‘Outlander’ Series Finale: Will Jamie & Claire Get a Happy Ending?

Outlander has put Jamie (Sam Heughan) and Claire (Caitriona Balfe) through the wringer over its eight seasons. We’ve lost count of how many times they’ve been on death’s doorstep. They’ve been separated by time travel. They’ve accidentally married another person, thinking that their spouse was dead. The list goes on. But one thing we can always know to be true is that Jamie and Claire’s love will hold strong no matter what — but that doesn’t guarantee a happy ending. (Warning: Spoilers for Outlander Season 8 Episodes 1-8 ahead!)

Throughout the Starz drama’s eighth and final season, Jamie’s fate has been hanging in the balance, courtesy of Frank (Tobias Menzies) from beyond the grave. At the beginning of the season, Jamie and Claire’s daughter, Brianna (Sophie Skelton), returns to the past from the future with Frank’s book about the Scots’ role in the American Revolution. Frank name-drops Jamie as one of the fighters at the Battle of King’s Mountain, revealing that he’s likely to die. It’s not clear if Frank’s telling the truth. Could he be bitter about Jamie and Claire’s relationship and trying to manipulate history?

After making it seem more and more likely that Jamie can’t avoid the coming battle, we got our answer about Frank’s intentions in Episode 8. Frank’s book was intended to help Brianna, if she ever decided to go back in time to find Jamie. Via voiceover, Frank encourages Jamie to train his militia and survive for Bree. All of this being said, we still don’t know for sure if this means Jamie will live happily with Claire into old(er) age. After everything they’ve gone through, they certainly deserve that ending. But Outlander isn’t afraid of killing off its beloved characters, as we’ve learned in the cases of Fergus (César Domboy), Murtagh (Duncan Lacroix), and more.

We can’t even look to the books for reassurance. Author Diana Gabaldon is writing another Outlander book that has yet to be published, so the show will have a different ending than whatever she has planned. The Battle of King’s Mountain does occur in the author’s Go Tell the Bees That I Am Gone, however, and you can find out how it shakes out here if you haven’t read it yet. But again, the show is diverging from the books by ending the story early, so Jamie and Claire’s fate is truly unknown. Even if Jamie doesn’t die in the battle, the show could do any other number of things to drive him and Claire apart.

Ahead of the series finale on May 15, Swooon wants your take: Do you predict a happy ending for Jamie and Claire? Or will their romance end in tragedy? Tell us your prediction in the poll and comments below!