Outlander’s Faith Fraser storyline might be the show’s worst plot ever
The final season of the epic fantasy series has disappointed Outlander fans, including me.
*WARNING: This article contains spoilers from Outlander season 8. It also contains mentions of sexual abuse which some readers may find distressing.*
I’m so sick of trauma TV and Outlander has no shortage of it.
I was hoping the eighth and final season would offer some light and hope to Jamie (played by Sam Heughan) and Claire Fraser (Caitríona Balfe) as the show prepares to wrap up after over a decade on screens. I was wrong.
Instead, it feels like even the last season is going to be leaving us deeply depressed and angry – and at the heart of it is the Faith Fraser storyline, which is possibly the worst-ever in the series. In a change from the source material, it was revealed in season seven that Jamie and Claire’s stillborn daughter had actually miraculously been brought back to life thanks to Master Raymond (Dominique Pinon) and left with a lacemaker in Paris.
Faith was told her mother was Lady Broch Tuarach and Master Raymond even managed to teach the lacemaker the early 20th century music hall ditty I Do Like to Be Beside the Seaside, that he overheard Claire singing to Faith, before he vanished. Fanny Pocock (Florrie May Wilkinson) was heard singing the same tune and had a locket from her mother, whose name Faith was engraved on it.
Jamie and Claire Fraser faced more trauma in Outlander season 8(Image: STARZ)
Fast-forward to season eight and we’ve now learnt that Faith was headed to the New World to find her long-lost parents, only to be murdered on the way over by a pirate; her oldest daughter Jane Pocock (Silvia Presente) raped and both girls sold to a brothel to pay off the debts of the man who killed their parents.
The whole Faith storyline was a completely unnecessary addition to Outlander’s sprawling plot and myriad of characters, all of whom need their threads wound up and done justice – loyal Outlander fans deserve this much. If anything, the Faith storyline created more trauma, not only for our beloved central couple and Fanny who feared she’d lose her grandparents, but also for audiences.
Outlander fans are no strangers to experiencing trauma whether it’s in the books by Diana Gabaldon or the TV show. In the series, we’ve endured nearly every major character from Jamie and Claire to Brianna MacKenzie (Sophie Skelton) and Young Ian (John Bell) and Fergus Fraser (César Domboy) getting raped. We’ve seen Jamie and Claire torn apart by Culloden and facing a 20-year separation that left them both emotionally broken. Let’s not forget all the sadistic acts committed by Captain ‘Black Jack’ Randall (Tobias Menzies). The Faith storyline simply feels like the cherry on top in terms of these layers of trauma.
Captain Black Jack Randall caused a lot of trauma in Outlander(Image: STARZ)
The writers could have chosen not to include this alternate-universe storyline and it feels it was simply a way to add anticipation and intrigue going into Outlander’s final season. However, there’s been no payoff, only more heartache, rape and death.
We could have had a heartwarming reunion between parents and long-lost daughter, not to mention Brianna meeting her sister. But it’s all been for absolutely nothing.
I’m still holding out hope that Claire might meet her own parents, linking together Outlander and its prequel series Blood of My Blood. I’m keeping my fingers crossed. With only two episodes left to wrap up it up, I feel that Outlander – which started off so strongly – is going to go out with a whimper rather than a bang.
Outlander season 8 airs on Starz in the USA on Fridays and on MGM+ via Prime Video in the UK on Saturdays.
