Summary

• Outlander timeline involves time travel using magic stones, with travelers ending up approximately 200 years in the past.
• Time runs consistently in both timelines and characters age at the same rate, making it difficult to always keep track of it all.
• Gemstones are used to safely pass through the stones, and some believe sacrifice is necessary for time travel.

The Outlander timeline begins when a young woman, Claire Randall, accidentally steps into a stone circle in the Highlands and is transported 200 years back in time. As the series continues, viewers discover that Claire will meet a few others who have discovered the secrets of the stones, and she will return to her own time, and back again, eventually having her daughter follow. Based on the Outlander book series by Diana Gabaldon, there are a few "rules" for this type of time travel using magic stones. A traveler will end up approximately 200 years in the past, based on their own time.

Time also runs at a consistent speed, and characters age at the same rate. Multiple places around the world allow people to travel, and anyone passing through one of these spots will end up at the same spot in the other timeline. Gemstones are also used to safely pass through the stones, and some believe sacrifice is also needed. With all this wandering back and forth between centuries, Outlander has an unsurprisingly complicated timeline, not least because the series tells the two timelines simultaneously, weaving them together for Claire's story. While there is time travel throughout, the Outlander timeline for seasons 5 and 6 mostly stays put, which brings the story to Outlander season 7.

Outlander Season 1's Timeline

Spring 1945 / May-Winter 1743

The Outlander timeline for season 1 is a relatively simple one, in terms of time jumps, and only two time periods exist here. The series begins in the 1940s, as Claire and her husband Frank are reconnecting after WWII. They travel to Scotland together, which is where Claire accidentally stumbles through the stones, into the past. There, she becomes the guest/prisoner of the locals, including Jaime Fraser.

Spring 1945: Claire and Frank Randall are on their trip to Scotland to rekindle their romance after so long apart. On Beltane (May 1), Claire and Frank see some local women at a stone circle (Craigh Na Dun), performing a ritual that appears to be magical/druidic. Claire later returns to the circle to investigate a plant she saw and Claire is magically transported back in time.

May/June, 1743: Claire wakes up by the stones on May 2. A redcoat, the ancestor of her husband (Jack Randall) attempts to take her prisoner, but she is saved by locals. Claire is taken to Castle Leoch, the seat of Clan McKenzie. At Castle Leoch, she learns about the Jacobite rebellion brewing and meets a local wise woman (Geillis), and a young woman (Laoghaire) who has her eye on Jamie. Claire and Jamie marry, to keep Claire safe from the Redcoats.

Summer 1743: After their wedding, Claire tries to escape, to return to the stones and, hopefully, her own time. However, she is captured by Jack Randall, and she's nearly assaulted before Jamie rescues her.

October 1743: In October of the Outlander timeline, Geillis and Claire are accused of witchcraft. Both women are nearly burned at the stake, but Jamie saves Claire, leaving Geillis to her fate. Claire is honest with Jamie about where she comes from, and although he offers to take her safely to the stones, she decides to stay.

Winter, 1743: Claire and Jamie are at his family home, Lallybroch, when Jamie is betrayed by the Redcoats and taken prisoner at Wentworth Prison. There, he is tortured by Jack Randall, and sentenced to be executed, but Claire rescues him.

Spring 1945 (reprise): Back in post-war Scotland, Frank Randall is searching for his missing wife, but when no trace of her is found, the police assume she simply ran away.

Outlander Season 2's Timeline

April 1948, January 1744-April 1746

The Outlander timeline for season 2 presents a change of scenery for Claire and Jamie, as they travel to France in the hopes that they will be able to thwart the Jacobite uprising and prevent the slaughter that Claire knows is coming. They must do this secretly, though, as publicly (at least, in their circles), Jamie must be seen as a supporter of Bonnie Prince Charlie. Despite their best efforts, Claire and Jamie fail to stop the coming war and return to Scotland to do what they can to limit the damage.

January 1744: Claire works to heal the physical and emotional damage done to Jamie during his time in Wentworth Prison, and reveals to him that she is pregnant.

February 1744: Claire and Jamie head to France.

Spring/Summer 1744: Claire and Jamie work their way into Prince Charles' social circle. Jamie takes a young boy named Fergus into his employ, and they learn that Jack Randall is not dead. Randall comes to Paris and attacks Fergus, prompting Jamie to challenge him to a duel, get thrown in prison, and cause Claire to miscarry.

Fall 1744: Claire and Jamie return to Scotland.

August - December 1745: Jamie receives a letter in the Outlander timeline, saying Charles Stuart has declared he is the rightful King and is coming to Scotland. At first, the Jacobites seemed to succeed, taking over various cities. Claire travels with Jamie, treating the wounded.

