Will ‘Outlander’ Answer This Season 1 Mystery Before the Show Ends?
What To Know
- As Outlander‘s final episode looms, will the mystery of Jamie’s ghost be answered?
- We break down everything we know about the possibility.
Outlander officially comes to an end in mere hours after the eighth and final season wraps on Starz, and there are more than a few lingering questions we’d like to see answered or addressed before the fan-favorite show concludes for good.
Various mysteries have been introduced from season to season, with the latest one having been the Faith twist, which was ultimately answered. One particular mystery remains unexplained, though, and it comes from the show’s own pilot episode, “Sassenach.” As viewers will recall, the series begins with Claire (Caitriona Balfe) taking a second honeymoon with their first husband, Frank (Tobias Menzies), but before she finds herself whisked away back in time through the standing stones of Craigh Na Dun, an interesting event occurs.
After some historical research, apart from his wife, Frank walks back to the inn where he and Claire are staying, when he notices a Highlander figure standing outside. The mystery man is peering up into the window of the building at Claire. Fans would recognize the individual as Jamie Fraser (Sam Heughan).
(Credit: Starz)
Curious about the stranger, Frank approaches him, but as he goes to tap his shoulder, Jamie turns away and disappears. Puzzlement crosses his face as he realizes he’s just encountered something unexplainable. “You look like you’ve seen a ghost,” Claire says when Frank enters their room at the inn.
“I’m not all sure that I haven’t,” Frank responds. And it’s true, it is a ghost that Frank saw, but how did this specter of Jamie Fraser make his way to Claire’s doorstep before she’d even met him?
Author Diana Gabaldon, who has penned the series upon which the Starz show is based, confirmed that the ghost was indeed Jamie Fraser but remained cryptic about the reasoning behind his appearance and what it could mean for the show later on during an interview for the Outlander podcast in 2014.
While Gabaldon’s adamant Jamie cannot time-travel like Claire or his daughter Brianna (Sophie Skelton), Gabaldon did explain during the interview that the ghost is Jamie’s and added the age this ghost would be. “Sam Heughan asked me, and I hadn’t thought about it before, but I just answered him immediately. Do you want to know?” the writer asked the podcast hosts regarding the detail before stating, “He’s about 25.”
The curious thing is that Jamie lives far beyond the age of 25, making us wonder, how does it make sense that a young spirit of Jamie is visiting Claire in the 1940s? Gabaldon seems to promise answers in her books, at least writing on the FAQ page of her website, “The ghost is Jamie – but as for how it fits into the story, All Will Be Explained — in the last book.”
It’s unclear if Gabaldon’s forthcoming tenth book in the Outlander series will address the mystery, but the Starz show has definitely condensed to fit storylines from her books as Season 8 approaches its end.
When we caught up with showrunner Matthew B. Roberts ahead of the final season and asked about Jamie’s ghost, he teased that fans “might have to live with” the mystery, adding, “I can’t say how they’re going to deal with it.”
Stay tuned to see how the series wraps up as Outlander‘s finale arrives May 15 on Starz. And let us know your theories in the comments section below.
Outlander, Series finale, Friday, May 15, 8/7c, Starz
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G
I'm a little heartsick that Sony and Starz are choosing to make the 8th season the finale. Outlander fans have been the absolute best fans of any TV series for many years as these two giants in the entertainment industry have always claimed! The truly loyal fans have been supportive not only of the Outlander series but, of all the charities, the increased multi-million dollar tourist trade in Scotland since the beginning, attending Comic Con, attending interviews, etc.
They should finish the series properly with the 9th and 10th seasons before calling it quits! I am shocked that Sony and Starz could choose to be so disloyal. The Outlander fans don't deserve that kind of treatment after 9 years of absolute loyalty!! I am very sad to say the very least.
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C
I don't think the viewer will get the answer to that question in the TV series. We'll have to wait for the 10th novel to have that question answered, unfortunately.
