Would Jamie have still been a Jacobite if Claire wasn’t there in Outlander?

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Would Jamie have still been a Jacobite if Claire wasn't there in Outlander?

As a seasoned Outlander enthusiast who’s spent countless hours immersed in the tumultuous world of Jamie Fraser and Claire Randall, I can’t help but ponder the intricate web of fate that binds these characters. If Claire hadn’t stepped through those mystical stones, our beloved Highlander, Jamie, might have been spared the heartache of war, imprisonment, and separation.

Jamie Fraser, who’s rarely shown much inclination towards politics, has surprisingly found himself entangled within it consistently throughout the series, ‘Outlander’.

By the culmination of their second campaign, Jamie found himself aligned with the defeated Jacobites. However, this wasn’t his or Claire’s original intent; Claire had foreknowledge of the impending events, and she aimed to avert the Jacobite Rebellion entirely. Failing that, they both sought every possible means to ensure the Jacobites emerged victorious.

Once more, everything fell apart. As a result, Jamie was captured, while Claire returned to her own epoch, leaving them apart for an extended period of 20 years. One might wonder, if Claire and Jamie had never crossed paths, would this sequence of events have unfolded in the same way?

Jamie could have ended up avoiding everything in Outlander

Without Claire passing through the stones, Jamie would’ve remained unaware of upcoming events. Specifically, he would not have discovered that the Jacobite uprising would falter, and as a result, he wouldn’t have tried to intervene and prevent its occurrence initially.

In a different scenario, Dougal MacKenzie might have employed Jamie as a means to bolster Jacobite support. However, Colum MacKenzie held no enthusiasm for this conflict, recognizing it wasn’t a worthy cause to rally behind. It’s likely that Dougal would still have led his men away, but it doesn’t necessarily imply that Jamie would have joined him.

Despite the Jacobite rebellion’s failure, the events in Scotland would have unfolded as planned. The only variation for Jamie would be his avoidance of imprisonment at Ardsmuir. He wouldn’t have been forced to relinquish Lallybroch to his nephew either. Instead, he would have remained the laird, but faced the challenge of finding the best solution for his tenants. However, this change might have been detrimental, as Jenny wouldn’t have known about planting potatoes in advance to combat the famine that followed Culloden, which could have had devastating consequences.

In other words, even though it’s uncertain if Jamie would have backed the Jacobite cause, it doesn’t mean their lives would have been improved if Claire hadn’t traveled back from the future in Outlander.

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2024-08-28 13:37