Outlander fans have a new theory about Emily’s son Swiftest of Lizards.
Fans of Outlander have a theory regarding Emily’s eldest son, Swiftest of Lizards, who is widely thought to be Young Ian’s offspring.
Since the season 7 finale of Outlander aired in January, fans have only one more instalment left before the television adaptation concludes.
In the interim, enthusiasts harbour numerous queries about their favoured characters. The prevailing belief posits Young Ian as the father of Emily’s child given his fair complexion, locks, and eyes, which appear to be a glaring clue.
Yet, an alternative perspective emerged from a re-read of Diana Gabaldon’s novels that inspired the acclaimed Starz series, leading a Reddit user to propose a theory, reports the Scottish Daily Express.
The Redditor, going by @negotiate, pondered: “Is Ian the biological father of Swiftest of Lizards?
“I always thought that Ian and Swiftest of Lizards had a spiritual bond only, not a biological one.”
They elaborated: “Like Ian was always supposed to have a child with Emily, but when he couldn’t and left the tribe, the ‘spirits’ of the tribe had Emily conceive a child that was spiritually the son of Ian.”
Delving deeper into the narrative, they noted: “Now reading through the book again, I see that after Emily’s final miscarriage, Ian and Emily continued trying, but the heart had gone out of her.
“And then her eye started to stray to Sun Elk, and Ian left the tribe. So that would mean that SOL could potentially be the biological son of Ian. Theories?” (sic)
In the comments section, fans weighed in on the theory. One fan argued: “You had it right the first time. If you remember Claire’s explanation to Ian about his blood being Rh+ and Emily’s being Rh-, that almost completely rules out their having a child together.
“Severe cases of Rh disease cause stillbirth, which is how every one of Emily’s pregnancies ended. I’m not a doctor, but I’ve read that the effects become worse with every Rh incompatible pregnancy.
“If Ian and Emily experienced the worst effects of Rh disease with the first pregnancies, she is not going to carry a child to term later on with Ian as the father. Swiftest of Lizards represents the child they wanted, but couldn’t naturally have.” (sic)
Another fan countered: “Good point but I’m thinking it’s not entirely impossible since Claire implied that that was the issue between her and Jamie. Brianna was born after faith so I do think its possible. Then again, Claire was in the modern world and maybe they were able to treat it.
“I just looked at a genetics chart: if Emily is (–) and Ian is (+-) the child has a 50/50 chance of being (–) or (+-) so I’m guessing its possible for swiftest of lizards to be rh negative.” (sic)
A third viewer chimed in: “I think he is Ian’s son. Possible *spoiler* I read Diana’s daily lines so this could be from MOHB or Echo (I’m all mixed up) and there was mention of Ian talking to Rachel about swiftest of lizards because he wants to explain everything before marriage.”
One individual pointed out: “It was strongly implied that he is Ian’s son. Didn’t he also tell his father with the implication that he has a son? I mentioned my medical reasoning on someone else’s comment.” (sic)
Another weighed in: “I haven’t reread in a while, but I thought that Swiftest of Lizards was Ian’s biological son each time I read that passage.”
Outlander season 7 is available to buy now on Digital and is streaming on MGM+ via Prime Video now.