Why Jamie and Claire should have told Jenny the truth in Outlander

I still believe that Jenny Murray deserved to know the truth about time travel by the middle of Outlander Season 3. Claire and Jamie should have been completely honest with her, and it’s no wonder Jenny was so angry at Claire.

Jenny was protective of her brother. She saw how broken he was when Claire was gone, and she was heartbroken too. While we didn’t get to se Claire at Lallybroch for long, it was clear a bond had formed between the sisters-in-law.

In fact, Claire trusted Jenny enough to share the tip of planting potatoes. She made it clear that she couldn’t tell Jenny why she knew this, but she just knew a famine was coming and potatoes were the way to survive. Jenny trusted her because Jamie had already said that Claire may share things that don’t always make sense.

Jenny needed to know where Claire had been in Outlander

Had Jamie told Jenny the truth about where Claire had gone after Culloden, it may have prevented things like Jamie marrying Laoghaire. Sure, Jamie didn’t think that Claire would ever return, but Jenny would have understood why Jamie couldn’t fully move on with someone else. He wasn’t a widower. Technically, he was still married.

I do understand why Jamie didn’t say something, though. It wasn’t Jamie’s story to tell about Claire’s ability to time travel. Plus, Claire wasn’t supposed to come back. What was the point in telling Jenny the truth?

The point it should have happened was when Claire returned. By returning, Jenny had a lot of questions. Why would Claire leave without a trace? Why would she start a whole new life? Why wouldn’t she write to Jenny at least once? It didn’t make sense to Jenny, and she was understandably angry. She felt betrayed, knowing that Claire and Jamie were keeping something from her. She was being lied to, but she couldn’t tell which part of Claire’s story was a lie.

Had they opened up there and then, she may not have believed them at first, but slowly, she could have come to understand. It would have made more sense to her. Eventually, Jenny does learn the truth in the books, but it’s at a time when Jenny is dealing with the fear of losing her husband, who is dying of consumption. It’s harder for Jenny to take it all in and really believe it at this point. It would have been much better for everyone had Jenny learned the truth sooner. It’s not like she would have turned Claire in!