Jamie had no choice in his actions on Outlander Season 5, Episode 5

Jamie Fraser murdered a man on Outlander Season 5, Episode 5, but it wasn’t in cold blood. He simply had no choice when it came to his family.

We get to the point in the Outlander story where Hamilton Knox meets his end. Remember that he was an important part of the story for us to see how Jamie was caught between two oaths. He swore an oath to his family, but he also swore an oath to the crown. Part of him also understood the Regulators’ struggles.

Knox was never going to understand all that. He was brought up to view the Jacobite traitors as the scum the Crown thought they were. He was loyal to his uniform, to his superior officers, and to his king. I commend his loyalty even if it was the wrong side, but it’s also easy to see why Jamie had to do something to protect his family.

This wasn’t just about Murtagh. This was about everyone.

What could have happened if Jamie hadn’t killed on Outlander Season 5, Episode 5?

If Jamie hadn’t killed Knox, just what could have realistically happened? Of course, Murtagh would have eventually been caught. Jamie wouldn’t have been there getting the ear of people who thought he could be trusted. He wouldn’t be in the middle of the hunt for Murtagh, helping to prevent his capture at strategic points.

Jamie would have been arrested. It wouldn’t have been that hard for Tryon to believe Knox’s words of events. It’s not like they had fair trials back then. So, Jamie wouldn’t have gotten back to Fraser Ridge.

In fact, the Ridge would be no more. Everyone living there could have been turfed off. Jamie would have no longer owned the land.

Claire, Brianna, Roger, Fergus, Marsali, and all the others would have definitely ended up in a lot of trouble. If they were allowed to go free, they would have potentially starved. They would have also had one eye over their shoulders just in case there would be attacks. They could have joined the Regulators, but Bree would have figured out how that would end at the Battle of Alamance.

That’s if they’d have been allowed to go free. Chances are Tryon would have made this personal. The fault of a man was (and still sometimes is) viewed as the fault of his family.

Jamie knew that the only way to protect his entire family and his tenants was to kill Knox. He had to stop Knox getting the information to Tryon.

So yes, it was murder, but it wasn’t a deviation of Jamie’s character. We’d seen him kill before when he’s had no choice, and the same thing happened on Outlander Season 5, Episode 5.

(I do have a dream view of the episode where Knox doesn’t find out ever and the two end up BFFs.)

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