Outlander: Thinking before returning was the right choice for Roger and Brianna

After being saved from the Mohawks, Roger learned of everything that happened to Brianna throughout Outlander Season 4. The best thing he did was think about his options before returning to her.

There are a lot of debates about Roger’s actions. One of those is the fact that he didn’t immediately go straight to Brianna after learning the whole truth. A storyline straight from the “Drums of Autumn,” the Outlander Season 4 finale saw Claire agree that he needed to make up his mind and that meant staying away a short while.

Of course, we know now that Roger chose to remain with Brianna. He decided that the child was his, but it’s understandable why he thought about going back to his own time. It’s understandable why he considered getting away from the whole mess.

For one, it’s not easy raising a child that isn’t yours. Claire would understand what a man could go through doing that. After all, she was upfront about her pregnancy when she returned to the 1940s to Frank. She didn’t expect Frank to accept her and the baby, but he did. He also had rules.

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Brianna’s situation was very different to Frank’s, of course. While there was a chance the baby could be Roger’s, there was also a chance the baby could be Stephen Bonnet’s. With no way to say for certain, Roger would need to decide what he was willing to believe.

And it wasn’t like with Frank’s situation. Roger had met Bonnet. Not only had this pirate raped Brianna, but he’s killed innocent people by throwing them overboard and nearly had him killed. The man was ruthless and there would be that worry that this baby would pick up some traits from the pirate without even knowing him. There’s always that debate of nature over nurture.

Roger needed to be 100% sure he could accept paternity. Going back in the hope of trying and deciding months later that he couldn’t do it would have been far more heartbreaking for everyone. Roger had to dig deeply into who he was to figure out what he was willing to do.

Nobody can say for certain they’d have acted one way or another unless they have been in that exact same situation. While we can hope we’d do something, we can’t say for certain until that situation is presented to us and for most of us, it never will. Roger’s mind would have been going a million miles a minute with everything that he had heard (after being a prisoner of the Mohawks). It’s no surprise he needed time!

What did you think of the Outlander Season 4 finale? What were your favorite Roger moments? Share your thoughts in the comments below.

Outlander is currently on a break. Follow Claire and Jamie on Twitter for help getting through Droughtlander.