Outlander‘s final season is just one episode away from revealing the fate of everyone’s favorite time-traversing couple, Claire (Caitriona Balfe) and Jamie Fraser (Sam Heughan), but is their ending doomed with the impending battle at King’s Mountain?
After the penultimate episode, which saw Jamie be called to action by Benjamin Cleveland (Turlough Convery), the history Frank (Tobias Menzies) mapped out in his book only continues to be proven true, offering a foreboding tone to the upcoming finale. As fans know, Frank’s book insists that Jamie dies in the battle, but will things really play out as the book indicates?
Below, we’re breaking down the reasons why Jamie could die and why he could also survive the upcoming battle.
Why Jamie could die in the Outlander series finale
Over the years, Outlander has seen Jamie Fraser face plenty of near-death experiences, whether it’s from battles, a snake bite, or even a “bear attack,” but he’s managed to come out of them all relatively unscathed. Even after a newspaper reported Jamie and Claire’s deaths, prompting their daughter Brianna (Sophie Skelton) to time-travel into the past and warn them, it turned out to be a misprint after Tom Christie (Mark Lewis Jones) had an obituary placed in the paper to memorialize the Frasers after thinking them dead. And who could forget Season 7’s revelation that Jamie hadn’t died at sea in the shipwreck Claire believed had taken his life…
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But after so many close calls, how many lives does Jamie truly have before his number is up? In a show where magic and time travel exist, surely it feels as though the King of Men himself is invincible, but he’s also still just a man. The foreboding tone of the penultimate episode has us extremely concerned that Jamie’s luck might finally run out.
Considering the way that the show has framed Frank’s book as a potential warning to Jamie to protect Brianna, it feels like there’s more weight to the history being presented. In Diana Gabaldon‘s book series, Frank’s historical account turns out to be a way to mess with Jamie’s mind, but in the show, there appears to be a genuine approach from Frank, making the imminent danger all the more palpable. Additionally, the tease for Season 8’s finale also unveils some teary and emotional moments that definitely don’t foster confidence in Jamie’s survival.
Why Jamie might not die in the Outlander series finale
On the flip side, Jamie has been rather invincible, so why should he stop being so in this final battle? Could the finale deliver a fake-out where Jamie seems to die, but is magically revived? Season 8 has introduced Claire’s healing powers, where she brought a baby that wasn’t breathing back to life, in the same vein as Master Raymond (Dominique Pinon). If there’s a will, there’s a way when it comes to the Frasers, and one thing’s for certain: Claire going on without Jamie would be the biggest tragedy of all.
Could a show centered around their epic romance only conclude by ripping them apart? We’d argue no. And after the major loss of Fergus (César Domboy) earlier this season, it feels like we’ve met our quota on tragic deaths. Ultimately, only time will tell, though.
Stay tuned to see how Outlander‘s series finale plays out, and let us know where you stand regarding Jamie’s life or death status in the comments section below.
Outlander, Series finale, Friday, May 15, 8/7c, Starz
