Outlander Season 3 saw a shift in Claire and Jamie’s relationship. Here’s a look at the transformation and why it was definitely a realistic story.
Outlander Season 3 was certainly a journey and that didn’t include the trip to Jamaica or back through the stones. It was a journey for Claire and Jamie, involving them finding each other again and who they were now individually and as a couple.
As there have certainly been parts of this storyline adapted from the novels, today I’m just going to look at the journey Claire and Jamie took in Outlander Season 3. Those who haven’t read the books for whatever reason (I totally get it) can read this without being confused or spoiled of the love story in the novels.
In Outlander Season 3, we start with Claire and Jamie separated by time. They spend 20 years living separate lives in completely different time periods, which certainly affected their relationship when Claire went back to the 18th century. We were never going to see them go back to the loved-up married couple they were. Too much had happened for both of them.
#TransformationTuesday is the perfect day to look back over the way the relationship adapted. Here’s a look at how each changed and why their storylines separately and together made sense.
Jamie had been to hell and back
Let’s not forget how Jamie felt at the start of that 20-year separation. Even though he knew that Claire was safe in the 20th century and had visions of her with his son (he thought it was a boy), he still felt alone. He was ready to die on that battlefield and then spent six years in hiding, angry that he hadn’t gotten to die after all.
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Over the 20 years, he went through prison life, dealt with the loss of another child because of what could have happened to the boy if anyone found out William was his, and dealt with a normal life that he never expected to gain. Throw in an unhappy marriage and life in Edinburgh and it’s not surprising that he was a very different man to the one Claire left behind.
He had a life and had adapted to this new life. There were secrets that he hadn’t told anyone and nobody he’d trusted in the way he trusted Claire all those years ago. Seeing Claire back as a dream, but he was nervous when they saw each other again.
He wanted things to go back to the way they were, but that wasn’t possible, especially not right away. Claire had become a different woman to the one that he had pushed through the stones. And let’s not forget at one point she hated him for forcing her to leave.
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.
They found their way back
Despite all the changes, Outlander Season 3 showed that love does win out in some cases. While Claire had her doubts about Jamie and he struggled after 20 years without her to find a balance again, they managed to find their way back to each other. It took a journey to Jamaica, running into old ghosts, and yet more drama, but they managed it.
That transformation of the relationship was needed to keep the whole story realistic. They were never going to just fall back into old patterns after 20 years.
The problem watching Outlander Season 3 is that 20 year period happens over the course of five episodes (well, three for Claire, as episodes 4 and 5 are set in the 1960s). We see this development in just a few hours but it took 20 years. It’s harder to acknowledge that 20 years passed and for us to put ourselves in their shoes. When watching the seasons back to back, just hours earlier the couple were happy together and facing a rebellion together.
What did you think of the transformation of Claire and Jamie’s relationship throughout Outlander Season 3? Did it feel realistic to you? Share your thoughts in the comments below.
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