April 1746: Culloden. Jamie will fight in the battle, but he wishes Claire to be safe, so he returns her to the stones. Pregnant once again, she passes through, sobbing. Jamie returns to the battle, even though he knows he will lose.

April 1948: Claire returns to the 1940s, two months pregnant and heartbroken. She reunites with Frank, expecting him to leave her, but he stays. He has been offered a teaching position at Harvard, and the two move to Boston to raise her child as Frank's.

Outlander Season 3's Timeline

1949-1968, 1752-1767

Outlander season 3 is where the Outlander timeline starts to jump back and forth between Claire in Boston and Jamie in the aftermath of Culloden, with the first half of the season taking place in both times as the lovers are kept apart for many years. Then, the second half of the season sees Claire and Jamie reunited and also sees the location shift a third time, from Scotland to Jamaica, as Claire and Jamie rush to rescue Young Ian, Jamie's nephew who has been taken by pirates. It's an action-packed season of the iconic fantasy series, and one that covers a huge period, not all of which happens on-screen.

Jamie's Timeline

1752: Jamie has been living secretly near Lallybroch since surviving Culloden in the Outlander timeline, and is struggling to stay hidden and keep the English from harming his loved ones. After soldiers question his sister Jenny and then capture and cut the hand off Fergus, Jamie decides to have Jenny turn him in. He goes to Ardsmuir Prison.

1755: A new warden of Ardsmuir, Lord John Grey, takes over and develops a relationship with Jamie.

1756: Ardsmuir is closed, and Grey allows Jamie to work out his sentence as an indentured servant at the estate of Lord Ellesmere. He is blackmailed into sleeping with Geneva, the Lord's young fiance, and gets her pregnant. She dies in childbirth, and Ellesmere tries to kill the child. Jamie kills Ellesmere, Grey helps them cover it all up, and Jamie stays on, with his child being raised as the young Lord, until 1764, when he is paroled and returns to Lallybroch.

1765: Jamie marries Laoghaire, but the two are miserable. He then leaves her for Edinburgh, where he opens a print shop.

Claire's Timeline

1949: Claire and Frank are trying to rebuild their marriage and raise Claire's daughter, Brianna, as their own.

1950s: Claire goes to medical school in the Outlander timeline, becoming the only female student. She manages to succeed, graduating as a doctor while raising her child with Frank. Frank, however, is having an affair, which Claire finds out about. They stay together for Brianna.

1966: Brianna graduates high school, and Frank is offered a position at Cambridge. He and Claire argue over what will happen next. Frank is killed in a car crash.

1968: Brianna, who now knows the truth about Claire and Jamie, travels with her mother back to Scotland to try and discover what happened to her father. There, they learn that Geillis Duncan traveled back in time intentionally, in May of this year, and Jamie has survived Culloden. While Claire decides to return, Brianna starts a romance with Roger Wakefield.

Claire & Jamie Reunited

1766: Claire and Jamie are reunited in the Outlander timeline in Edinburgh after 20 years. The two return to Lallybroch, but Jenny isn't thrilled to see Claire again, believing that she abandoned Jamie after the battle. Laoghaire is even less happy about her return. This is resolved, somewhat, but Laoghaire demands money from Jamie, and he finds out about hidden Jacobite treasure when in prison. They go to collect it, but as Young Ian is trying to get it for them, he is taken by pirates.

1767: Claire and Jamie travel to Jamaica to save Ian. There, they meet Lord John Grey, who is now governor, and Claire learns about everything that happened while she was back in her own time. They also run into another familiar face - Geillis. She has taken Ian captive. She is searching for gemstones and intends to travel through time again, using a cave on the island and Ian as a sacrifice. Grey can make sure that Jamie is safe, and Claire saves Ian. They intend to head home to Scotland, but are shipwrecked, and wake up on a beach in the New World.

Outlander Season 4's Timeline

1971, April 1767-May 1770

The Outlander timeline for season 4 continues on a split timeline because, while Claire and Jamie are reunited in the 1700s, Brianna and Roger are still back in the 20th century for the first half of the season before Brianna eventually decides to follow in her mother's footsteps and do a little time traveling of her own. Although, like the previous season, the two couples do eventually meet up in the past, bringing the Outlander timelines together again.

Claire & Jamie's Timeline

April 1767: Shipwrecked off the coast of Georgia, Claire and Jamie manage to find their way to North Carolina in the Outlander timeline, meeting a nefarious pirate-type named Stephen Bonnet along the way. There, Jamie is offered land and incentives to stay and help colonize, so they stay. Over the next few months, they head up to Aunt Jocasta's plantation, as she is a relative of Jamie's, and they can figure out where to settle from there.

