Claire struggled to fit back into Jamie’s life
There was a lot of anger towards the writing of Claire’s character after going back through the stones in Outlander Season 3, but I found this character development believable. Claire had spent 20 years becoming a mom and doctor. She was this amazing surgeon in the 20th century and was one of the first female surgeons around. When she went back to the 18th century, it was hard for her to get out of that 20th-century mindset.
When it came to learning the truth about what Jamie had been up to, she was shocked, angry, and hurt. The illegitimate son didn’t bother her anywhere near as much as his marriage to Laoghaire for understandable reasons.
To Claire, Jamie possibly seemed like a different man. And that’s because he was. This wasn’t the young officer leading his clansmen into an ill-fated battle. He had been through hell and come out of it on the other side and not entirely through legal and legitimate means. Claire had to decide if this was the man she still loved with all her heart.
Had she been there throughout the change then it would have been very different indeed. She would have changed alongside him. However, her change went in a different direction, into something more successful in a way when considering the hoops she jumped through to become a surgeon. Her change was through legitimate and legal channels and also as a mom. Jamie hadn’t been able to do that.