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O
As has been said many times before....the show is the show and the books are the books. The answer to Jamie's ghost will be in the final book as Diana has said repeatedly. Pretty sure the showrunners have a great deal of respect and will not run afoul of that. I expect a satisfying ending to the show. While we'd all like to see it go on forever or at least through book 10 I don't think it's Starz calling it quits. From comments Sam and Caitriona have made, I think they're ready to move on after giving us fans 10 plus years of their lives and careers. I'm grateful to them, Starz, Diana, all the showrunners, creative people like Terri Dresbach and John Gary Steele among many others, writers and directors. They're true craftsmen and have given me and many others a truly wild ride and I'm grateful! Also looking forward to what is to come!
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P
I think if Starz is going to end the series without taking it to its conclusion, then book 8 is probably a good place to end the show. I know Sam and Cait have other projects and their own lives to lead but, the fans have been lead to believe that they would stay with the story to the very end. The producers have said the same thing. I love the show and it makes me sad that they are ending it. The books, however, are far better. We will find out about Jamie's ghost at the end of book 10 as Diana has stated. It is, after all, her creation and I would think she is very protective of it.
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B
Since reading the first book, I have always thought the ghost was a "come back to me" moment similar to "Somewhere in Time". Leading Claire to her destiny.
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R
Maybe the actors didnt want to continue and have gone to do other things. I have a feeling it may be continued at some point without Jamie & Claire. However, I watched because of Jamie's & Claire's relationship. James Fraser was the ultimate fantasy husband, father, and lover, and more in my eyes. He was a man that I could've hoped to have found in my lifetime to love me as he loved Claire & family. A man of Principle, & a man of God.
Im disappointed that Sam Heughan was never nominated for a Golden Globe or Primetime Emmy for his portrayal of James Fraser.
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O
Jamie told Claire that he would always find her and that's what he did. As a ghost he would be seen as being in his prime and a ghost has no boundaries, he is a spirit, therefore he can travel anywhere at anytime that he wants to.
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O
I think Starz is making a mistake cutting the series short before book 10 is finished. I mean, what about the revolution and all that happens in the Bees? How are they ever going to fit it all in in just 26 episodes?
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C
The mystery solved should definitely be reserved for Book 10, where the author has always said it will be...long before the Starz series! To add it to the show, would be an unforgiveable spoiler to devoted book readers! If viewers only want to know, they can buy the finsl book!
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L
So...S7 is being hyped as an "extended" season. No, it isn't. It's a standard 12-episode season with the first four episodes playing catch-up from S6. That isn't the worst of it. S8 will be only 10 episodes! Which seems to mean they're going to have a GOT ending! 😕 We've all been patient, staying faithful through more than one Droughtlander, which we now know meant nothing to whoever made this thoughtless decision and is a slap in the face to the millions of worldwide viewers that have "been there" throughout. There is so much happening in ECHO, MOBY and BEES, but they're only making it a shortened final season??? Oh, yeah, Diana sent them a THREE-PAGE synopsis of Book 10 which they may or may not use. I, for one, hope they DON'T answer the question of Jamie's ghost in the show because they'd probably rewrite it, or make it something that doesn't make sense, as they have done throughout the show. (I'm glad I have the books!)
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M
I remember way back at the beginning when the producers swore to the fans that the show would follow the books without alteration. That lasted about one or two seasons. Maybe. To be clear, there is condensing due to time and there is altering the story (changing character storylines). The former is understandable, but the latter is not.
What I find interesting is that the show will end before the final book (#10) is completed. Then again, since the show and the books pretty much parted company a while back, whatever the show has as the story is irrelevant. I know viewers will have a fuss and bother but the truth is that what they are watching is not Diana's book it is the combination of a collection of writers who may, or may not, have read the books.
Diana has been clear about the ghost. The only way to know the original story is to actually read the books, or listen to the audio version.
I'll take the books.
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