For most of its runtime, the Outlander season 7 finale looked as though it would follow a roughly familiar template for the long-running historical drama. Claire (Balfe) is fighting her way back from another life-threatening situation, with Jamie (Heughan) by her side. But the episode’s final scene is a true game-changer, departing from the Outlander novels to reveal that Claire and Jamie’s daughter, Faith, actually lived and had children of her own.
In an interview with The Hollywood Reporter, Heughan and Balfe reacted to the twist involving Faith. Heughan talked about how the revelation stretches all the way back to Outlander season 2, teasing how the discovery could impact Jamie. Balfe, meanwhile, praised Florrie Wilkinson, who plays Fanny Pocock, and who is key to how the discovery unfolds. Balfe also says that the discovery helps to tee up the eighth and final season:
Heughan: It’s a huge moment for them to find out that their daughter potentially lived, and now they have this grandchild in their life. It’s a great cliffhanger — one that I think book and non-book fans are going to be surprised by. I think it was beautifully done with the song. It’s interesting because even playing [Faith’s death] way back in season two, we played the truth of it; we had no idea ourselves. So it was a shock for us as actors reading it and learning about it, as it was for the characters. I think the thought process for Jamie is, “How is it possible?” The elation, the happiness that, actually, it could be possible. And then, who is this young girl in front of us right now?
Balfe: I just love it when you are given a scene and you read it, and it’s like, “Ooh, that’s really good.” But in the playing of it, when the hairs on your arms are standing up, it’s pretty brilliant. Florrie is so amazing. Every time we have a scene with her, you’re just so blown away by how brilliant she is. It’s such an interesting cliffhanger because it just opens up this whole other world of questions, which leads us so brilliantly into the next season. I think for Claire, it’s like her heart stops, her heart breaks and her heart sings — all at the same time.
How The Faith Twist Unfolds & What It Means For Outlander Season 8
The Episode Spends Time With Significant Supporting Characters
Back in the second installment of the Starz historical drama, Claire gave birth to a stillborn baby that she named Faith. Claire, however, grew very sick after the birth and nearly died of fever. She believes that she was saved by Master Raymond (played by Dominique Pinon), who pops up again in the Outlander season 7 finale. He tells her to “have faith” in a scene that plays like a dream sequence.
That seems to be the end of it. The finale, for the most part, spends a lot of time with Jane (Silvia Presente), who is sentenced to death for killing a man who tried to force himself on Fanny, who is just a child. The connection later becomes clear. In the closing scene, Claire hears Fanny singing a tune, “I Do Like to be Beside the Seaside,” which Claire used to sing to Faith. Fanny says that she learned the song from her mother, which causes Claire to make the connection: her stillborn daughter might have someone lived into adulthood.
This cliffhanger is a departure from the Outlander novels, which entertain the possibility that Faith could have lived but never offered such clear confirmation. The question, now, is whether something happened in season 2. There’s a case to be made that Claire was lied to or, alternately, that Faith’s survival has to do with the sort of supernatural magic that Master Raymond seems to represent. In either case, it will be a major focus for Outlander season 8.
Our Take On Outlander’s Faith Twist
It’s A Spark Of Joy
There is a third possibility, albeit it is extremely unlikely, which is that Claire is falsely clinging to hope about her daughter. But after everything that she and Jamie have been through, it would be better if Outlander ended on a note of optimism that would make the book departure well worth it.