Warning! Spoilers ahead for Outlander Season 5.
Season 5 of Outlander has been full of slow burns, unexpected twists, and sweet moments between characters — the most recent being Jamie gifting Claire with Adso, the stray and fluffy gray cat he brought home. More importantly, however, Claire and Jamie have had to contend with loyalty, history, and the impact of their ongoing choices and how they factor into the larger picture. With all that’s already happened over the course of five episodes, there is still so much more the Starz series has yet to touch upon in Season 5.
Outlander is slowly unraveling the season's biggest plots. From the revelation that Stephen Bonnet is still alive to Murtagh Fitzgibbons' continued success in evading capture, Season 5 has been full of suspense. However, as the season trudges on, there is still a lot of ground the show needs to cover. Keeping in mind that this is based solely on the events of the show thus far, here are five burning questions that Outlander needs to answer before the end of Season 5.
Will Murtagh Ever Be Found And Killed?
Most of Outlander Season 5 has hinged on the premise of Jamie forming a militia to find and capture his godfather Murtagh. After advising him to run and hide himself well in the Season 5 premiere, Murtagh did the opposite of what Jamie wanted and carried on his business with the Regulators. What’s worse is that he seemed unafraid of being out in the open or being caught. For a while, it seemed like the Murtagh storyline would pick up and that Outlander would provide some sort of resolution.
However, Jamie recently killed Lieutenant Knox, effectively removing the man who sought Murtagh’s capture the most. Now that Murtagh’s life on television has surpassed that of his book counterpart, the Starz series needs to figure out what should happen to Murtagh once and for all. At this rate, I’d wager that Murtagh will be found eventually, though I think the writers will find a way out of killing him. It’s possible he may just marry Aunt Jocasta and leave everything else behind to start a new life off-screen.
Will Bree And Roger Ever Go Back Through The Stones?
Bree and Roger have seemingly become permanent fixtures on Fraser’s Ridge during Season 5. However, their presence in the 18th century has only ever felt temporary. While Bree seems far more adjusted to the time period, Roger is still struggling and doesn’t fit in at all.
In Season 5’s “Perpetual Adoration,” Roger and Bree come to the conclusion that they will eventually use the gemstone Stephen Bonnet gave to Bree in Season 4 to get back to their own time period. Eventually. However, I’m inclined to believe that they won’t be able to get back by the end of Season 5, especially since they still don’t know whether Jemmy can travel through the stones. I personally don’t think Bree is fully convinced they should go back either, and has only kept the stone for discretionary purposes.
How Will The Series Resolve Claire’s Penicillin Plot?
Claire basically told history to fuck off and went ahead to make penicillin 157 years before it’s discovered by Alexander Fleming. Now that Claire has finally found a strain of penicillin that works, her use of it will be instrumental to saving people who may not have otherwise been healed. However, that’s where it gets tricky. While time travel has been at the core of the show since the beginning, history has always found a way to right itself.
Claire may not see the immediate effects of using penicillin before its time, but it doesn’t mean nothing will come of it. What’s more, she doesn’t seem very concerned that her medical advice was accidentally printed en masse. Personally, I don’t think that Claire can create penicillin without there being major repercussions on time and history and I’d like to see this plot resolved, at least to an extent, at some point soon.
Will Jamie Actually Fight In The Revolutionary War?
As soon as Jamie accepted Governor Tryon’s 100 acres, he swore his fealty to him and the British army. While Outlander has only mentioned the Revolutionary War a few times since Season 4, it seems like only a matter of time before Jamie will be called upon to fight in the war, having sworn his allegiances to the crown.
Although Jamie has his hands full with other things at the moment — tending to Fraser’s Ridge, covering up Lieutenant Knox’s death, and ensuring his family’s safety — it seems inevitable that Jamie’s loyalty will have to pass the ultimate test. In the trailer for Season 5, Jamie is seen wearing a red coat, seemingly fighting alongside the British. However, it remains to be seen whether Jamie will join the redcoat ranks and fight or if it's a plot that will be explored in Season 6.
Will Stephen Bonnet Try To Kidnap Jemmy?
In Season 5’s fourth episode, Bree was shaken following the news that an Irishman had approached Jemmy in town. Paranoid that her rapist knew where she was and would kidnap Jemmy, Bree nearly lost it when she momentarily couldn’t find her son in the house. While Jemmy is safe and sound for the time being, the threat of Bonnet still looms large.
Outlander seems to be setting up Bonnet as one of the season’s main antagonists and, though he’s only been seen once so far, it looks like he’s gained some influential friends following his escape from prison. It’s possible that he’s playing the long game and will eventually show up to Fraser’s Ridge, threatening to take Jemmy away for good. Now that he knows Jemmy might be his, there’s no telling what he might do and how far he’ll go to get to him.
New episodes of Outlander Season 5 air Sundays at 8 p.m. ET on Starz. For more on what to watch, be sure to check out our midseason schedule for updated premiere dates and times.
