Outlander‘s latest installment has sent Claire (Caitriona Balfe) and Jamie Fraser (Sam Heughan) north to Fort Ticonderoga, as they join the rebels on the American Revolutionary War front — but not before a shocking reunion took place in Wilmington.
Intending to travel to Scotland, the Frasers find themselves changing course, particularly Jamie who is conscripted into the fight. Fresh off of losing their home at Fraser’s Ridge to a fire, they’re still coming to terms with the situation and this shift in their plans. While completing errands around town though, Claire bumps into none other than Tom Christie (Mark Lewis Jones), who she assumed was dead; he took the fall for Malva’s (Jessica Reynolds) murder in the first episode, allowing Claire to be released from prison.
What’s more startling is that Tom doesn’t utter a word but plants a kiss on an unsuspecting Claire. “It was very funny to do ’cause we get a flash of old Tom,” Jones says. “I think when he kisses her and kind of catches himself, he’s almost more shocked and surprised than she is. And so you kind of get a flash of the pious, uptight, broomstick-up-his-behind Tom, you know?”
Tom’s shock stems from the belief that Claire and Jamie died in the fire that burned down the big house at Fraser’s Ridge. He admits as much when he explains to Claire that he submitted an obituary to the paper commemorating their lives. During a candid conversation, he shares that he couldn’t bear the idea of their loss going unacknowledged.
The inaccurate obituary removes the long-held worry that Claire and Jamie might perish in the fire that prompted their daughter Brianna (Sophie Skelton) to travel back in time to warn them. But where does this leave Tom Christie? He’s gotten a job working as a secretary, revealing himself to be useful during his imprisonment and ultimately saving him from the noose.
Whether this means we’ll see more of Tom before the show’s end, Jones couldn’t confirm. “I would always come back, but it’s not my decision,” he says. “I’m not aware of any plans whatsoever, and if that’s it and that was my journey as an actor playing Tom Christie, then I’m very happy.” Despite being pleased with this potential ending, Jones acknowledges Tom is “still alive.”
As for Tom’s remarks to Claire, specifically regarding the fact that he’ll have no peace while she’s alive, Jones says, “I think Tom is capable of unconditional love strangely, and it’s painful for him really. And I think he means that he cannot be at peace because his love for Claire is so strong that he will always worry about her. He’ll always be disturbed by the fact that he has fallen in love to such a degree.”
Would that love be as strong if he knew that Claire aided in burying Allan Christie’s (Alexander Vlahos) body after Young Ian (John Bell) shot the man? “It’s so mixed up,” Jones says of Tom’s relationship with his kids. “It’s such a murky bit of his past. I don’t know if he’s able to think in such a rational and clear way about it.”
As Jones puts it, Allan and Malva are like “skeletons in the cupboard” for Tom. So perhaps it’s best to leave such things undisturbed. On Claire’s side of the situation though, star Balfe teased prior to the season’s release that she’d have moments with other men besides Jamie. “I would say there’s some certain stuff with Claire and other men, not always Jamie,” that Balfe says she was excited about.
It seems like this may be one of those moments, but what else lies ahead? Stay tuned as Outlander continues on Starz, and let us know what you thought of Tom’s return in the comments section, below.