August 1767: Claire, Jamie, and their family decide on a piece of land, naming it Fraser's Ridge. They start to settle in and build a home, recruiting others to settle nearby.

Brianna & Roger's Timeline

1971: Brianna and Roger are growing closer in The Outlander timeline. They have some ups and downs, but it seems as though they may reconcile when Roger discovers some historical records showing where Claire and Jamie were living in North Carolina. He also discovers that Claire and Jamie were killed in a house fire. Brianna decides to head back through the stones herself. Roger follows her, leaving both in 1769 Scotland.

The Fraser Family Timeline

September 1769: Brianna and Roger take separate ships to the New World, then meet in Wilmington. The two are hand-fasted, but she later storms off, and then has the misfortune of meeting Stephen Bonnet, who rapes her. Thankfully, she then finds her parents, and they head back to Fraser's Ridge. Roger attempts to follow them, but thanks to a series of misunderstandings, Jamie believes that he is the one who attacked Brianna, beats him to a pulp, and hands him over to the local Mohawk tribe. Brianna reveals that she is pregnant, and heads to Riverrun to safely have the baby.

February 1770: Confusion over Brianna's attacker is cleared up in the Outlander timeline, and Jaime and Ian head to the tribe to try and get Roger back. Ian offers to be traded for Roger and is adopted into the tribe.

May 1770: Brianna has her baby in Rivverrun.

Weeks later: Claire and Jamie head to Riverrun, and tell Brianna about Roger. Roger rides in to join them, saying that he will raise the baby as his own. Jaime is then approached by a band of Redcoats, who have ridden up to find him and request that he forms a militia.

Outlander Season 5's Timeline

1960-1969, 1729 Scotland, 1770-1772

Now that the whole family is back together again, the Outlander timeline becomes considerably easier to understand for the next two seasons, mainly staying in North Carolina. Little time travel happens in Outlander season 5, with most time jumps occurring in the form of flashbacks. Outlander season 5 sees the Fraser family fighting to maintain Fraser's Ridge while Jamie is tasked with killing Murtagh Fitzgibbons and dealing with the threat of the Regulators' rebellion. Meanwhile, Claire tries her hardest to keep her family safe while wholly neglecting herself, and Roger and Brianna discover living in the 18th century might not be best for Jemmy.

Scotland 1729: A flashback in the Outlander timeline further complicates Jamie's relationship with Murtagh, as the premiere episode sees a heart-wrenching scene between the two. The flashback sees Murtagh and Jamie in the fields outside Lallybroch shortly after Jamie's mother has died from childbirth. Murtagh vows to Jamie that he will always be there for him, which is a haunting sentiment considering what Governor Tryon is asking Jamie to do.

North Carolina 1770: Brianna and Roger tie the knot, but the festivities for Jamie are spoiled when Governor Tyron reminds him he has to kill Murtagh and expects him to raise a militia against the Regulators. Family drama kicks up when Jocasta reminds Roger that Brianna's son is heir to River Run. Jamie takes the pledges of the Scots and appoints Roger as his Captain, but secretly tells Murtagh to flee. In addition, Claire starts using modern medicinal techniques on the settlers. The Regulator threat grows, so Claire and Jamie begin recruiting for the militia and adopt a biracial child from a woman who had been torturing her abusive husband.

Spring 1771: As the Regulator's rebellion heats up in the Outlander timeline, eventually culminating with the historical Battle of Alamance in May 1771, Jamie uncovers Governor Tyon's true motives behind fighting them and feels conflicted. Claire's modern medical techniques get her in hot water when news of her prowess travels, and Roger finds himself in a feud in Brownsville that almost costs him the militia.

May 16th, 1771: Jamie celebrates his birthday before the Battle of Alamance, and Brianna saves the day when she remembers details from the battle, causing Roger to go behind enemy lines. Murtagh is killed by one of his soldiers when he joins the fray and saves Jamie's life. While they are victorious, Roger is nearly hanged but lives — however, not without injuries.

Fall 1771: Jamie, Roger, and Ian join a hunting party to prepare for the winter. However, Jamie is bitten by a venomous snake after the hunting party splits up. Amputation is discussed, but Brianna saves him by turning a snake fang into a syringe. In addition, Fergus and Marsali have their baby. The Frasers also develop a plan to deal with Stephen Bonnet, but it all goes awry, and Bonnet kidnaps Brianna. Luckily, Brianna gets the message of her whereabouts through Bonnet's servant that works at the brothel, but only after Claire helps with her legs. The Frasers catch up to them, and Bonnet is sentenced to drown.

