Outlander theory hints Claire could be captured at the end of season 5
Outlander spoilers, for the TV and books, follow.
Last week's Outlander episode 'The Ballad Of Roger Mac' certainly delivered the shocks with the death of Murtagh and the possible hanging of Roger.
The residents of Fraser's Ridge are no doubt hoping life will be quieter and less dramatic from now on, but as fans of the series and the books know, that's not going to happen.
With five episodes left of this season (the next new episode will be on Starz in the US on Sunday, April 12 and Amazon Prime UK the next day), there has been speculation online as to what will happen next, much of it fuelled by a comment Caitriona Balfe made back in January to the Television Critics Association.
"I have a storyline towards the end of the season that's very challenging," she told them. "I can't really talk too much about it, but it's a storyline we've brought in from book six (A Breath Of Snow And Ashes), and it was really challenging material. We took a risk with how we were doing it visually and storytelling wise. I haven't seen it yet, so I hope it's paid off, but it was good. It was nice to have something that asked a lot of me, again, at this point in our show."
So what storyline could she be talking about?
Most of the current season is based on author Diana Gabaldon's fifth book, The Fiery Cross, which focuses more on Jamie (and he does have at least one more big adventure to come this season if the showrunners follow the book), his daughter Brianna and her husband Roger.
When Balfe spoke to Digital Spy and other media on set last year, she confirmed that because there weren't as many pages devoted to her character Claire Fraser in book five, the show's writers had added to her story from elsewhere.
"Sometimes you think 'Is this who Claire is now, have I plateaued?' and then something will come up in the story that shocks you out of your system and you have to research another side of yourself or bring up different things," she said of the new twist her character had been given.
"I have been very lucky with this season – in the book there isn't a huge amount of Claire's journey but the writers have created a lovely storyline for me that is very challenging. That has been one of the great gifts of this show, that the writers and everyone continue to push the boundaries and challenge all of us."
Fans are guessing that the story Balfe refers to could have already been hinted at on screen this season.
Back in episode four, Jamie and Claire visited the town of Brownsville and fell foul of the nasty Lionel Brown (Ned Dennehy). He then returned in last week's episode to cause trouble at Claire's battle hospital, smashing her one syringe of penicillin in his rage.
Lionel doesn't appear much more in book five but he is at the centre of a major – and horrific – event in the sixth book.
Along with a handful of men he kidnaps Claire, and she is held captive and raped for three days before being rescued.
It's very likely that this could be the challenging story that Balfe talks about. A quick look at IMDB shows that actor Dennehy, who plays Lionel Brown, returns to the show for the final two episodes of this season, which would suggest his book-six storyline is the one that has been brought forward to end this season.
In his on-set interview with Digital Spy and other media, Sam Heughan also hinted a test of Jamie and Claire's relationship could be where this season would end up.
"Jamie and Claire's love is never an issue, but by the end of this season – without giving anything away – their love is called into question in a different way."
And, when talking to Digital Spy and other media from LA last year, producer Matthew Roberts did confirm that some elements of book six would appear in the current season.
"Every season we always look to the other books, just to see what is in each book and whether it fits in this season and the story we are telling," he said. "There are a lot of elements in book five and book six that go back and forth and we can move around these pieces when we are telling our story."
Worryingly for viewers, the fact that Roberts and his team know Outlander has definitely been renewed for a sixth season (due to start filming later this year) could indicate that Claire's kidnapping may mean the current season ends on a cliffhanger, with her rescue not resolved until next year.
"We don't have to rush through a storyline when we know we have another season," Roberts commented, possibly ominously. "When you don’t know [if you have another season] you have to try to think about wrapping up a story. But we didn’t have to think about that this season, as we know we have at least one more."
Outlander season 5 airs on Starz in the US. The show streams on Amazon Prime in the UK.
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