Come what may, Jamie and Claire are going to stay by one another's side. No, that's not the song from Moulin Rouge but rather what the poster and official teaser for Outlander Season 6 promised when they dropped on Oct. 9. While the Starz series has already shown the couple sticking together through thick and thin and time travel, the poster, teaser, and New York Comic Con panel all indicated that Season 6 is going to show Claire and Jamie challenged like never before. And from the looks of it and the plots in Outlander Book 6, the "what" in "come what may" includes fire, the Christies, and the Revolutionary War.
Based on the snowy landscape in the teaser trailer, Season 6 will really be putting the "snow" in A Breath of Snow and Ashes — the sixth Outlander book that the upcoming, eight-episode season is primarily based on. As the Scottish folk tune "The Water Is Wide" plays, the teaser shows Claire, Jamie, Brianna, Roger, Young Ian, Fergus, and Marsali in varying degrees of distress.
Although Starz still hasn't given an official premiere date beyond "Early 2022," author Diana Gabaldon was able to share at New York Comic Con that this season is her favorite after Season 1. And when executive producer Maril Davis gave the one-word description of Season 6 as "traumatic," Gabaldon replied, "That's why it's my favorite."
By reviewing every shot in the teaser and comparing it to the plots in A Breath of Snow and Ashes, let's analyze just how traumatic Season 6 will be.
Warning: Major book spoilers ahead.
Jamie & Claire Riding Away From Home
Jamie and Claire are riding away from Fraser's Ridge on a wagon led by horses. The Big House still stands, so it has to be before the fire. Jamie seems pleased and Claire seems perhaps a bit melancholy but not too upset, so this might be simpler times (lol to anything Jamie and Claire experience being "simpler") before the story gets chugging along.
Happy Bree & Roger
Bree and Roger look happy and settled in the 18th century after their failed attempt to go back to the 20th century in the last episodes of Season 5. But something tells me they won't remain so happy throughout the season.
Young Ian & Malva
Young Ian meets new character Malva Christie in a field, hinting at a romantic tryst. Malva and Ian do have a sexual relationship in the book, leading Ian to fight with another man (Bobby Higgins) that Malva is entangled with, which may have been shown in the behind-the-scenes Season 6 teaser. When she announces she's pregnant, Ian thinks the baby may be his.
Fergus and Marsali's New Child
Marsali was pregnant at the end of last season and she kisses Fergus's forehead while they hold their newborn child together. This debunks theories that their fourth child would die in childbirth and seems to point to the Henri-Christian storyline being told in full. More evidence is that the baby is wrapped in the same floral blanket as the baby Roger is holding in the Season 6 photo — indicating the attempted drowning and impromptu baptism will occur.
Jamie & Claire Get Intimate
A season of Outlander would not be complete without Jamie and Claire getting intimate, which the teaser acknowledges early on with shots of Jamie and Claire holding hands and kissing. With the show changing Jamie's initial reaction to Claire's sexual abuse and only showing them lying in bed together naked in the Season 5 finale, this may be the first time they're engaging in sex after her attack.
Church
As shown in previews before, Fraser's Ridge is getting a church this season. Roger finds his calling as Presbyterian minister in A Breath of Snow and Ashes. And the newcomers to the Ridge, known as the fisher-folk, appreciate his religious leadership... especially since their landlord is a stinking papist.
The American Revolution
Jamie and Claire witness the nailing of a paper titled "Refuse British Goods," written by the first president of the First Continental Congress, real-life historical figure Peyton Randolph. "It's starting — a storm, the war," Claire tells Jamie throughout the trailer. "It's almost here." With Redcoats approaching Fraser's Ridge, Jamie will feel the pressure to declare himself as a Patriot and may even fight in the Battle of Moore's Creek Bridge in February 1776.
Burials
Bree, Claire, Jamie, and Lizzie look on as Roger walks away from two bodies being buried. There are a number of funerals and burials in the book, including the rather humorous funeral for Mrs. Wilson that Roger presides over. But based on them not being in the church and their solemn faces, this could be a burial of some people on the Ridge who die of a bloody flux that spreads. Roger overseeing the burials is proof of his minister calling.
A Redcoat
One Redcoat who got some screentime in the behind-the-scenes Season 6 preview returns here. Since he's talking directly to Jamie, the best guess is that this is Major MacDonald. He recruits Jamie to become an Indian Agent to the Crown where Jamie serves as a liaison between the Native American tribes and the British. Major MacDonald also asks Jamie to form a militia for the king, which he refuses and subsequently forms a militia of rebels for the Battle of Moore's Creek Bridge.
Angry Jamie
While the teaser makes it seem like the above photo is the same scene with Major MacDonald, Jamie is wearing a different coat without dark patches on his shoulder and is in a different location. Instead, could this be the face of a man who was just wrongfully accused of impregnating a young woman who is not his wife? My money is on this being when Malva claims he's the father of her baby.
Crying Claire
There's snow on the ground while Claire is crying, but is there also ashes? With the cabin behind her, Claire may be crying because the Big House has been destroyed in a fire. Another option is this is Claire crying at Malva's grave, possibly after hearing Allan's confession.
The Committee Of Safety
An organized group of men arrive at the Big House on a wagon. While Richard Brown is nowhere to be seen, this is most likely his Committee of Safety coming to arrest Claire for Malva's murder. Sam Heughan spoke about Richard Brown's villain role in Season 6 at New York Comic Con. "I think it's pretty clear that this is only the beginning of an even bigger, deeper animosity between the two. The Browns are very dangerous and Richard is an extremely dangerous man and very powerful as well," Heughan said. "You're going to see a lot more of the Browns and they're not very nice people."
Jamie In Church
The church may be a space for Roger to preach in, but it also may be where Tom Christie teaches as the Ridger's schoolmaster. Jamie looks irritated, so possibly he's having a tense conversation with Tom Christie in this shot. Or, he could be gearing up to face off with a snake.
Fergus
A dripping wet Fergus approaches Marsali. Based on his apparent anger, Fergus probably finds Roger with Henri-Christian at the creek after some children tried to drown his infant son. Unfortunately, Fergus's anger this season won't be an isolated incident. Lauren Lyle said at New York Comic Con that Marsali and Fergus will be in "the darkest place they've been in... maybe there's one or two fights this season." César Domboy also teased that Fergus will be "struggling" and "deciding to drink his way out of sadness."
A Hand
At first, I thought this might be Tom Christie's hand that Claire will operate on. But this thread on Reddit has me convinced that that hand belongs to 1. a woman and 2. a non-alive person. Most likely, it's a male character carrying Malva's dead body into the Big House after she's murdered.
Anxious Bree
Didn't I say that Roger and Bree wouldn't stay happy throughout the season? Well, there's plenty of reasons for Bree to be stressed in the above shot. Perhaps she's mad at Roger for spending too much time with Amy McCallum or she's upset that their new child Mandy has a heart condition that can't be treated in the past. (Davis confirmed at Comic Con that Brianna and Roger will be trying to have another baby this season.)
Tired Claire
One of the final shots of the teaser is Claire slowly closing her eyes while she stands alone. When I lightened up the image, it appears that she is standing in her surgery. She could be hiding out when Richard Brown comes to arrest her. Or, perhaps she's reacting to Wendigo Donner coming into the Big House in search of stones, which leads to the house fire.
As Heughan said at Comic Con, the Fraser's community will "disintegrate" in Season 6 and he insinuated that the house fire (with a little help from Bree's matches) will be happening. So with all that death and destruction ahead, it's fitting that the official teaser was as ominous as it was. But at least Jamie and Claire should be holding hands as they face whatever comes their way.
Images: Starz