How much of the Battle of Culloden does Jamie remember on Outlander?

It takes time for Jamie to remember the events at the Battle of Culloden in the Outlander books. On the anniversary of the battle, here’s how he remembers.

Something that the Outlander books never give us is a full breakdown of the events at the Battle of Culloden. Jamie doesn’t remember everything, with us seeing him wake on the battlefield at the start of “Voyager.” It takes time for Jamie to remember things that happened.

As it’s the anniversary of the real Battle of Culloden, I thought this would be a good time to breakdown Jamie’s memories. What does he remember from the battle and how does he end up remembering it all?

In fact, it’s not until “A Breath of Snow and Ashes” that Jamie recalls many details. He mostly hears of the events, such as Jamie saving Archibald Hayes (son of Gavin Hayes) on the battlefield before returning to fight. While Jamie knows that Murtagh died, it’s not until the sixth book that he remembers the events—events that played out extremely similar to those on Outlander Season 5, Episode 7.

The brain is mysterious. Even now, we don’t really understand it. The brain holds our memories but will suppress some of our worst. Or it can replay events over and over again, as what happens to Roger with the silent movie flashbacks.

Outlander the TV series changed the Battle of Culloden slightly. We didn’t get to see the whole battle play out, but we saw some of it. They were flashes that Jamie remembered as he laid on the battlefield wounded and when he’d been taken to the hut waiting for the British Army. The flashes were mostly about one thing—that final fight with Black Jack Randall.

In a TV setting, seeing how Black Jack Randall died was important. It brought closer for the fans. This was added in though for the show. In the books, Jamie has never remembered what happened to Black Jack Randall. All he knows is that somehow Randall died, his body laying on top of Jamie’s on the battlefield.

Of course, we know that the show changed Murtagh’s storyline. Had the show decided to keep Murtagh’s death when it was supposed to happen, it would be interesting to see if Jamie would have remembered the full events by now or he’d have just seen Murtagh’s body on the battlefield. There wouldn’t have been the immediate closure for him or the fans, but it would have been true to Jamie’s storyline.

Instead, the show opted to save Murtagh and make him part of the Regulators battle. He got the same death that he received at the Battle of Culloden but brought closure for all immediately.

It’s in “A Breath of Snow and Ashes” when Jamie recalls events that happened at Battle of Culloden with a little more clarity. He’s speaking to his Cherokee neighbors, which brings forward many repressed memories. Will we get to see some of this happen on Outlander Season 6 or is this something that will be skipped over due to time constraints? We’ll have to wait and see.