The Droughtlander has officially started with no firm release date for season eight, which will be the last one for the Starz series.
However, when the show does return for the last time fans will be hoping the biggest mystery will finally be answered: Jamie Fraser’s (played by Sam Heughan) ghost.
The Highlander’s ghostly figure appeared back in the very first episode of Outlander and was spotted by Frank Randall (Tobias Menzies) gazing up at Claire Fraser (Caitríona Balfe).
Moreover, Outlander’s author Diana Gabaldon has confirmed she will be ending her epic saga with a scene between Jamie’s ghost and Claire.
As of writing, Jamie is alive and well both in the books and the TV series with neither he nor Claire likely to be killed off in either iteration.
His ghost on the other hand is confirmed to be 25, which is around the time the Scot was fighting in the Battle of Culloden in 1746.
Speaking on the Outlander podcast back in 2014, the 73-year-old American author said: “Sam Heughan asked me, and I hadn’t thought about it before. But I just answered him immediately. He’s about 25.”
There’s been little explanation of the ghost, but fans have their own theories and recently took to Reddit to discuss it further with much debate about whether or not Jamie dies.
One posted: “[S]he said the ghost is APPEARING as age 25 – she didn’t say he died at 25. As others pointed out, he’s decades beyond that already. The ghost doesn’t have to take on the visage and manifest itself as the age he was upon death – that time has no meaning.
“Think of it this way -When we lose loved ones to something horrible like cancer that’s debilitated them, the sentiment is that they’re at peace now as they were before all that, not stuck in that same pain in the afterlife forever – but as their true, best self.
“Regardless of his age at death, Jamie at his core is a highland warrior, and hence his ghost manifests as such as the 25 year old version of himself – whether he dies at 65 or 85 or 101 [sic].”
While a second said: “In episode 7.2, Jamie describes a dream when he looked up and saw a younger Claire. The room is not illuminated by daylight or candle so he assumes this is what electricity must be. In another episode he mentions other dreams to Claire that seem to be of the future. It’s mentioned in a previous episode that ghosts are not tied by time. It’s my assumption that Jamie’s isn’t a time traveler like Claire, Bri, etc. but is able to glimpse other times while he is dreaming as a ghost [sic].”
A third wrote: “My guess: He was Very close to death at culloden, so close that the line between life and death blurred, and he was able to go visit Claire for a moment, wanting to see her one more time [sic].”
Someone else suggested: “The fortune teller in France told Jamie that he will die nine times before he rests in his grave. Maybe it has something to do with that? [sic].”
Another Outlander fan posted: “[H]e turned 50 around Alamance, don’t let their confusion confuse you. Gabaldon said the ghost ilooks and is appearing age 25, not that he died at 25 [sic].”
One fan shared: “There are two widely accepted theories for how Jamie’s ghost appears and watches Claire and is seen by Frank: 1. In 5-9 Jamie is bitten by a snake and his heart actually stops beating and he is not breathing until Claire brings him back. During this time, his spirit is able to travel to the future to stand outside Claire’s window in 1946; 2. Jamie dies at a ripe old age before Claire and his ghost travels to when it all began in 1946 to show he’s waiting for her to join him in the afterlife.”
For now, it looks like the jury is still out with fans now having to wait until Gabaldon finishes her final novel for answers with publication date yet in sight.
Outlander is streaming on MGM+ via Prime Video now