10 Times Claire Randall/Fraser was an Absolute Queen
One of my all-time favorite shows is Outlander. It’s the my go-to show when friends ask me “What should I watch next?”
Outlander has everything I love in it: a historical time period, a little bit of magic, and a strong female lead.
Is there really anything that Claire can’t do?
Claire is the type of role that I dream of playing. She’s interesting, charismatic, and isn’t afraid to get her hands dirty.
So I thought why not dive into my top ten moments Claire was an absolute queen?
This blog post goes hand in hand with my author chat on Instagram Live this month, where I’ll chat about writing strong women leads in stories. You can find that chat on Instagram — check my IGTV if you miss it live!
In the meantime, let’s dive through some standing stones and into Claire’s best moments!
Stand aside at once.
1. Fixing Jamie’s Arm
This is the first glimpse we get of Claire’s usual behavior of standing up against men who think they’re stronger than her (big mistake). She will always insist on doing what is right, especially when it comes to medicine.
At some point in their adventures before we meet him, Jamie dislocates his shoulder. His friends are going to attempt to put it back in, but the way they’re going about it would have broken Jamie’s arm. She fixes it properly, which is one of the first things, one could argue, that earns her Jamie’s trust.
Where did you hear?
In the village.
2. Pointing Out Cocknamon Rock
Claire’s knowledge of the future is a running plot point through the entire show, although most of the time they find themselves on the wrong side of it. This is a nice moment that connects us to the future through her remembering of Frank’s knowledge of things.
Frank remains present in the show, through his portrayal of Black Jack, but his knowledge of this rock and its use gives us a less terrifying reminder of Frank.
You can mind your own bloody business and so can St. Paul.
3. Fixing Jamie’s Gunshot Wound
Jamie falls from his horse due to a gunshot wound he didn’t mention (smart…). She jumps immediately to take care of him – puts alcohol on it, rips her own skirt to bandage it up. Here we see more knowledge of medicine, and her lack of patience for bullshit.
She is completely herself in this moment, doing her thing and swearing as she does so. While the men are shocked at her language, she throws it right back, making it clear she doesn’t care what they think about what she says.
It’s Lily of the Valley.
4. Helping Tammas Recover from his Poisoning
Claire has a hard transition when it comes to learning about the culture of the 18th century. Certain things that have already been disproven are very much still believed in the 1700s. A prime example is the priest trying to exorcise this child when he’s actually been poisoned by a eating a plant. Claire steps in to save him – using proven scientific tactics, not the will of God.
It saves the boy’s life, but also gets her in trouble.
He was the love of my life!
5. Running Back to Jamie After Discovering He Survived the Battle of Culloden
Who wouldn’t run back after Jaime once learning that he survives?
We were all waiting for it to happen. I don’t blame Claire at all for going back to him as soon as she’s possibly able. “He was the love of my life!” (I still adore that line). And you always go after the love of your life…even if you’re two hundred years apart.
Eureka!
6. Discovering Penicillin
What I love about this part of the series is that Claire has brought Marsali in to join her, and taught her what to look for. Claire is constantly melding her 20th century with her 18th century. She knows she can help more people by discovering penicillin herself – and uses it to save her husband when he gets bitten by a snake.
It’s a game changer for her work as a healer, and she teaches Marsali what to look for and how to use it.
Yes. Witch, I am. And I curse you, I curse you with knowledge, Jack Randall.
7. Telling Black Jack Randall the Date He’ll Die
This scene comes after one of the bloodiest scenes of season one. Black Jack Randall thinks he has the upper hand, but Claire still has the knowledge of history to fuck with him. As he leads her down the corridor, he asks her about her witch trial and she goes along with it — she claims she is a witch and curses him with the knowledge of the exact date of his death. Black Jack may talk a big game, but it’s pretty clear that he is shaken by this information.
I felt the burden of being a prophet.
8. Warning Jenny About the Famine
One of the last interactions Claire has with Jenny in season one is when they part ways — Claire to go after Jamie and Jenny back to her family. Claire decides to warn Jenny about the famine that will come in a couple years and tells her to plant as many potatoes as she can. She warns that famine and war are coming.
Jenny responds saying, “Jamie said you might tell me things, and he said if you did that I was to do as you asked. “
If you ever raise a hand to me again, I will cut your heart out and eat it for breakfast.
9. Setting Jamie Straight About How to Treat Her
When Claire gets herself caught and taken to Fort William, Jamie and the boys come to her rescue. But she’s in trouble with them once she’s safe – she put everyone at risk. So what happens to a woman who breaks the rules in the 18th century? She gets punished. She doesn’t go down without fight, of course.
So once Jamie forgives her and she “forgives” Jamie for what he did to her, and they sleep together next, she gets on top of him and holds a knife to his throat and makes sure he knows that she is not some regular 18th century wife, and he needs to treat her as such.
I have done nothing more than state the truth.
10. Calling Comte St Germain Out for a Small Pox Outbreak
This is something that got Claire into trouble… but she didn’t care and did what was right anyway. Because a small pox outbreak would take down the entire city. She called out shitty, corrupt tactics when she saw them, and made sure that the outbreak would stop at the harbor.
I bet she would have a pretty good handle on this pandemic…
Claire is a complete badass, and this is only a fraction of all the moments I could have listed.
What are your favorite Claire moments? You can share with me on Insta – I’ll also be having a chat over there today about writing strong female leads. You can catch it on IGTV if you miss it, and I’ll post my notes in another blog post so you can catch it there!