Outlander's Claire Fraser defended after she's dubbed 'frustrating' in major oversight

Outlander’s heroine Claire Fraser was defended by fans after being criticised for making a “frustrating” error. The historical fantasy show, which first aired back in 2014, is based on the book series of the same name by Diana Gabaldon

Claire, who is portrayed by Caitriona Balfe in the Starz series, travels between two different periods of history during the show. It is in 1743, two years before The Jacobite Rising, that Claire meets handsome Scot Jamie Fraser (Sam Heughan) whom she later weds.

Claire’s real timeline is 200 years into the future in 1945, where she works as a World War II nurse and is married to husband Frank Randall. As fans wait for the next instalment of Outlander to drop, some have reverted back to the book series to fill the void.

However, one fan has admitted they became “frustrated” upon noticing what they perceived to be an error Claire made during the third book, Voyager. Taking to Reddit, @SorryIAmNew2002 posted: “I'm on book 3 to keep busy while waiting for the new episodes to drop and I love it so far.

“More details keep me shocked and gasping like… Marsali being 15 and Fergus being 30? Yuck,” the added. They then went on to explain what had irked them about Claire’s decision-making.

“But what I cannot shake is the frustration about how Claire didn't research more before going back,” they continued.

“Obviously in Jamaica, she entered unforeseen terrain but once or twice now she's been clueless about a cure because she didn't know which herbs to use or because she was unsure of history questions.

“If I were to take such a huge step as to travel back in time I would've gobbled up all the books I could find about medical plants and relationships / important people from that time.

“Maybe I'm just being too harsh on her, I'm not a huge fan of Claire. But it really bugs me reading.”

However, many fans disagreed with this stance, wading into the comments section to defend Claire’s actions.

One argued: “I think you're overlooking two things: how much actual research has been done/published on the subject and how easy is it to find.

“In Claire's time, it's not so simple to find that sort of esoteric knowledge. That's the whole reason she and Frank were in Inverness the first time, he had to go find the original documents and oral histories.

“Not every book was in wide circulation, especially ones that deal with a niche topic. Even the existence of the document you're looking for might only be known to a few people. That information may be widely known in the community of people interested in the topic but not exactly widespread knowledge.”

Another viewer pointed out: “I would think she wanted to travel as soon as possible because all she knew is that Jamie was in Edinburgh a year earlier. The longer she waited the greater the chance he’d be somewhere else.”

A third fan replied: “She can't know everything. She didn't know they will end up in Jamaica/ in fact, anywhere outside Scotland. How could she learn it all in the short amount of time she had?

“Research would include reading huge amounts of books, and she had her work to finish at hospital, do all the paperwork for Bree and limited amount of time.” (sic)

While one more reasoned: “Claire specifically says in the book, during a time she’s lamenting not knowing more, that she didn’t bother to brush up on American history because she assumed she and Jamie would be in Scotland.

“She knows a tremendous amount about herbal medicines, in addition to her medical degree, but she can’t know EVERYTHING [...] Plus, her having all the answers would ruin many plot points!” (sic)

Following the closure of Lionsgate+ in the UK, new episodes of Outlander will be available to stream on Prime Video channel MGM+. You must be an Amazon Prime member before you can sign up for MGM+.