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What’s so special about the ring in Outlander Season 2, Episode 1?

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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In Outlander Season 2, Episode 1, we see Claire back in her time at the stones. She grabs a ring that no longer has a gem. What’s so special about it?

Something I will say right now is that there are spoilers in this post from the Outlander Season 2 finale. While many of you have watched all the way to the end and this is a season from 2016, Outlander going to Netflix means that there are many new fans and I want to make everyone aware.

Chances are you’ve binge-watched the first season and now you’re into the second. It can be quite jarring at first, seeing Claire go from on a boat with Jamie to France to being at the stones of Craigh na Dun in 1948. But once you get over that—and yes, you have got the right episode!—you’ll have questions about things around Claire at the stones.

One of those questions is about the ring she picks up. It doesn’t have a gem, and she’s clearly distraught that the ring has been ruined. What’s so special about it?

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

This is something explained in the Season 2 finale. If you don’t want spoilers for that and you’re happy waiting for your answers, I do encourage you to watch the season to the very end.

Not so patient? Let’s get into the explanation.

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The ring did originally have a gem in it. When Jamie makes his sacrifice to send Claire back to her own time for the safety of her and their baby—he’s planning on dying at Culloden with his men—he hands her a ring. It belonged to his father, and it means the world to him.

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

Little did he and Claire know at the time but the time portal uses gems to help navigate and steer. At least, that’s the theory Geillis came up with, and it’s a theory that Claire (and later others) believe is the case. Claire isn’t exactly going to test the dangers of time travel without the gems, is she? She went through the first time with gems in her watch.

The gem in the ring burns out during the travel through time. By the time she lands in 1948, the gem is gone. All she’s got is the scorched metal of the ring. She doesn’t know at the time that the gem has helped her get back to her own time, but believes that the gem was damaged.

It’s a bittersweet moment. She’s grieving the loss of Jamie and angry at him for sending her to her own time so he can die at Culloden. Yet, at the same time, she wanted a part of him with her.

While not everything is fully explained in the Outlander Season 2 finale, enough is to understand the meaning behind the ring and the burning away of the gem.

Next. 25 best Claire and Jamie moments in Outlander so far. dark

What did you think of the use of the ring? What were your thoughts when watching the Season 2 premiere for the first time? Share your thoughts in the comments below.

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