Outlander Season 5, Episode 3 had a huge foreshadowing moment

You may wonder why an episode was spent on something unimportant for the overall story. Outlander Season 5, Episode 3 was important for foreshadowing.

It’s easy to initially look at a story and think it wasn’t worth the time spent on it. The Fiery Cross is such a large book and storylines from A Breath and Snow and Ashes were used, that it was always going to be difficult to pick out the storylines that were needed.

The story at the Beardsley home was essential to the overall story. Without it, the Beardsley twins wouldn’t have been free to come to the Ridge. Without it, we wouldn’t have seen Jamie offer a man a chance to seek forgiveness despite many not thinking this man deserved it. And without it, we wouldn’t have had one huge foreshadowing moment at the very end.

While it looks, at first, that this episode was just filler, it had a knock-on effect for the future storylines. It was also important to give us time with just Jamie and Claire on the same page.

Foreshadowing the snakebite on Outlander Season 5, Episode 3

The huge foreshadowing moment comes at the end of the episode. Jamie wants Claire to promise him that when the time comes, she does what needs to be done. He’s thinking on the lines of stroke.

He hadn’t realized that a stroke wouldn’t outright kill someone all the time. As he thinks about the pain and suffering his dad could have been in, he also thinks about what he would like done to him. We put animals down as a way to avoid them suffering anymore than they should have to, so Jamie wants the same thing done to him when the time comes.

Claire makes that promise, but at the same time, she doesn’t. At no point does she say that she will help Jamie die. She just says she promises to do what needs to be done.

And it all foreshadows the snakebite. Jamie is adamant that he should die. He just can’t lose his leg. Claire has to hold up to this promise of doing what needs to be done. In her eyes, that’s amputating the leg, but it could kill a part of who Jamie is and he’d resent her for the rest of his life.

In the end, Claire can’t do it. Okay, actually, in the end, Jamie realizes that losing his leg is better than losing his life. He needs Young Ian to help him see that. But Claire just can’t let the man she loves die when she knows there’s a potential way to save him. She wants to do what needs to be done, holding up to the promise she makes in Outlander Season 5, Episode 3.

So yes, this episode is necessary. It’s a beautiful bit of storytelling with a hint of things to come.

What did you think of Outlander Season 5, Episode 3? Did you get the foreshadowing of things to come? Share your thoughts in the comments below.

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