Warning! Spoilers ahead for Outlander season 6, episode 6!
A lot happened in Outlander season 6, episode 6, with Claire nearly dying and Malva’s killer still at large at the close of the episode. In the conclusion of its short, eight-episode run in season 6, Outlander's final two episodes will cover a great deal of ground from the show’s source material, Diana Gabaldon’s sixth book, A Breath of Snow and Ashes, from her best-selling Outlander book series. One of the major outstanding mysteries surrounds Malva's death.
Having become Claire’s apprentice throughout Outlander season 6, Malva (Jessica Reynolds) helps care for Claire when she falls ill at the beginning of the episode and takes the opportunity to try and seduce Jamie (Sam Heughan)—as is seen by Claire through her delirium. Shortly after Claire’s recovery, Malva arrives at Claire and Jamie’s house with her father and brother to accuse Jamie of impregnating her. Though Claire and Jamie recover quickly from Malva’s shocking accusation, Claire (Caitriona Balfe) seems haunted by Malva’s claim, leading her to hide in her surgery and drug herself with ether when she sees Malva approaching alone later in the episode. In her drug-induced sleep, Claire’s dreams reveal her insecurities and she threatens to kill Malva, only to wake and find Malva murdered in her garden.
Malva’s murder comes after much of Outlander season 6 has been spent painting her character as calculated and manipulative yet motivated by her father’s religious zealotry and heavy-handed discipline as well as her half-brother Allan’s overprotective nature. Considering these elements, it makes sense that Malva’s character would be seeking a way out of her life and would set her sights on Jamie as he is, by far, the most successful, wealthy man around. Claire’s conversation with Malva later in Outlander season 6, episode 6, however, and Malva’s solitary arrival to the surgery afterward, seems to lean toward the idea that all is not what it seems with Malva and even less so with her murder.
Who Killed Malva In The Outlander Books?
Based on Diana Gabaldon’s A Breath of Snow and Ashes, Malva’s killer will soon be revealed as her half-brother, Allan, who is also Malva’s baby’s father. After sexually abusing her for years, Malva becomes pregnant with Allan’s child and he convinces her to claim Jamie as the father in order to save himself. Malva, however, decides to confide in Claire but is murdered en route.
Following Malva’s murder in Outlander season 6, Jamie and Claire’s life on Fraser’s Ridge falls to shambles. Allan’s guilt in the event is not revealed until long after Malva’s body is found on Jamie and Claire’s property and they are believed to have killed her for exposing Jamie’s secret. Already suspected to be a witch, Claire will be put on trial (again) and threatened with execution (again), saved by none other than Tom Christie. Tom confesses to Malva’s murder and tells Claire that the strange sickness he shared with Claire seen at the beginning of Outlander season 6, episode 6 was Malva’s attempt to murder them both. So, while Malva’s death is a tragedy, her character remains a complicated one, both ruthless and fragile, a victim and a villain.
Outlander season 6 episode 7 will premiere on Starz Sunday, April 24th.