In Outlander Season 3, Episode 8, Claire learned about Jamie’s marriage to Laoghaire. Jenny had sent for Laoghaire when Jenny returned and here’s a look at defending those actions.
Sometimes it’s hard to be objective about a story when you’re rooting for a particular character or couple. Then there are times you just hate another character so much that you can’t see why they may have been justified in their actions. That’s the case for many when it comes to Jenny in Outlander Season 3.
In Episode 8, titled “First Wife,” Claire and Jamie head back to Lallybroch. It’s been 20 years since Jenny has seen Claire. At this point, Jenny was sure Claire was dead. After all, Jamie moved on and married someone else. This is where Jenny’s actions can be somewhat defensible. Here’s why she may have been justified in sending for Laoghaire.
Laoghaire deserved to know the truth
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Who wasn’t annoyed that Jamie didn’t say something to Claire about Laoghaire when he had the choice? Surely, this conversation should have come up much sooner than later. After all, he was honest about his illegitimate son, Willie. Claire even asked him if there was someone else and Jamie skirted around it by saying there was nobody he loved.
Then there was the secret Jamie was keeping from Laoghaire. Sure, Jamie wanted to speak to Ned Gowan first, but this was a big deal. Jamie was now knowingly married to two people.
Laoghaire, as much as many hate her, deserved to know the truth. She deserved to learn that her marriage wasn’t a marriage at all; that it was null and void.
For all Jenny knew, Jamie wasn’t going to tell Laoghaire. He was going to let her find out through Ned. Honestly, that’s just a cheat’s way out.
Claire didn’t have a good defense for her actions
Had Jenny been told the truth about time travel, she likely wouldn’t have done what she did. Jenny was understandably hurt that Claire had just disappeared into thin air; that Jamie had allowed Jenny to believe her sister-in-law was dead. Sure, the two women didn’t start off as friends, but they’d grown to love and care for one another. They became family.
Losing Claire was like losing a sister for Jenny. And she saw how broken her brother was over the loss of Claire. She was angry and Claire had no decent defense for her actions.
Jenny brings up a very good point in the Outlander Season 3 episode. If Claire was really in the Colonies, why didn’t she write? If Claire had really escaped through this channel, she would have. It wasn’t just Jenny and Ian Claire was leaving, but young Fergus. The rest of the story is even worse. Claire only returns because her husband has died.
With the time travel and birth of Brianna involved, it would have been easier to swallow and accept the whole story. Without it? Well, Jenny wasn’t sure what to believe or what to accept. She wanted to hurt Claire in the way she was hurting by bringing Laoghaire into the picture. It may not be right, but it’s understandable looking at it that way.
She dealt with the whole situation quickly
Who knows how long this whole situation could have gone on for without Jenny. Claire and Jamie were trying to get back into their lives as before. It was like Jamie was trying to hide everything that had happened in the last 20 years. Jenny had no idea if Jamie had a plan and it was a weight on her shoulders.
Quite honestly, Jamie was being selfish in handling it the way he was. Nobody was allowed to say anything to Claire and Laoghaire was being kept in the dark. It was the elephant in the room and nobody would have wanted to keep all that a secret.
Jenny just forced Jamie to deal with the situation quickly and head-on. She was always a stubborn one and routinely thought what she did was the right thing. It may not have been with hindsight or from an external view, but she thought bringing Laoghaire into the mix was right. Sure, she may have hurt Claire and Jamie in the process, but I’m not sure that was her only intention.
Getting Laoghaire involved forced everyone to deal with the situation quickly. Whether Jamie was going to do it this quickly or not didn’t matter.
Can you stand in defense of Jenny when she sent for Laoghaire? Did Jenny do the wrong or right thing in Outlander Season 3? Share your thoughts in the comments below.
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