EXCLUSIVE: Are Jamie and Claire actually alive in ...

This post contains spoilers from the Outlander series finale, “And the World Was All Around Us.”

The Soul of a Rebel. It’s not just the title of Frank Randall’s history of Scottish involvement in the Revolutionary War — it’s also an apt description of our long-suffering hero Jamie Fraser (Sam Heughan). Over the course of Outlander’s eight seasons, the Highlander has fought ardently for his and Claire’s (Caitriona Balfe) future together, often with the specter of death not far behind.

With his demise foretold in Frank’s book, Jamie once again faced insurmountable odds, as he and his assembled warriors trekked to Kings Mountain for the pivotal battle. What happened atop that summit remains, frustratingly, up for interpretation. Did Jamie, in fact, cheat death? Or are he and Claire now in another realm entirely? These are the questions we posed to Heughan as he sat down with EW to talk about Outlander’s last stand.

ENTERTAINMENT WEEKLY: With multiple endings filmed for the series, mystery surrounded the finale even for you. What was your reaction after finally watching it?

SAM HEUGHAN: I only saw the episode a couple of days ago, and we filmed it a year and a half ago. It’s so emotional. In fact, it’s been a very emotional week. Yesterday, we said goodbye to all the amazing crew and people that work at Starz. It’s been our home for over a decade. I was on the verge of tears. It’s such an odd, odd feeling. We — myself and Caitriona — thought that we’d come to terms with it. But it was so lovely to see it. It is really one long goodbye. Each character gets their moment, and the final moment itself was definitely a surprise for all of us.

Jamie specifically said a lot of goodbyes — in addition to drafting his last will and testament — as he prepared for what might be his final fight at the Battle of Kings Mountain. Do you think he approached the battle with any sense of hope or was it truly a suicide mission for him?

He’s always faced his mortality and death. Ever since he met Claire, he’s seen, in her, his demise — he knows he’s gonna die for her. I’m not going to blame it all on her, but ever since Culloden, really, he’s had an insight into death. With [Frank’s] book, knowing that history says that he died, and knowing their past experiences with trying to change history, it never succeeds. So he comes to terms with it. He says that he’s not afraid to die. He’s just afraid to leave the people that he loves. That’s the hardest part for him. It’s beautiful when he thinks he succeeded and he survived, and he sees Claire, and they’re like, ‘Oh, it’s okay, it was a mistake or whatever.’ Then, of course, the gunshot rings out. It’s a really interesting relationship that he’s got with death. He’s not supernatural. He doesn’t have special abilities that perhaps Claire has, but he definitely has some insight into the afterlife.

After Jamie is shot and killed at the conclusion of the battle, we then shift to ghost Jamie’s perspective. How important was it for you to close that loop that was opened in the pilot?

That, for me, was key. I didn’t know how [showrunner] Matt [Roberts] was going to end the show specifically, but it was something that I pushed for. I think I said quite early on that I really wanted to do it. I feel that initially, when I said it to him, he wasn’t going to go there. But I know a lot of people really wanted to do that — not only the fans but ourselves and a lot of other execs and creatives involved. It was just so important. It was really cool to film — to go back to the Season 1 costume to do that scene, to see a younger Jamie, perhaps, or a ghost of Jamie, and then, maybe, reveal that as a younger version of himself he went to the stones. My interpretation is that he called her, or called for his love or called for something to come into his life, and the rest is history.

How do you interpret the closing moments of the series? Did Jamie come back to life?

I don’t know if I fully understand it. There was, I believe, an element of Claire having a power. It goes back to her being la dame blanche, this white witch. She brings the child back to life earlier. There’s the Faith of it all. Her hair changes color using her special ability. But I think they changed their minds on quite how that was going to play out. In my head, or the way I’m interpreting it, is it’s really up to the fans, whether they’re alive again together. They’re, of course, always together. But are they alive in this world or in the next? I’d like to believe that they’re alive together. I think them even waking up on the standing stone itself might signify that perhaps they’re somewhere else.

Presuming Jamie and Claire are alive and well in the 18th century, what do you imagine the rest of their years together looking like?

Hopefully in retirement, in a nice, peaceful place. They’ve done their battles. They’ve made amends. For me, I think the story stops there. I’m extremely excited to see what Diana [Gabaldon] writes in the last book. Myself and [executive producer] Maril [Davis] both know the ending of the last book. Diana sent it to us before we started Season 1; she sent us the last few pages, so we know the ending. I want to see when she gets to that and how she gets to it.

You’ve been walking around with that secret for more than a decade!

Yes, yes, I have. I’ve got it somewhere on my laptop. She’s created this amazing series, and everyone’s invested in it, whether you’re a book fan or TV fan. We could get as far as she’s going to go, but hopefully this ending is, in its own way, in the same world, in the same direction as her books are going.

This interview has been edited for length and clarity.

The Outlander series finale is streaming now on the Starz app.