Warning: SPOILERS forOutlanderSeason one & 2

The first two seasons of Outlander have finally come to U.S. Netflix, which means a whole new wave of viewers will watch as Claire Beauchamp makes her trip backwards through time... and be either terrified of having her fate spoiled, or consumed with a demand to know: does Claire always go home over again? Without ruining anything too of import, we're here to assist. But fair alarm: it's not really the question that audiences should be asking.

Since the entire premise of Outlander (like the novels by Diana Gabaldon upon which they're based) begins when Claire falls through fourth dimension from 1946 to 1746, the primal question is also the nigh obvious: Does Claire always travel back? Following the rules of a standard fourth dimension travel TV series or moving-picture show, one could argue that question is what the story is about, more than any other lark along the way. The expert news, which those reading this article can pass on to their spoiler-complimentary watching partners, is that viewers who accidentally see that question answered will retrieve information technology ways more than it actually does.

As for offer a definitive answer to new Outlander viewers, who really do want to know if Claire'due south story ends in the modern day, or the past? That answer--like Claire's story as a whole--is a lot more complicated.

Claire's Return Isn't The Spoiler You Recall It Is

To put it perfectly directly: Yes, Claire does render home through the stones at Craigh Na Dun. And if y'all ask the question subsequently the first episode or two of Outlander's first season, information technology volition appear that by proverb that, we've revealed a massive twist, ruined the suspense, or at the very least dampened the surprise. But Claire is determined to return to her hubby Frank in 1946 from the very first moment she realizes what has happened. She fifty-fifty sets her mind to returning to the stones after but a handful of episodes. And unlike other science fiction stories, at no point does the prove create conflict out of trying to understand the time travel, or even figuring out how to "activate" the stones for a return trip (the stones work the way they do... And that's pretty much it).

The real threats facing Claire are far more pressing, as she is suspected of lying about her origins and travels, swept up in a edifice rebellion, and faced with uneducated people need of her gifts--and of course, the cerise-haired hunk whom she can't help but acknowledge a romantic attraction to. The events of the outset season have little to practice with Claire's bodily return home, instead observing her putting down i root after another, until the last thing the audience actually wants is for her to throw it all away and return to the present 24-hour interval.

Equally a result, the first season really builds towards the best possible twist it could deliver. Claire returns to the 1940s, alright. She just does it in the get-go scene of Season 2. Which makes fugitive any obvious spoilers beyond that bombshell a lot easier than new fans will think.

The Show Doesn't Terminate When Claire Comes Back

Hopefully, those who have sought out this answer to have their anxiety, or curiosity eased tin end searching for more (but if you desire detailed spoilers, the prove is currently finished its fourth season, so you've got options). Because far too many fans cruel backside on Season 1 or 2 of Outlander earlier learning nigh Claire'south return domicile, and causeless the unabridged series had been spoiled. After all, if the show is near a woman sent dorsum in time trying to become dwelling, the unabridged bespeak of the story is working her mode back. Right? In today's world of episode-by-episode hooks, mysteries upon mysteries, and an unattainable MacGuffin (the Iron Throne, for instance), that is certainly the case.

But for Outlander, that's far from the truth. And nothing demonstrates that better than the official promotional photos for Flavor iii showing Jamie on ane side of the magical stone, and Claire on the other, back in clothing plumbing equipment her modern era. Because equally important as Claire'due south render to the modern day may be--which it certainly is--the question of whether or not she returns is soon replaced with the demand to know why she ultimately chose to. That's the question that every viewer asked in a panic when Season two began, but it was also the 1 that the writers of the testify congenital the entire flavor effectually answering.

Outlander Is More than a Time Travel Mystery

The difference between 'keeping viewers watching to know the reply' and actually 'telling that every bit the story of the show' is a subtle one, we'll admit. Merely as Netflix viewers volition discover upon watching the Season 2 premiere episode, the entire narrative structure is carve up: between the returned Claire appearing exactly where she went missing years earlier, and continuing her travels with Jamie in the past, but every bit blissful and hopeful equally when the start season left them. And within minutes of basically revealing how Claire returns to her time, the differences between Outlander and other 'mystery box' shows made in Lost'south prototype become obvious.

The kickoff flavour of Outlander is built on the suspense and drama of Claire's possible return home. Flavor 2 replaces it with the mystery of what happened to cut her Scottish romance short, and ship her back through the stones she had seemingly left behind. Season 3'due south narrative changes the formula yet once more, and Season iv continues the story into equally surprising new territory. But with each new flavour, the 'suspense' of Claire getting back to the 1940s seems less and less important. Information technology was merely the question viewers THOUGHT they should exist asking.

So now that nosotros've answered it, hopefully new Outlander viewers can breathe a sigh of relief, and settle in for a evidence they'll stick with for more than just the chance to see the mystery solved.

MORE: The ten Most Talked Most Scenes in Outlander

Maul's Obi-Wan Return Would've Ruined His Concluding Kenobi Duel

Nigh The Author

Andrew Dyce (3246 Articles Published)

Screen Rant Editor Andrew Dyce was born in Winnipeg, Manitoba, Canada. Despite calling the vast pettiness of the Canadian prairies habitation (or perhaps because of information technology) picture show and telly have been a passion since nascency. Every bit a graduate of the University of Manitoba with a degree in English Literature, Andrew has grown to appreciate the story and writing behind everything from blockbuster comic book movies to schlocky B-movie action.

More From Andrew Dyce