Jamie has some standout moments in Outlander throughout 2018. After looking at Claire’s moments a couple of weeks ago, it’s time to look at Jamie’s.
Before I look at Jamie’s best moments from Outlander Season 4 as a whole, I want to look back at his moments from 2018. This covers the first nine episodes of the fourth season, and is something I wanted to do earlier (but the last four episodes of the series took up a lot of writing time!).
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I’ve already looked at Claire’s best 15 moments. Something I look at when choosing the moments is if they fit the character well, the emotion shown, and any development they offer. That’s certainly the case for Jamie’s moments.
These 15 aren’t necessarily all positive moments for him. There are some difficult moments that show off the type of man that he is. He’s loyal to his friends and wants the best for those around him. He can also be kind and caring, while also strategic and businesslike at times.
Each of these 15 moments have at least one of those personality traits. Since we’re going up to Episode 10, we’re reaching the point that Jamie got to meet his daughter for the first time. This doesn’t cover the events after, including what happened to Roger!
15. Seeing Brianna smile in her sleep
This could be considered creepy, but every parent will look over their child sleeping with fondness. It’s the best time because the children are finally quiet! However, Jamie had never had that chance until now.
He’d heard that Brianna smiles in her sleep like Jamie but hadn’t had a chance to see that until now. There was that moment of not wanting to wake her but knowing he needed to arrange the bee hunting trip.
14. Sending for Fergus to help Murtagh
At the theater, Jamie needed to get word out to stop Murtagh from committing an offense punishable by death. He created a diversion with the help of Claire, but he still didn’t have time to get out there. So, what did he do? He used his brains.
Fergus was the one to go out with the message. It was a show of trust in Fergus, while also his brains for strategy and avoiding suspicion.
13. The reunion with Jocasta
After deciding they were remaining in the Colonies, Jamie decided they still needed to head to River Run. We got this reunion with Jocasta, which was certainly heartfelt.
While he hadn’t seen his aunt since he was a bairn, it was clearly a powerful moment. Plus it showed that he did have a lot of love for family and the memories his mother would tell him of her. And it led to the memories of Ellen.
12. Carrying Claire over the threshold
Once the two could start building their home, Jamie finally had a doorway to carry Claire over. it was a simple moment but one that is beautiful and will be remembered as a strong part for Jamie in Outlander in 2018.
We got to see the love that is still there between them. This is the start of them building a home together, something Jamie has clearly wanted to do for some time.
11. Bringing the “bear” back
While struggling with the Cherokee neighbors, there was also a bear issue. It was soon clear that Jamie would have to kill the bear. What we found was that it wasn’t a bear at all, but a former Cherokee tribesman who had become a bear.
It wasn’t the killing of the “bear” that I loved, but Jamie bringing the “bear” back. He respected the fact that the Cherokee had also dealt with this “bear” and it became a peace offering and a way to become friends. It was also respectful of their ways.
10. Hunting with Willie
During the hunt with Willie, he got to teach his son something. There was that moment with the deer, which was an important moment of development for this bond.
Overall, I loved the hunting scenes. Jamie had a chance to be a father, while also getting back into the forest. It’s been a long time since we’ve seen him properly hunt and this was a reminder that he is a warrior.
9. Learning more about the slaves and the ways of the Colonies
While Claire shared her views on slavery, Jamie looked to see if there was a way to free them. Unfortunately, he learned everything we knew — there was no way he could free all the slaves at River Run.
This was something I liked, as it’s part of history I didn’t know completely. I had a chance to learn something as Jamie did. Plus, we got to see his strategic thinking, as he tried to find a way to free them, even when he was initially told it was impossible. The more he thought about it, the more he realized he couldn’t.
8. Finding Fraser’s Ridge
During Outlander Season 4, Episode 3, Claire and Jamie headed off to find somewhere to build a home together. They found it with the ridge overlooking the mountains and the valley.
There was this calm within Jamie’s eyes. He was in love with the landscape (which was well acted considering it was green-screened) and you could sense it all over.
7. Protecting Willie from the Natives
During the hunting trip with Willie, there was trouble. Yet, Jamie stood up as the father that he is. Rather than allow Willie to be killed for disrespecting the boundaries, Jamie offered his own life.
He didn’t care about the consequences at this point. He blurted out that he was Willie’s father. Whether Willie believed it or not didn’t matter — he says he didn’t, but it would cast the niggling doubt — as it was about Jamie’s love for his son.
6. Giving Hayes the end he needed
While the first episode wasn’t my favorite, it did have a strong Jamie moment. When Hayes knew he was to be hanged, he just asked for someone to smile upon him. He needed a friend, so he could die seeing something good.
And that’s what Jamie offered him. It didn’t matter about Jamie’s feelings or those of the others watching. All that mattered was that Gavin Hayes got his dying wish and Jamie was man enough to do it.
5. The reunion with Murtagh
This was the reunion we needed at this point, especially after seeing Murtagh and Young Ian no recognize each other. Jamie initially just shouted at Murtagh and then realized who it was. The whole world stopped and you could see the relief and the happiness bubbling inside.
Jamie’s emotions here still give me goosebumps. It was an extremely strong moment in Outlander in 2018 and one of Jamie’s best.
4. Helping Brianna accept the rape wasn’t her fault
I know this moment is controversial to some, but I liked it. Some people need action more than words and Jamie knows that. He knew he had to help Brianna realize that the rape wasn’t her fault, so he did it through action by provoking her.
You could see in his eyes that he didn’t mean anything he said. In fact, when you compare with when he did mean it in anger, there were clear differences in the twinkle in his eye.
3. Bee hunting with Brianna
Who didn’t love this moment? Brianna had a chance to learn more from Jamie, but this was also a chance for Jamie to open up more. He realized she was struggling with the guilt of getting to know Jamie. Frank is, in her eyes, her father and Jamie is a stranger.
Jamie had a chance to understand that, while also sharing his gratitude toward Frank. While he may be jealous of a dead man, he’s also thankful that the dead man was willing to raise a child not his own.
2. Meeting Bree for the first time
There was so much emotion that went into this scene from both Brianna and Jamie. For Jamie, it was this moment we’d been waiting for, as he’s been one never to have a hand in raising his own children.
The meeting was so mundane but that’s what made it so beautiful. After all, meetings like this aren’t always big affairs and just seeing Jamie hold his daughter was all we needed.
1. Giving Claire the new ring
There’s no other moment that I could put at the opt of this list for Outlander in 2018. Jamie had taken the candlestick of his mother’s and fashioned it into the ring. And I love that Murtagh was the one who made this ring after learning that Murtagh had gained trades due to his servitude.
We got this romantic moment between husband and wife. Giving the ring was Jamie’s attempt to right the wrong of letting Bonnet get free, making sure Claire had something to show of their marriage again.
What were your favorite Jamie moments in Outlander in 2018? Share them in the comments below.
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