Outlander Boss Confirms Which Major Death Had to Stay Despite Filming 1 Scene That Never Aired

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After eight seasons, the show has come to an exciting conclusion. Throughout its run, numerous characters met their end, with a few leaving a particularly memorable mark.

To mark the end of Outlander on Starz, stars Sam Heughan and Caitríona Balfe, along with showrunner Matthew B. Roberts and executive producer Maril Davis, revealed in a recent Entertainment Weekly interview that they wished they could have rewritten one death: that of Black Jack Randall.

Black Jack Randall Could’ve Survived Culloden

Tobias Menzies famously played two roles in the historical drama: Frank Randall, Claire’s husband, and Black Jack Randall, Jamie’s enemy and an ancestor of Frank. Though his character seemingly died in Season 3 back in 2017 after causing trouble for Jamie and Claire, Menzies recently made a surprise return with a voiceover as Frank, reading an excerpt from his fictional historical novel, Soul of a Rebel.

The showrunners considered bringing back Tobias Menzies as Black Jack Randall, even though his character died at Culloden. They always check with Diana Gabaldon, the author of Outlander, before making big changes like that. As the showrunner explained, they need her approval, and wouldn’t proceed with a storyline she strongly objected to.

Roberts explained that everyone involved – the studio and the network – was keen to keep the character Black Jack alive. They reached out to the actress who played her and asked if she’d return. However, she expressed her reluctance, saying she didn’t want them to continue the storyline, and as a result, the character was killed off.

Following years of tormenting Jamie, Black Jack Randall finally confronted him in the brutal Battle of Culloden, where he was killed. He died in Jamie’s embrace.

, “You filmed it. I remember, filmed Black Jack’s eyes opening again on the battlefield.”

I was absolutely shocked when Black Jack Randall kept showing up! I thought for sure Jamie and Claire had seen the last of him when he died in Wentworth Prison – crushed by cattle and a door, it was awful! But then, somehow, he wasn’t really gone. Though the actor, Tobias Menzies, did later reappear as Frank Randall, it was still so strange to see Randall back in any form after believing he’d died in Season 3.

Claire & Jamie’s Fate in Outlander Series Finale

The scene of Black Jack Randall briefly waking up on the battlefield echoes a previous moment. After learning about his destiny from Frank’s writing, Jamie accepted the possibility of dying at Kings Mountain. But for a fleeting instant, it seemed like history might be altered, until Major Ferguson shot Jamie.

The show includes a flashback to the very first episode, showing a younger version of Jamie being watched by Claire, just before her husband, Frank, attempts to intervene. It also highlights some of Claire and Jamie’s most cherished memories together. In a poignant final scene, Claire embraces Jamie and appears to succumb to grief, before both unexpectedly open their eyes.

Series creator and showrunner Matthew B. Roberts discussed the finale, explaining that he believes stories should evoke emotion, not dictate it. He wants the audience to experience the ending and form their own interpretations, rather than being told what to feel.

Sam Heughan and Caitriona Balfe have acknowledged the ending is open to interpretation, admitting they don’t completely grasp it themselves, allowing fans to create their own theories. The possibilities range from Jamie and Claire’s love overcoming any challenge, to them dying and being reborn in another world. Some fans theorize Claire might be able to save Jamie, similar to how she helped the baby earlier in the show, potentially using her knowledge of folklore and the legend of the white witch.

Outlander is streaming on Starz.

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2026-05-17 20:37