In the very first episode of Outlander, which is titled Sassenach, Claire Randall (played by Caitriona Bale) and her husband Frank Randall (Tobias Menzies) were on their second honeymoon after the end of World War II.
The pair travelled to the Scottish Highlands in the hope of rekindling their relationship, but as fans know, things turned out very differently.
Before viewers even got to meet redheaded Jamie (Sam Heughan), the character was spotted from behind, outside the very inn where Claire and Frank were staying.
A man in 18th Century garb stared up at Claire in her bedroom while she brushed her hair in full view of the window.
Claire didn’t seem to notice this eerie figure but Frank was returning after an errand in the town of Inverness.
Instantly spotting the mysterious figure, Frank seemed ready to confront Jamie, but the person disappeared before he could do so.
The main could be seen wearing typical clothing for the time, including leather boots, a kilt, satchel, coat and a tam (Scottish cap).
Frank began: “Excuse me? Can I help you with something?”
But the person appeared to evaporate in a supernatural moment, and Frank was left utterly puzzled and staring into the distance.
The bathroom light suddenly flickered out from behind Claire, and the mystery has remained ever since.
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Trying to understand the bizarre occurrence, Frank told his wife: “When he pushed past me, he was close enough that I should’ve felt him brush my sleeve as he passed, but I didn’t.
“And I turned around to say something, and he’d gone. He just vanished. That’s when I felt a chill down my spine.”
Fans eventually speculated it could have been Jamie’s ghost, and author Diana Gabaldon has since confirmed the truth.
In the FAQ section of her official website, the novelist said: “The ghost is Jamie–but as for how it fits into the story, All Will Be Explained–in the last book.”
She later told an eager fan on Twitter the truth would be explained in “Book 9 and Book 10, and the ghost will be the last thing in Book 10”.
Diana has also been a guest on the Outlander Podcast where she shed a little bit more light on the as-yet unsolved mystery, revealing Jamie’s age at the time.
“Sam Heughan asked me, and I hadn’t thought about it before. But I just answered him immediately,” she said. “He’s about 25.”
Jamie lives well beyond 25 on the series and in the books, but there are other theories hinting the reason for Jamie’s appearance is due to the powerful scenes after the bloody Battle of Culloden at the beginning of season three.
Jamie survived the brutal action, but he lay for days on end in the carnage, and was very close to giving up, had it not been for some ghostly visions of his wife, who travelled back through the Standing Stones with his unborn daughter Brianna (Sophie Skelton) at the end of season two.
Was this when Jamie appeared as a younger version of himself to his beloved wife Claire? Or is there another explanation to come? Time will tell.
Outlander season five returns to STARZ and Amazon Prime Video in 2020.
