Outlander Season 7 Episode 7 “A Practical Guide for Time-Travelers” ends on the horrific sight of Jamie Fraser (Sam Heughan) bloodied up and unconscious on a battlefield. For weeks now, our heroic highlander has been hinting that he’s not afraid of death the way he used to be. And given that Starz has already announced that Season 8 will be the final hurrah for Outlander, could it be possible that Jamie dies in Season 7? Is this the end of Claire (Caitriona Balfe) and Jamie’s love story? Or is this a classic bait-and-switch cliffhanger designed to stress us out ahead of next week’s big Outlander Season 7 mid-season finale??
**Spoilers for Outlander Season 7 Episode 7 “A Practical Guide for Time-Travelers” and the Diana Gabaldon Outlander books ahead!**
Jamie finally finds himself in the heat of battle in Outlander Season 7 Episode 7 and his secret son William Ransome (Charles Vandervaart) is fighting on the other side. We learned last week that Jamie had been recruited into Daniel Morgan’s (Barry O’Connor) famous rifle corps as the Continental Army prepped to fight the Redcoats near Saratoga. In this week’s episode, we watch the devastation of the First Battle of Saratoga. William Ransome is horrified by the reality of war when his best friend Sandy Hammond (Henry Ashton) is taken out by a sniper before the battle even begins. Jamie, on the other hand, dutifully takes aim at the British but winds up seemingly dead on the battlefield.
So does Jamie die in Outlander Season 7? Would Starz really kill off James Fraser when he totally lives on in the books? Is Jamie dead or is Outlander toying with us?
Normally, we would laugh this sort of question off. Of course Jamie doesn’t die! He’s Jamie and this is Outlander! However we’re a little nervous about how Outlander Season 7 Episode 7 “A Practical Guide for Time-Travelers” ends. Not only do we not see Jamie even stirring, but the only glimpse we get of Jamie in the Outlander Season 7 Episode 8 teaser — which plays after the credits roll on “A Practical Guide for Time-Travelers” — is of Claire discovering his body on the battlefield.
The rest of the teaser shows a bunch of dramatic moments for our favorite characters. Claire brandishes a sword in self-defense and Young Ian (John Bell) gets closer to Rachel Hunter (Izzy Meikle-Small), while Roger (Richard Rankin) tells Brianna (Sophie Skelton) in the ’80s that Rob Cameron (Chris Fulton) has taken Jem (Blake Johnston Miller) through the stones and he intends on going back in time to follow them. But no other glimpse of Jamie! Does that mean Jamie’s dead??
Perhaps, but we are clinging to the fact that Jamie doesn’t die at the first Battle of Saratoga in the books. He continues to fight in the Revolutionary War before eventually returning to Scotland, per his plan in Season 7. Sure, that’s just what happens in the books, but Outlander is typically faithful to Diana Gabaldon’s vision. So fingers crossed they’re just faking us out.
One character who definitely didn’t make it out of Saratoga? Sandy Hammond, William’s fun-loving Redcoat friend. Sandy endeared himself to us when he helped set Claire up with supplies when she was captured at Fort Ticonderoga and later, in this week’s episode, when he snatched a bottle of bubbly from Burgoyne’s tent.
Sandy Hammond is sadly shot by someone in Daniel Morgan’s rifle corps — perhaps even Jamie! — as the battle begins. It’s a swift, shocking death that rips William’s noble idea of war to shreds. William is initially frozen by his grief until Simon Fraser (Angus Macfadyen) commands him back to his senses. William then leads a charge with just his sword, cutting down Continental soldiers. By the end of the episode, he orders his lazy men to dig proper graves for Sandy and the other dead British and agrees with Simon Fraser’s assessment that he is no longer the same man he was before the battle.
RIP Sandy Hammond. Now I just need to know what happened to your purloined bottle of champagne.