There were many excellent moments for Brianna throughout Outlander Season 4 as she received more character development. Here are my 10 favorites.
Brianna Randall Fraser gained more storylines and character development in Outlander Season 4. Whether you like the character or not right now (she’s one of those that leaves fans divided), there’s no doubt that her storyline is going to only grow from here.
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The show is developing just like the books. It’s no longer just about Claire and Jamie, but about their family. That includes Brianna and Roger, Fergus and Marsali, and so many more.
Throughout the fourth season, we watched as Brianna went from effectively being an orphan to finding her family again. She went from a woman of her time to a woman of the future, struggling with 18th-century expectations with her 1970s mind.
It’s time to delve into her top moments, the moments that show her for the woman that she is becoming. There were certainly many, whether it’s seeing her interact more with Jamie, finding her mother again, or even just learning more about who she is and the strength she has inside.
Here’s a look back at the fourth season before we look ahead at what we need from her character in Season 5. Here are Brianna’s 10 best moments in Outlander Season 4.
10. Backing off from blackmailing Lord John Grey
I hated the fact that Brianna tried to blackmail Lord John Grey. However, I did love that he called her bluff on it. Rather than continue to threaten and blackmail him, she backed down. This was the start of a beautiful friendship between the two.
Brianna found someone she could open up to. She shared the truth about her story and why she wanted Grey to be the man to “marry” her. It would never actually lead to marriage. He would also be the one to help her face against Bonnet and remain hopeful that Roger would return. It was all possible because she was willing to back down and then apologize for her words.
9. Standing up for what she wanted in the 1970s
In the 1970s, Brianna and Roger prove they’re not entirely compatible. They’re from different cultures and have different expectations in life. Roger wants to do things the old fashioned way—and still the way in 1970s Scotland. Yet, Brianna wants to do things the 1970s American way.
She’s a woman of her time and is willing to stand up for what she wants. While I don’t think Roger was wrong for standing up for what he wanted, I do accept that Brianna wasn’t wrong for standing up for what she wanted. In fact, I love that she knew her mind and was willing to ask for that.
And it wasn’t that she knew her mind. She wanted a life and wanted to explore. After seeing what a marriage of duty could be like, she didn’t want that for herself. However, that didn’t mean she wanted to remain a pious virgin for the rest of her life.
8. Standing up for Claire and Jamie again Laoghaire
Brianna was saved by Laoghaire of all people. There’s no doubt that we saw the irony in Laoghaire helping Claire and Jamie’s daughter without realizing who she was. However, Brianna didn’t even realize who was caring for her.
Once the truth came out, we saw Brianna’s fiery passion. She immediately stood up for her mother, making it clear that Laoghaire means nothing to Jamie. Even without knowing Jamie, she knows enough of him to know that Laoghaire isn’t his true love.
7. Moving on from the guilt of leaving Frank behind
Throughout Outlander Season 4, Episode 7, we get a series of flashbacks between Brianna and Frank. These flashbacks are essential for understanding Brianna’s feelings. She’s conflicted over Frank’s death and the fact that she’s now going in search for her biological father.
However, the ending to the episode is excellent. It shows the journey that Brianna has been on throughout that episode. We get what the flashbacks mean to her, as she works through her conflicted feelings. There’s that look that Brianna gives the ghost of Frank at the docks, feeling like he knows that this is something she needs to do.
While she has moments of guilt later, she also knows how she wants to proceed. She doesn’t have to replace one father for another. She can have both Frank and Jamie in her life in their own ways.
6. Facing off against Stephen Bonnet
At the end of the season, Brianna finally gets the chance to face her rapist. Believing that the baby is his, she shows him the bump and leaves him with some final words. He’s not going to matter in her child’s life. The baby will never know who Bonnet was.
We get to see this strength to Brianna that she hasn’t been able to show up to this point. There’s an inner strength to show that she’s not going to let the rape affect her anymore. She’s a stronger person in spite of it or maybe because of it.
I’ll admit that this moment is a little stronger in the books as it turns out Bonnet isn’t chained. She goes a little weaker learning about this but then finds her strength again to help Lord John Grey. However, the show offered the strength we needed from Bree in this scene with Bonnet.
5. Accepting that the rape wasn’t her fault
After telling her mother about the rape, Jamie learned the truth. Now it was time for Brianna and Jamie to bond. Whether you like the way Jamie went about it or not, this was a strong moment for Brianna in Outlander Season 4.
Brianna had been bottling so much up. She was detached during the rape, meaning that the trauma was worse afterward. She felt like she should have done something to fight back, and it takes Jamie to prove that there was nothing she could do.
Finally, Brianna gets some relief. She realizes that this wasn’t her fault. This was Bonnet’s fault.
4. Telling Claire everything about the rape and pregnancy
While at Fraser’s Ridge, Brianna had to deal with the aftermath of the attack on her. She found out she was pregnant, and Claire had realized this long before Brianna told her. However, it wasn’t just the pregnancy that she was hiding.
Brianna finally told Claire about the rape. While this was a strong Claire moment as she finally got to be a mother to her daughter, this was also an important moment for Brianna. She would only talk to someone she trusted, and Claire was that person. This moment showed that trust and that need for someone to tell her it would all be okay.
3. Reuniting with her mother in the past
After meeting Jamie for the first time, Brianna had the chance to reunite with her mother. This moment brought so many emotions. She knew that her mother wouldn’t have wanted her to come to the past, but she needed to warn her about the fire. She had to try to do something.
But after everything that had happened in the past, a child just needed her mother. She wanted to be held and to feel like everything would be okay. In this moment, that’s what she got and you could see it on her face. There’s a beautiful still from the moment, as Brianna just holds onto Claire with a look of calm and relief after such a journey.
2. Her handfasting to Roger
This was a beautiful moment, in my honest opinion. It mirrored Claire and Jamie’s wedding but was still all Roger and Brianna. But what was really important for me was what we got to see Brianna happy. There weren’t many of these moments throughout Outlander Season 4.
After the journey she went on to reach the Colonies, Brianna’s emotions were high. In this moment, she could just immerse herself in the love she felt for Roger and the love Roger felt for Brianna. You could tell that she was in love and relaxed, albeit a little nervous.
With so much will-they-won’t-they going on, we got this important, romantic moment. Now I want to see more of the two together for their chemistry to grow.
1. Meeting Jamie for the first time
The best moment has to be that moment Jamie and Brianna finally meet for the first time. Both have heard so much about each other, and they finally came face to face. You could see the relief in Brianna’s eyes, as everything she had been through wasn’t for nothing.
Up to this point, she had been attacked and raped. She’d found the man she loved only for them to separate again. At one point, she feared she might even be executed as a witch. There were so many uncertainties.
The meeting brought so many emotions and Sophie Skelton showed them all on her face. She had the relief, the happiness, and also the sadness in a way—she was still leaving her “daddy” behind.
What were your favorite Brianna moments from Outlander Season 4? Share your thoughts in the comments below.
Outlander Season 5 filming continues. Follow Claire and Jamie on Twitter for more news and look backs at Season 4 to get through Droughtlander.