Transforming Outlander: Bringing up Frank’s survival relying on Black Jack Randall’s own survival

By Alexandria Ingham | Apr 24, 2019

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

During Outlander Season 2, Episode 3, Claire learned that Mary Hawkins was Frank’s ancestor. It’s time to look at this part of the story in this week’s Transforming Outlander.

In this week’s Transforming Outlander, we’re looking at a part of the book that I don’t feel was covered properly in the series. Granted, it’s something that could lead you going down the rabbit hole of time travel, but something that is worth bringing up.

During Outlander Season 2, Episode 3, Claire learned that Mary Hawkins was Frank’s ancestor, the one destined to marry Black Jack Randall. Of course, at this point, we couldn’t see how she could possibly end up with a man like Randall, but that wasn’t the point. Claire realized that Randall’s survival was necessary for Frank’s survival.

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In the novel, “Dragonfly in Amber,” there is a brief mention of how Randall and Mary not being together could affect Claire. If Frank wasn’t born, Claire would never have been in Scotland during her second honeymoon. She wouldn’t have been around to go through the stones.

Yes, it’s a time travel rabit hole that many would prefer to avoid. It’s a headache trying to figure out what would need to happen in the future to make sure events of the past could play out. However, the basics often involve someone being with the right person and being in the right place.

While Claire mentions Randall’s need to survive a year to ensure Frank’s line continues in the series, she doesn’t think about what Frank’s death could mean for her and Jamie. And because of this, it doesn’t make sense to everyone why Claire would need Frank to live for a year.

At this point, she doesn’t know that Randall isn’t actually Frank’s direct descendant. Nobody knew that Mark Hawkins’ child is that of Alex Randall instead. Claire believed that without Randall, Frank wouldn’t exist. She wasn’t just ensuring his survival for his own sake, but also so that she could end up being in Scotland at the right time to go through the stones.

Throughout the second season, I wondered if it would ever come up. I asked my husband on a number of occasions if the writers would ever even just drop it in. They didn’t, and it’s a shame. It could have explained so much.

Next. The transformation of Claire throughout Outlander. dark

What did you think of the way Claire mentioned Frank’s survival? Would you have liked Claire to mention the chances of her not being in the past? Let me know below!

Transforming Outlander continues on Claire and Jamie throughout Droughtlander. Follow us on Twitter for the latest updates.