Fall 1772: The Outlander timeline jumps a year into the future. Roger and Brianna discover that Jemmy travels through the stones when he shatters an opal, meaning they can return to the future. Claire also reveals to Ian that she, Brianna, and Roger are from the future. Meanwhile, there's a thuggish group calling themselves the Committee of Safety that asks Jamie to join them. In a shocking turn, Claire is kidnapped by Lionel Brown, but meets another time traveler named Donner and is rescued by Jamie. Meanwhile, Roger, Brianna, and Jemmy attempt to go to the future, but somehow end up in the same place and time.

Boston 1960s: A flashback in the Outlander timeline sees Claire treating a patient who reminds her a lot of Jamie.

North Carolina 1968: Claire imagines the Fraser clan together in 1968 to cope with the trauma of being kidnapped by Lionel.

Oxford 1969: A flashback shows Jamie teaching a class at Oxford on famous last words.

Outlander Season 6's Timeline

1746-1776

The Outlander timeline for season 6 sees no time travel save for two flashbacks, and takes place between 1773 and 1776 in North Carolina, as the Fraser family gears up for the Revolutionary War. There aren't many indicators of exactly what year things are happening, save for the reference to the Boston Tea Party. Despite season 6 only having eight episodes, a ton of ground is covered in the chapter and Outlander fully embraces family drama as one of its many genres. The season is marked by rising colonial tensions in the States, and the Frasers must decide where their loyalties lie.

Scotland 1746: A flashback in the Outlander timeline chronicles the experiences of the real-life historical figure Flora MacDonald as a sign of hope for the Scottish rebels.

Scotland 1753: This flashback is prompted by the sudden appearance of former Ardsmuir prisoner John Christie. The flashback reveals that he made some sort of deal with the governor as security is tightened on Jamie and his group. Jamie is forced to become a freemason like Christie to cease infighting at the prison.

North Carolina 1773: Tom Christie appears in the Outlander timeline and tries to settle on Fraser Ridge, and Major MacDonald continues to try and persuade Jamie to be the Indian Agent, letting it slip that it will go to Richard Brown, Lionel's brother, if he refuses. Due to this, he takes the job. In turn, Claire is dealing with the traumatic events of her capture by inhaling ether.

North Carolina 1774: Jamie's first assignment sees him visiting a Cherokee Chief who asks him for guns, and he refuses. Tom Christie accuses Claire of witchcraft because of her medical prowess and is further blamed when she attends Granny Wilson's funeral, overseen by Roger, and she starts breathing again. Marsali and Fergus have another baby, but their child has dwarfism. Jamie angers the Cherokees when he doesn't request an arsenal for them and Claire learns of the Boston Tea Party. Tom finally allows Claire to perform his hand surgery, and Fergus' baby is targeted by superstitious Protestants. In addition, Jamie questions his prior decision when another Indian Agent challenges his beliefs.

North Carolina 1775: Claire and Jamie realize how fraught tensions truly are with the colonists when they attend a Loyalist event in Wilmington that surprisingly sees Flora MacDonald fighting for the side of the crown. Claire figures out too late that the water on the ridge is contaminated, and she succumbs to dysentery with a slew of other people. She survives, but Malva reveals that she took advantage of Jamie while he was in a drunken state and sick with worry over Claire, and now she's pregnant with his child. Then, Malva ends up dead. Roger fully embraces his role as minister, but Brianna isn't so sure.

North Carolina 1776: After Claire is arrested for Malva's murder by the Committee of Safety in the Outlander timeline, Allan Christie suggests Jamie should be arrested too because he had an affair with Malva, and she ended up dead. Jamie and Claire agree to go in together. Meanwhile, in Edenton, Jemmy gets lice causing Brianna to shave his head and reveal a nevus, proving that Roger is his biological father. The Committee for Safety is thwarted when they are forced to go to Wilmington for the trial and Brown begins losing control. Outlander season 6 ends with Jamie and Claire separated, but Ian rallies the Cherokees to rescue Jamie.

• 

  Outlander

  Cast:

  Caitriona Balfe, Sam Heughan, Sophie Skelton, Richard Rankin, Duncan Lacroix, Graham McTavish, John Bell

  Genres:

  Romance, Sci-Fi, Drama

  Release Date:

  2014-08-09

  Seasons:

  7

  Story By:

  Ronald D. Moore

  Writers:

  Ronald D. Moore, Matthew B. Roberts

  Network:

  Starz

  Directors:

  Metin Hüseyin, Jamie Payne

  Showrunner:

  Matthew B. Roberts