Outlander season 7 opens with death twist involving fan-favourite

Season 7 will be airing every Friday for the next eight weeks, bringing us the first batch of anticipated episodes before the series takes a mid-season hiatus.

While fans of the series are primed to expect twists and turns aplenty in this season, nothing could've quite prepared viewers for the opening scene of the premiere episode, entitled A Life Well Lost.

As if we haven't already seen Claire Fraser's (played by Caitriona Balfe) life flash before her eyes many times before, the premiere episode reminds us that season 7 follows on from the shock season 6 finale which saw Claire arrested for Malva Christie's murder.

When Claire was being transported in the horse-drawn cart in that finale, Jamie (Sam Heughan) got torn away from her but Tom Christie (Mark Lewis Jones) assured her that he's alive.

Well, as if welcoming in our very worst nightmare, season 7 opens up with a chilling scene of Claire walking slowly towards the edge of a wooden platform. We only see her boots and skirt until the camera pans up to reveal that she has a rope tied around her neck and has bloody cuts to her face.

She's struggling to remain composed as she takes a deep breath, clearly teary-eyed. When she looks down, she sees the many faces of the crowd who are watching and waiting in anticipation for what's to come.

But as her eyes scan the crowd, she sees the smirking face of Richard Brown (Chris Larkin). Brown of course came to arrest Claire with the Committee of Safety in the season 6 finale, but the epic showdown finally ended when Claire and Jamie agreed to give themselves up. It was in the hopes that Claire – who we all know is innocent – would be able to stand a fair trial, despite public opinion.

Read more:

• Outlander star on season 7 surprises: “You’re in for a tough ride”
• Outlander's Caitriona Balfe: 'I'm so lucky to work with Sam Heughan'

Things quickly devolved, though, as Brown and his men separated Jamie from Claire and took her to Wilmington where she would await trial. Whether it'd be fair or not was up for debate. So, it's safe to say Brown is a major antagonist and the fact that he's standing there in the opening scenes of season 7 smiling back at a frightened Claire is chilling enough.

The scene notches up the tension though when an officer comes behind Claire to grip her arms and forces her off the platform. She's crying as he does so but the scene goes silent, except for the sound of the swinging of Claire's body. Just as the screen goes blank – and viewers pick their jaws up from the floor – we hear someone call out "Uncle Jamie".

We then see Jamie with his eyes closed and soon hear him narrate: "I cannot let my darkest fears cripple me, blood of my blood, bone of my bone. I give ye my spirit, 'til our life shall be done."

But he adds: "I ken you're alive still, I'd feel it if you were gone." He then admits that he will find Claire as his nephew Ian (John Bell) approaches him with horses and a plan to return to the ridge, but Jamie declares instead: "Let's go get my wife."

What a way to kick off the new season, right? We soon discover that Claire is alive and relatively well, waiting in the gallows and knows from previous time travel that the courts will remain desolate because of the impending revolution.

When chatting exclusively to RadioTimes.com about that shocking opening scene, Balfe did admit that it was unsettling for her as an actress.

She admitted: “But that opening with Claire, that was crazy. Like, just to film that was so crazy. There's something very unsettling about having to do that. You know that you've got a harness and all of those things but still, it's just not nice.”

The new series will see Claire and Jamie navigate a new life with the American Revolution as their backdrop, with season 7 also being based on Diana Gabaldon's An Echo in the Bone.

Outlander is available to stream on Starz in the US and on Lionsgate+ in the UK. You can buy Diana Gabaldon's books on Amazon.

If you're looking for more to watch, check out our TV Guide and Streaming Guide or visit our Drama hub for more news and features.

Take part in the Screen Test, a project from Radio Times and the Universities of Sussex and Brighton, to explore the role of television and audio in our lives.

Try Radio Times magazine today and get 12 issues for only £1 with delivery to your home – subscribe now. For more from the biggest stars in TV, listen to The Radio Times Podcast.