Outlander: 25 most gut-wrenching moments so far

9. Battle of Culloden

This moment is easily one of the most heartbreaking to watch, not just because some of the most beloved characters from the show die, but because the reality that the battle actually did happen really sinks in.

The books really explain the horrors of the battlefield and the show clearly puts a face to the horror.

The Battle of Culloden was the final confrontation of the Jacobite rising of 1745. It took place on April 16, 1746 and signaled the end to the Highland clans. Scottish men were killed for defending their freedom, stripped of the right to wear their plaid and treated as second-rate citizens on their own land.

1,500–2,000 Jacobites (like Jamie Fraser) were killed or wounded and another 154 were captured. There are memorials on the land to this day, marking an important date in Scotish history.

For the show, it marked when Claire would leave the past and return to Frank. It would mark the day that “Black” Jack Randall would finally die and the day that Jamie was captured just inches from death.

We see haunting flashbacks of bodies strewn about. Jamie sees Claire, like an angel walking through the battlefield calling his name.