Outlander still needs to solve an old Jamie mystery presented by the very first book, and I’m terrified that season 8 will take the easy way out. Author Diana Gabaldon’s first Outlander book hit shelves 34 years ago in 1991, and readers are still waiting for answers to some of their initial questions. The book series itself is still ongoing, with the tenth and final installment expected to release in the coming years. The Outlander TV show, on the other hand, is wrapping itself up with season 8, which is expected to air on Starz sometime near the end of 2025.
Though Gabaldon’s final Outlander book is sure to neatly tie up the decades-long overarching story, the TV show’s final installment is a bit more questionable. Season 8 will release before Outlander book 10 hits shelves, and both Gabaldon and showrunner Matthew B. Roberts have said these two endings will have significant differences. Still, an answer to precisely how Jamie’s ghost was seen watching Claire way back in the first Outlander book and the TV show’s first season has been optimistically teased for season 8. As intriguing as this is, I’m worried the truth will disappoint me.
Jamie’s Astral Projection Power May Explain His Outlander Season 1 Ghost
This 34-Year-Old Mystery Could Just Come Down To A Dream
Jamie’s ghost from the start of Outlander has long been a fascinating mystery. If Jamie and Claire live happily ever after together in the past, ultimately dying of old age, then it would be strange that the Scotsman’s ghost would be watching his lover longingly in the 20th century. The implication is that Jamie would die in the past and that Claire would return to the future, forcing Jamie’s spirit to wait centuries before they could be reunited in the hereafter. The whole thing was a red herring to make audiences believe Jamie had died at Culloden. Now, however, we need an updated explanation.
It’s possible that Jamie will wake up from a dream in Outlander season 8 and announce that he saw Claire in a window before being approached by Frank Randall.
The easiest answer that Outlander season 8 could provide would rely on Jamie’s astral projection power. Both the books and the TV show have established that, while Jamie can’t time travel, his consciousness can travel through time and space while he is sleeping. In his dreams, Jamie has made very real visits to his family in the 20th century—Jemmy and Mandy MacKenzie have even caught glimpses of him. It’s possible that Jamie will wake up from a dream in Outlander season 8 and announce that he saw Claire in a window before being approached by Frank Randall.
Though this would be a quick and easy explanation for this big Outlander mystery, I would be extremely disappointed if this were the route season 8 took. The big question of Jamie’s ghost has been a prevalent feature of the franchise for three decades, and it deserves a far more poetic explanation. Preferably, whatever Outlander season 8 comes up with would bring the series full circle.
Jamie’s 34-Year-Old Mystery Deserves A Far More Exciting Explanation
Outlander Season 8 Must Bring The Magic, Destiny, and Tragedy Full Circle
The start of Outlander was full of mystic intrigue, and Jamie’s ghost had a lot to do with this. The idea was that Claire had been spirited away by an ancient Scot—pulled away from Frank forever by nothing but a ghost. Of course, all these years later, the mystery surrounding Claire’s circumstances has significantly lessened. Frank is gone, Brianna and Roger have begun to study the science of the standing stones, and Jamie and Claire are no longer strangers across time. Still, it would be meaningful if Outlander circled back to the tone established by the show’s earliest episodes.
Jamie’s ghost in Outlander season 8 implies tragedy. We are meant to feel from early on that these two lovers will only be allowed to stay in one another’s arms for a short time before they are torn apart—the star-crossed lovers from different times. While I’d hate to see Jamie and Claire suffer this fate, Outlander season 8 needs to evoke the tragedy and desperation of it all.
The Outlander books may present the perfect opportunity for this, since Jamie is meant to suffer another death in the coming Battle of Kings Mountain. Claire will use her healing powers to bring him back, but a dramatic sequence during which Jamie’s soul finds Claire in the future could bring that tragic romance feel that I’m looking for. Whether Outlander takes this route or not, season 8 can’t hinder the drama by taking the easy way out.