Davis acknowledges that if you haven’t read the books, it’s a very shocking, unexpected moment, but it was never a question not to show John and Claire so intimately. “It felt like we had to show some version of them together,” Davis says. “But once again, to me, it just illustrates how deep this grief goes and how much you’re willing to do to hold on to some part of Jamie.”
When Claire and John wake up the next morning, she asks him how long it’s been since he was with a woman, and he says about 15 years. “It wasn’t me who you were making love to,” Claire says. “We both know it.”
Claire asks John what happens now—but one thing she’s adamant against is going through the Stones to return to her time. She later explains to Young Ian that she wanted to be a part of creating this new nation with Jamie; this way, she can see it through for him, Bree, Roger, their children, and everyone.
Later, even though Claire is reluctant to attend public-facing events with her new husband, she obliges and makes her first appearance wearing a wedding ring. That night, when Claire is sitting alone by the fire, John comes in with a selection of new invitations they’ve received requesting their presence. It’s a stark acknowledgement of Claire’s new reality, until her world is once again turned upside down when Jamie storms in, very much alive. (Turns out, he never got on that fateful ship.)
The Frasers immediately reunite in a lip lock for the ages, but their reunion is short-lived when John tells Jamie that his son, William, is here and Jamie must go. But as they leave, William is right outside the door and says, “Son?! Who the hell am I?” He also lashes out at John, accusing him of outright lying about his identity. And before anyone can catch their breath, the Redcoats arrive, and Claire smiles as Jamie escapes with John.
It sets up quite a loaded episode 712, as William deals with the fallout of the shocking news and Claire must bring Jamie up to speed. Although technically Claire and John’s marriage is not legal since Jamie was never dead, “what’s going to happen when Jamie discovers that she’s married to his best friend?” executive producer and showrunner Matthew B. Roberts tells Glamour. “That’s the anticipation. That’s the tension.”
