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Outlander Season 5: Why Murtagh isn’t Duncan’s replacement

By Alexandria Ingham

Outlander -- Courtesy of STARZ -- Acquired via STARZ Media Center
Outlander -- Courtesy of STARZ -- Acquired via STARZ Media Center /
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The Outlander Season 4 finale brought Jocasta and Murtagh together. But didn’t Diana Gabaldon say that Murtagh wouldn’t replace Duncan Innes’ role in the series? Well, he doesn’t really.

Before going into Outlander Season 4, many fans wondered whether Murtagh would take on Duncan Innes’ role in the books. Diana Gabaldon said that wouldn’t be the case, but then the finale delivered us a relationship forming between Murtagh and Jocasta.

So, doesn’t that mean Murtagh is replacing Duncan? Did Diana lie to us?

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Well, not quite. To replace Duncan would mean to take on his whole storyline. Instead, the show is creating a new storyline for Jocasta with Murtagh as her man — and we all know how Jocasta likes to marry! Whether they will get married is debatable since Murtagh is a wanted man.

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Watch Outlander with a FREE 7-day trial of Amazon Channels! /

Instead of replacing, the show is now adapting and creating a fresh story. We’ll likely see far more deviations from the books where this takes place but it does mean that Murtagh wouldn’t be a replacement.

Outlander — Courtesy of STARZ — Acquired via STARZ Media Center
Outlander — Courtesy of STARZ — Acquired via STARZ Media Center /

Rather than seeing Duncan taking on life at River Run, we’ll have to see how Jocasta deals with knowing Murtagh is a wanted man. Not only does Governor Tryon want to capture him, but it’s his godson who has been ordered to do the search.

Murtagh needing to be away from River Run a lot would certainly lead to some strain on that relationship. It would also make it hard that Jocasta wouldn’t have him around to help prevent men from attempting to gain the plantation. The marriage to Duncan was a way to help Jocasta keep the plantation safe for a while, so, again, it’s impossible for Murtagh to take on Duncan’s storyline.

It will be interesting to see what the writers do in Outlander Season 5 with Murtagh. He’s certainly in a difficult spot and it will have a knock-on effect with a number of different storylines.

dark. Next. 20 best Outlander moments in 2018

What do you think about Murtagh being with Jocasta? Do you see it as him replacing Duncan? Share your thoughts in the comments below.

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