Warning! Spoilers ahead for Outlander season 6, episode 7!
Claire is once again in serious trouble following Malva’s murder with Outlander season 6, episode 7 ending with her arrest, but one book secret could save her. Based on the books by Diana Gabaldon, season 6 of the Starz series follows Gabaldon’s, A Breath of Snow and Ashes, however, filming for the series was cut short due to pandemic restrictions. This means that Outlander season 6 may end in a cliffhanger, as it will likely not cover all of Gabaldon’s book, closing out the season with Claire on trial for Malva’s murder—and this time it’s not Jamie who saves her.
Outlander season 6 saw the arrival of the Christie family and it’s really been hard to distinguish which of the family is the most troublesome. Tom Christie is an ex-prisoner of Ardsmuir Prison with a history of conflict with Jamie who arrives to settle on Fraser’s Ridge with his son, Allan, and daughter, Malva. Shortly after their arrival, Allan is caught stealing from one of Richard Brown’s men, and Tom challenges Jamie’s authority on the Ridge by insisting Jamie punish Allan with a public lashing. Meanwhile, Malva has been trying her hand at witchcraft, sleeping with numerous men on the ridge, and, most recently, accusing Jamie of fathering her child.
Interestingly, a different relationship has begun between Claire and Tom Christie. After initially accusing her of witchcraft and setting himself adamantly against Claire’s profession as a healer, Tom allows Claire to perform surgery to fix his severely arthritic hand, and, since then, has been far less aggressive toward her. This is important because, though it has only been seen in the subtlest way in the Starz series, if Outlander follows the books, Tom Christie is in love with Claire and is about to sacrifice himself to save her.
After Claire’s arrest in Outlander season 6, episode 7, both Jamie and Tom will accompany her to trial in an effort to protect her. Jamie tries to negotiate for her freedom, but fails, leading Tom Christie to confess to Malva’s murder to save Claire. He also reveals that he and Claire’s shared illness at the beginning of Outlander season 6, episode 6 was Malva’s attempt to murder them both and marry Jamie, hoping Jamie would take care of her and her child. Tom Christie’s biggest confession, however, is that he is deeply in love with Claire.
It is still unclear if Tom Christie has identified his son (and Malva’s half-brother), Allan, as Malva’s true killer when he falsely confesses or if he only takes the blame because he knows Claire to be innocent. Either way, Claire is forced to leave Tom there, presuming he will be executed for the crime. Once she returns to Fraser’s Ridge, Allan finally confesses to Malva’s murder, bringing the tragic Outlander storyline to a close.
New episodes of Outlander are available on Starz on Sundays.