Outlander season 7 has officially left out a meaningful feature of the books and, in doing so, diminished the impact of a character’s death. Episode 15, “Written in My Own Heart’s Blood,” is titled after the novel by Outlander author Diana Gabaldon, and the events adapted are largely similar to the book’s climax. However, a significant moment in Brianna’s story was altered, as the letter she found on the desk at Lallybroch wasn’t the one she found in the book. While her decision to again travel back in time was the same, Brianna’s revelations regarding Frank Randall were absent.
Frank Randall died in Outlander season 3. He and Claire were again living as husband and wife, and Frank raised Brianna as his own daughter despite knowing she was sired by a man from the past. Brianna didn’t discover the truth of all this until after Frank died in that car crash, and the realization that her father had known about time travel took a lot for her to process. Now, several seasons later, Brianna continues to think about her father from time to time. In Outlander season 7, episode 15, she took a moment to hold close one of Frank’s books. However, the moment ended rather unceremoniously.
Outlander Has Left Out Frank’s Letter To Brianna
Brianna Received A Bombshell Before Returning To The Past In The Books
In Outlander season 7, episode 15, Brianna quickly moved on from her meaningful look at Frank’s book. Shortly after, she found a secret compartment in Brian Fraser’s old desk and withdrew from it a letter addressed to her. Audiences already knew this letter was from Roger since he placed it on the desk during his adventures in 1739. However, this isn’t how things went down in the Outlander book. Instead, during a similar moment involving Frank’s book and the old desk, Brianna is surprised to discover a letter from her adoptive father.
Frank’s letter to Brianna in Written in My Own Heart’s Blood (with more revealed in Go Tell the Bees That I Am Gone) was quite a revelation since it became clear that the man knew more about his daughter’s dest iny than anyone knew. Frank mentioned the ancient Fraser prophecy—the one Geillis Duncan tried to kill Brianna for—and warned Brianna that it could potentially place her in danger. He seemed to understand that, even in the 20th century, there were still people eager to see this prophecy satisfied. How he knew this isn’t clear, but Frank’s letter has inspired some powerful theories.
Outlander Book Theories Suggest Frank’s Death Wasn’t An Accident
Frank May Have Put Himself At Risk For Brianna
Frank wasn’t a time traveler, but his letter to Brianna in the Outlander books indicated that he had dedicated much time researching the phenomenon. He discovered that Jamie Fraser had survived the Battle of Culloden and deduced that Claire and Brianna would travel to the past to be reunited with the man. He also seemed to discover that Brianna had a certain destiny related to time travel, and he wrote his letter to her, knowing that he might die before telling her the truth himself. A big question here is whether Frank simply understood his mortality or knew he himself was in danger.
There is a prominent theory that Frank’s death directly resulted from what he knew regarding the Fraser prophecy and Brianna. He might have uncovered secrets that placed his life in danger, and his actions leading to his death were in a desperate effort to keep his daughter safe. If this is the case, then Frank’s death wasn’t simply an accident but a sacrifice to protect Brianna. Author Diana Gabaldon reinforced this theory, presenting the question of whether Frank’s death was indeed an accident in a forum post. Unfortunately, the Outlander TV series has cast aside such revelations.
Frank Understanding Brianna’s Destiny Makes His Role Far More Meaningful
Outlander Season 7 Has Forgotten Frank’s Purpose
Regardless of whether Frank’s death was an accident or self-sacrifice, his letter to Brianna in the Outlander books reveals that he knew more about her story than he ever implied to Claire. He may have even understood more about time travel than any of the other characters in the series. Frank was a genius, and his belief in Claire’s journey to the past would have allowed him to pick up on small details in history influenced by time travel in a way other historians wouldn’t. Of course, Frank didn’t dive into all this simply for the sake of understanding. It was all for Brianna.
Frank often gets a bad rap in Outlander. Jamie is Claire’s true soul mate, and Frank is regarded as someone who got in the way. His request that Claire stop searching for Jamie in history books is considered hypocritical—not to mention his unfaithfulness and the fact that he threatened to take Bree away from Claire. Still, his letter to Brianna proves there was far more to Frank than this. He served a critical role in both Claire and Brianna’s stories. Rather than bring this fact to the surface, the Outlander TV show has simply left him as Claire’s dead ex-husband.