What a suspenseful ending!
The sixth season of Outlander concludes with Malva Christie lying in the Frasers' garden,
throat slit, and a sobbing Claire cradling her dead baby after an unsuccessful C-section.
This dramatic twist is a game changer for the drama, raising a slew of new questions,
the most pressing of which is: who murdered Malva?
Is it the same individual who fathered her child?
And, given the events of the episode, will Claire or Jamie be suspected, jeopardizing
their place on the Ridge – or even their lives?
Outsiders could be forgiven for jumping to such a conclusion, however far-fetched it
may appear, because Malva has disrupted the happy Fraser home long before someone left
her bloody corpse in the flowerbeds.
Viewers have had their suspicions for a few weeks now, as the manipulative young woman
– who appears to be Dr Claire's devoted apprentice – began to seduce several men
and fixate on Claire and Jamie's affectionate union, even spying on them while they made
love.
We also know that Malva had a shaky relationship with the truth.
When Roger MacKenzie caught her with a boy, she threatened to tell everyone – falsely
– that she'd seen him kissing widow Amy McCallum unless he kept quiet.
Worryingly, Malva had been chopping off a dead man's fingers to use in a love spell.
In this latest thrilling episode, however, she didn't need witchcraft to wreak havoc;
all she needed was a well-crafted, devastating lie.
It all started with a sickness outbreak on the Ridge, which Claire diagnoses as amoebic
dysentery.
Soon after, she becomes ill herself, and while in a feverish state, she – and we – see
Malva comforting a distraught Jamie.
Claire does recover, but when she awakens, her distinctive hair has been cut off.
(Of course, Caitriona Balfe still looks like a supermodel, but for the sake of the story,
we must believe this is Malva's deliberate attempt to make her look ugly.)
But things get worse: Claire suspects that she and Tom Christie were poisoned instead.
Then Malva drops the bombshell, shocking everyone by revealing that Jamie is the father of her
unborn child.
He didn't rape her, she insists, knowing that would be impossible to believe, but he claims
the pair became intimate while he was emotional during Claire's illness.
It's a fantastic scene in which Outlander goes full soap opera, more than making up
for the slow-burn season's gradual build.
The impact is enormous because it calls into question the show's very foundation: the all-powerful,
centuries-spanning Fraser marriage.
But is it possible that Jamie cheated?
For a split second, a broken Claire wonders if it's true – and viewers may wonder as
well.
If Jamie was truly capable of infidelity, it would change our entire perception of this
noble romantic hero.
And, as an enraged Claire points out, it would make her question every decision she's made:
risking everything to return to Jamie – and to a more precarious existence – which would
then drag Brianna, Roger, and their son into the past as well.
Her entire existence would be a lie.
Jamie doesn't help matters by choosing this moment to admit that he has cheated – but
not on Malva.
Instead, before going to prison many years ago, he spent one night with someone else
(and when separated from Claire by 200 years).
Honesty gets points, but it's not the best time for that particular heart-stopping admission.
Nonetheless, Balfe and Sam Heughan play the scene brilliantly, drawing on their long history
together.
Even if Claire eventually believes him, the rumor of Jamie sleeping with Malva spreads
like wildfire – and is impossible to put down.
It concludes yet another carefully crafted plot thread about changes on the Ridge.
The Frasers have lost their status as de facto leaders since the arrival of the Christies
and the fisherfolk, especially since the superstitious fisherfolk believe Claire's doctoring is unnatural.
They are now outcasts in their own country.
After hearing so much about the dangers of the upcoming Revolutionary War, it's a clever
bait and switch.
That should continue to play a role in future Outlander episodes, but the season finale
should now focus on conflict at home rather than on the battlefield.
This plotline has an impact on a number of other characters, including Young Ian, who
was one of the men Malva slept with and is now fighting to protect the family's honor.
It also shakes Brianna's faith in Jamie; she thought her other father, Frank Randall, was
a good man until she discovered he'd had multiple affairs later in life.
Meanwhile, Roger has only recently realized how much of a reputational risk he's put his
family in by spending so much time alone with Amy MacCallum.
There's also Malva's volatile brother Allan and Tom Christie, whose simmering feud with
Jamie has escalated into all-out war.
The most significant challenge, however, will be Claire's need to confront her own demons.
This season, she's been in a bad way, constantly self-medicating with ether to deal with traumatic
memories of her assault by Lionel Brown and his gang.
Indeed, she could have saved Malva if she hadn't chosen to take more ether instead of
speaking to her – a decision that will undoubtedly haunt our dedicated healer.
Will this serve as a wake-up call for Claire, or will it push her over the edge?
In any case, Outlander is now on its way to a thrilling conclusion.