Is Jamie Fraser truly dead in Outlander?
It’s the one question on our minds since season seven, episode ten. In our own interest of discovering the truth about Jamie Fraser’s fate, we’ve done a deep dive on whether or not our beloved Scottish Highlander is dead.
The tenth episode of Outlander‘s latest season, titled Brotherly Love, caused fans to spiral as they discovered the ship carrying Jamie (Sam Heughan) sunk, with him presumed dead.
Claire Fraser (Caitriona Balfe) is naturally devastated by the news that the love of her life has passed, and Lord John Grey (David Berry) does the unexpected to protect her.
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But in Diana Gabaldon’s book, An Echo in the Bone, it is actually revealed that Jamie did not perish on the ship. By some twist of fate – or just brilliant storytelling by Diana – he missed the vessel and actually boarded another ship to return to Claire.
In an interview with Parade, the author shared that death is an “underlying thread” throughout the series, and there cannot be life without death.
“Readers/viewers think they want Jamie and Claire to be together every moment of every day, preferably in bed, but they really don’t. You don’t have a story without conflict,” she told the publication.
“In terms of symbolism, Claire the Healer is Life and Jamie (warrior that he is) is Death. So there’s this underlying thread that runs through the whole series; Death is real, but it never really wins.”
But, couldn’t Starz alter the book’s storyline to keep viewers on their toes? Yes, but on September 28, 2024, the official Outlander Instagram page revealed the cast had filmed their final day – with Sam Heughan in full Jamie attire.
In the image, Sam and co-star Caitriona held a clipboard, which read season eight episode ten, implying that Jamie will be present until the final episode on season eight.
Speaking of the final season with TV WEEK, Sam and Caitriona revealed they needed to “go back and do pick-ups.”
“We’ve had lots of goodbyes and moments where we say goodbye to certain characters, actors or crew,” he said.
“We do have to go back and do pick-ups [minor shots filmed to augment existing footage] – and obviously we’re doing media next year – but it’s been a huge part of our lives.”
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