NOTE: This post contains spoilers for Outlander season 7 episode 1, "A Life Well Lost".
At last, droughtlander is over! The epic story of Claire and James Fraser resumes on Starz and Lionsgate+ with the beginning of Outlander season 7, which takes viewers ever closer to the American Revolution. But before Claire and Jamie can tackle the conflict that is about to sweep across the soon-to-be nation, they have to deal with a tiny little problem: Claire being arrested and accused of the murder of Malva Christie.
Let’s take a look at how Outlander handles the issue in the season 7 premiere, “A Life Well Lost”. If you're not yet caught up, check out our guide explaining how to watch Outlander season 7.
Blood of my blood
How many times have we seen Claire Fraser come within an inch of death? Well, apparently, not enough, as Outlander’s season 7 opener starts by showing us Jamie’s worst nightmare: Claire being hanged for her alleged crimes. But fear not, it is nothing but a vision of what could be, not the reality. In fact, as he puts it himself in a rare voiceover coming from this character, Jamie would know if Claire was no longer alive.
While the King of Men and Young Ian are off to rescue Claire from the gallows, Mrs. Fraser herself is getting acquainted with her cellmates and finds out no one is having a trial anytime soon. Indeed, the Courts are deserted because of the looming revolution, and Claire knows all too well, thanks to her time-travel abilities, that they will remain closed for quite a long time. But she cannot be meant to rot in a North Carolina jailhouse for the remainder of the show now, can she? Especially not when her husband is on the way to set her free.
Healing touch
Despite being labeled a “murderess”, Claire gets a “get out of jail temporarily” card when soldiers come to the jail in search of a healer. She is taken off the shores of Wilmington aboard a ship where the local Governor is pretty much in hiding until he can figure out how to tackle the rebellion.
He has a pregnant wife who needs Claire’s help, and the lady of the boat doesn’t need long to figure out who Claire is and what she has been arrested for. The Governor didn’t exactly pay much attention to who Claire was, having many things to juggle at once, but starts taking issues with it when Major MacDonald—an old acquaintance of Claire and Jamie’s—comes by and points out not only the accusations against Claire, but also the fact that the Frasers haven’t really positioned themselves in favor of the Crown in the growing revolution. If it were not for his pregnant wife, the Governor might very well execute Claire right here and there.
James Fraser to the rescue
Claire can always count on Jamie to come and save the day. Or at least try to. When Young Ian and his uncle arrive at the jailhouse, they learn that Claire has been taken by soldiers but they do not know where to. The answer comes to Jamie thanks to Tom Christie, who has been sticking around to keep an eye on Claire’s welfare, and to whom she has sent a message asking him to get her husband.
Jamie is then off to the Governor’s ship to negotiate his wife’s release, but again his lack of commitment to the Crown is not well-received by the Englishman, who orders Jamie to gather 200 men and report to Major MacDonald in exchange for Claire’s freedom… which Jamie has no time or intention to do.
Tom Christie steps up
Although Jamie is ready to do whatever it takes to get Claire back, this time he isn’t the key to her salvation. He may have been at odds with Jamie in the past, but now Tom Christie volunteers to do him a solid.
Indeed, he goes to Jamie and asks for permission to go to the Governor’s ship and confess to his daughter’s murder, therefore clearing Claire’s name. At first, Jamie does not want to let him do that, but Tom’s determination is set. He therefore goes to the ship and tells Claire the truth, or at least what he says is the truth.
Tom confesses that he killed Malva because she was a witch who would eventually cause someone’s death. He tells Claire that his daughter tried to have her and himself poisoned, and that he could not let her cause more harm so he murdered her. Claire is skeptical about Tom’s story and cannot believe he killed Malva.
She doesn’t understand why he would want to take the blame but it all becomes clear when Tom also confesses to being in love with her. Claire wants to tear his confession apart but Christie has already left a copy with the newspaper and told the Governor. What is done is done and he is ready to take Claire’s place in prison.
Cold-blooded killer?
Back in the comfort of an inn in Wilmington, Claire and Jamie discuss whether or not Tom Christie really did kill his daughter. Claire feels bad that he sacrificed himself for her, and Jamie does his best to comfort her. When she falls asleep, he slips out of their room and goes to confront someone he spotted in town earlier: his old nemesis Richard Brown, the man responsible for Claire being arrested in the first place.
Sitting in a dark corner of Brown’s room, Jamie lays down his threats but Brown doesn’t think he will kill him in cold blood. He argues Jamie is a “good, moral man” but the owner of Fraser’s Ridge responds that he is also “a violent man” and that “any goodness in him prevails because of Claire”, and since Brown tried to take his wife away from him… Well, let’s just say Jamie is not in a merciful headspace at that moment and when he lunges at Brown, no one can say for sure what he is about to do.
Somewhere around the ridge...
While all the Claire and Jamie drama is happening in Wilmington, the Mackenzies are off doing their own thing. Roger, who is still on track to become a minister, is visiting soldiers and offering them comfort. As he uses the words of Muhammed Ali to inspire the men, he is called out by one of them who recognized the quote.
Surprised, Roger realizes the man is Wendigo Donner. Remember him? He is the other 20th-century time traveler that Claire met in season 5, someone who actually stood by and watched as Lionel Brown and his men sexually assaulted her. So the least that can be said is that Wendigo Donner is not in great standing with the Frasers, so when he asks Roger for help and the reverend-to-be considers it, it is not to Bree’s liking.
Roger’s argument is that we are all capable of horrible things when we are desperate to survive. Just like Roger stood by when Stephen Bonnet threw a child and his mother overboard his ship in season 3, all in order to stay alive and find Bree, Wendigo Donner didn’t help Claire because he had to try not to get killed. All Wendigo wants is to go home, and Roger pities him. His wife, Bree, however, has no sympathy for the devil and isn’t about to forgive someone who did not help her mother. To smooth things over with her, Roger comes to a compromise and says he will only help Wendigo by praying for him, in hopes that the man can find a way to help himself. Is this the last we hear of this fellow time traveler? Knowing Outlander, that seems unlikely.
This season 7 premiere ends on a cliffhanger as Richard Brown’s fate remains unknown. So will Jamie commit cold-blooded murder? Tune into the next episode of Outlander on Starz and Lionsgate+ to find out.
