much happier to have them both safe in their time.”
Claire and Jamie’s 20 years of separation still remains one of the hardest periods of the show to watch, but Outlander fans clearly think it’s worth persevering to the other side.
Outlander season seven part two premieres on Friday, November 22, on MGM+ via Prime Video in the UK and on Starz in the US.
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English (US) ·