Outlander Season 7 Episode 10 concludes with a shocking development for followers of James Alexander Malcolm MacKenzie Fraser, affectionately called “Jamie” (portrayed by Sam Heughan). The popular series on Starz has reached a critical point in the narrative, delving into one of Diana Gabaldon’s most contentious story arcs. Even more intriguing is the show’s commitment to portraying the profound emotional turmoil experienced by Claire (played by Caitriona Balfe) in response to this revelation…
**Spoilers for Outlander Season 7 Episode 10 “Brotherly Love,” now streaming on Starz**
Outlander Season 7 Episode 10 “Brotherly Love” ends with Claire being told that Jamie is dead. He was scheduled to sail on a ship called the Euterpe from France to Philadelphia. Tragically, though, the Euterpe was lost at sea and not a single soul survived.
Claire initially refuses to believe it. After all, she and Jamie are so cosmically connected, surely she would have felt his spirit passing on, right? Not to mention the fact that Jamie’s been supposedly dead many times over. However, as the news is repeated, the grief hits Claire. She feels and sees the ship torn asunder on the ocean. Later, alone, she dissolves into incoherent sobs while we flashback to their earliest scenes together in Season 1.
Outlander could not be any more explicit: Jamie is dead.
Jamie is dead and Claire is in trouble.
After helping Mercy Woodcock (Gloria Obianyo) deliver a spy message for the colonial rebels, Claire has come under investigation. She is to be hung as a spy. However, Lord John Grey (David Berry) insists on marrying her to protect her and everyone she loves. For him, it’s a last act of service to Jamie, whom he has long loved.
Okay, but is Jamie really dead this time or what? Here’s what we know so far without getting into spoilers…
Well, it certainly seems so! Even though Claire has confronted the possibility of Jamie’s death multiple times over the course of Outlander, something about Caitriona Balfe’s performance makes us feel this the first time Claire accepts that Jamie is dead. The depths of grief that Balfe communicates is some of her finest work on the show to date, which is saying something.
However, there are hints and clues that Jamie could still be okay. First off, because he was conveniently “lost at sea,” we don’t see a body. It’s a cardinal rule of fiction that no body, no official death.
Furthermore, Sam Heughan appears as James Fraser in both Outlander Season 7 Part 2 trailer footage and promotional stills that we haven’t seen take place yet in the show. Not only that, but Heughan was DEFINITELY on set for Outlander Season 8, which recently wrapped. So unless Starz has coordinated an elaborate fake out, Jamie is either still alive or the rest of the show will flashback to when he was still alive (or maybe he’s now a ghost?).
Fans of Diana Gabaldon’s books should have an idea of what’s about to unfold in the Starz show, which we’ll share below. FYI: MAJOR SPOILERS FOR THE BOOKS BELOW, click away if you don’t want to know!
In the Outlander books, Jamie is presumed lost and sea and Claire does have to marry Lord John Grey to prevent being hung as a spy. In fact, she and Lord John Grey share a messy night of sex in the throes of their grief over Jamie.
However, it is soon revealed that Jamie was not on the Euterpe and is very much alive! That said, he’s not exactly thrilled to learn what Claire and Lord John have been up to in Gabaldon’s books….
Will Outlander follow this storyline? We’ll have to keep watching to find out!
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