We are back! Outlander 7×01 “A Life Well Lost” marks a start to the season that connects the dots concerning the previous season finale while demonstrating, once again, that Jamie and Claire apart are incredible but together they are a force of nature and natural leaders of the show. Ready?
Here we go!
Jamie & Claire Love is the Force that Moves Them in Outlander 7×01 “A Life Well Lost”
Outlander 7×01 “A Life Well Lost” begins in such a heartbreaking way that the previous season ended. Jamie and Claire remain estranged, and as Jamie and Ian scour the country to find Claire’s whereabouts, she finds herself in jail…and on the brink of hanging.
The gallows are not the end of Claire but she goes from one prison to another when she meets a redcoat who has become a current enemy. Jamie, how could it be otherwise, honors his oath and manages to find Claire and the way they meet again…goddess, they are at home when they see each other again.
This reunion scene in Outlander 7×01 “A Life Well Lost” is a parallel to their reunion in season 3. At first, they just look at each other and, with that, they tell each other everything. But it’s the moment that Claire throws herself into Jamie’s arms, the only place she feels really safe, for me.
That’s why it hurts more when they have to separate again. Claire is being held on the ship and Jamie must bite the bullet and leave her there…for now. It wasn’t easy for either of them. Claire had to watch Jamie disappear from her eyes again and Jamie had to let her go, but still, he gives her an encouraging smile.
“Blood of my Blood, Bone of my Bone”
In Outlander 7×01 “A Life Well Lost,” Claire doesn’t know how, but she knows that Jamie will come back for her. And Jamie is determined to do it, no matter what the cost. They intrinsically trust each other. They have been lost and have struggled to find themselves too many times not to.
That’s why Claire reacts like this when Tom comes next to her. She feels a mixture of disappointment and also relief. Disappointed that he’s not Jamie but relieved that he’s someone she knows, a friend.
The definitive reunion between our lovers in Outlander 7×01 “A Life Well Lost” is everything it should be. Full of trust, full of love. It’s almost like we’re looking at a scene too intimate for our eyes. And they just lie together, touching, feeling each other, taking comfort in each other’s presence, knowing that they are safe at last, together.
They were too close this time. Too close to missing each other. Jamie would have given his life for Claire without thinking. She is his heart. His soul. His blood and his bones. She is the beginning and the end. That’s why Jamie couldn’t leave it like that in Outlander 7×01 “A Life Well Lost.”
He felt too close to losing Claire and even though he didn’t lose her, he knows it wasn’t easy for her to be alone, feeling lost, hopeless…especially after what happened in the woods. Brown is directly to blame for all this and Jamie is going to make him pay.
Sometimes we forget that Jamie is a man very capable of using violence and killing for the people he loves. If that violence softened in him it is thanks to Claire but when they put her in danger, his scruples and pity are not something he has in mind. And Outlander 7×01 “A Life Well Lost” is no exception. So Jamie doesn’t hesitate to kill Brown. And it feels like divine justice.
Unrequited Love in Outlander 7×01 “A Life Well Lost”
Much of the reason why Jamie and Claire can meet in Outlander 7×01 “A Life Well Lost” is Tom Christie. He is in love with Claire and doesn’t hesitate to sacrifice his life for hers. For him, it’s an easy price to pay.
His family is destroyed and the woman he loves will never love him back, he knows it, but still, he doesn’t hesitate to sacrifice his life for her. The only thing that matters is that she is happy, even if it is not with him.
There is something really special about giving your all for a love that you know will never return. It takes special courage to put another person first, even though they would never do the same for you. The love for Claire is the only thing Tom Christie has left in Outlander 7×01 “A Life Well Lost” and he is going to honor it.
The only thing that Tom allows himself to do in Outlander 7×01 “A Life Well Lost” is to tell Claire what he feels. He doesn’t expect her to say anything to him, let alone reciprocate, but he needs to be free. This is the last time Tom is going to see Claire and he needs to tell her how he feels, almost like a confession. The confession of a sinner before performing his penance.
A Life Well Lost
Claire is surprised and uncomfortable. This man in front of her is going to sacrifice his life so that she can get free and it feels bad that he is opening his heart to her and she can’t reciprocate that, not even pretend that she does. But honestly, it doesn’t feel right for her to be the center of a man’s unwanted attention either, not after what happened in that forest.
So the only thing Claire can do in Outlander 7×01 “A Life Well Lost” is…do nothing beyond trying to stop an innocent man from sacrificing himself for her. And, meanwhile, Jamie accepts Tom’s sacrifice…and why he’s doing it.
Jamie has been suspicious of Tom’s feelings for Claire for some time, and it’s not easy for a man as jealous as him to know that another man desires his wife with such a passion. Tom and Jamie openly discuss this for the first time in Outlander 7×01 “A Life Well Lost.” And it’s one of the best scenes of the episode.
Jamie watches as Tom decides to sacrifice everything for Claire. And sometimes it’s harder to see how difficult things are done than to do them. Jamie was going to honor the oath he swore to Claire on their wedding day anyway…and there comes a point where that means witnessing Tom’s sacrifice. One life for another. And Jamie wouldn’t have it any other way.
Other Stuff in Outlander 7×01 “A Life Well Lost”
- Jamie looking for his wife is terrifying in the best of ways. The fire that he shows… is hot!
- That Jamie’s biggest fear is losing Claire and not being able to find her in time…
- It wasn’t easy for Claire not to know about her fate or Jamie’s… too many horrible memories of that forest. But she stayed whole. Superwoman indeed.
- Sassenach!
- Jamie has sacrificed his life for Claire many times and would do it again and again. One and a thousand times more.
- I understand the part about wanting to help and all, but it’s too much for Roger to pretend to help one of the cowards who witnessed the assault on Claire. It’s a betrayal of her and the entire Fraser family.
- It’s Jamie’s way of respecting Claire’s space on that tiny bed for me.
Outlander season 7 airs Fridays at 8PM ET on STARZ.
The show is great. BUT you need to go back to the original singer of the opening song.
Like the opening credits of season 1 there are none. Thanks for your comment!:)