Outlander: 25 most gut-wrenching moments so far

4. Claire is missing

Before there were Claire and Jamie, there was Claire and Frank. Though it’s clear now that Claire is meant to be with Jamie there is still the odd man out — Frank.

The very first episode of Outlander clearly demonstrates how much Frank loves Claire, he simply adores her. They seem perfectly in love, have exciting sex, enjoy each others company and he seems to be a stand-up guy. So when Claire gets pulled through the stones, we are left with what happens to Frank.

In the books, we don’t see as much of Frank’s side, at least not right away. In the show version, we see how Frank copes with the loss of Claire mirrored with her own attempts to get back home to him.

Frank knows in his heart that something is amiss, he cannot believe that his wife would leave him for another man (which is what the Inverness Police seem convinced happened). For the most part, he’s right. She didn’t choose to leave him, and finding Jamie was a matter of life and death.

He struggles with his wife’s disappearance, searches high and low and even gets into physical and verbal altercations on his path to finding Claire. Ironically, he’s told what actually did happen to her, but doesn’t believe the story (who would?).

Eventually, he has to let her go and that moment is incredibly heartbreaking for pretty much anyone who has ever suffered from a broken heart.

When Claire returns, the heartbreak happens all over again. Frank is beyond excited when he hears that his wife has returned to him after three years. He’s so happy that even when Claire tells him of Jamie and the child she carries — he still wants to be with her.

He wants to raise her child as his own, and he wants to still be married to Claire. In many respects, he gave the ultimate sacrifice and that just breaks my heart. Later on, we learn that Frank wasn’t exactly the best husband (neither was Claire the best wife), but he did what he could to care for her and that really says something.