‘Outlander’: No, I’m Not Shocked Claire Saved Jamie’s Life With a Handjob

Outlander has always asked its audience to suspend its disbelief, but this week, the show might have gone too far for some viewers. No, I’m not talking about the scene where Brianna (Sophie Skelton) single-handedly stared down a bison, got yeet-ed by said bison, and then got up like it wasn’t a big deal. I’m talking about the moment where Claire (Caitriona Balfe) brought her beloved Jamie (Sam Heughan) back to life by giving the dying man a well-time handjob. Fans took to Twitter to express their confusion and The Ringer even checked in with actual medical professionals to see if handjobs can sub in for modern medicine.

However, I need to be honest with you: I’m not surprised that Claire was able to save Jamie with a handjob on Outlander. Oh no, I would have been disappointed if she couldn’t bring her true love back with a handy. That’s because this is what Outlander is: a show about a sexual bond so deep, so holy, so magical, and so wildly sincere that it can bridge centuries, take down witches, overcome trauma, and spark life through the power of handjobs.

If you’re not familiar with Outlander, it is a breathtakingly romantic fantasy show that followed a spirited World War II nurse named Claire Randall as she embarked on a second post-war honeymoon with her nebbish, but handsome husband Frank in Scotland. While investigating a Celtic stone circle, she found herself transported back in time to the 18th century. You know, normal vacation stuff. There, she almost immediately crossed paths with a nefarious redcoat who looked exactly like her 20th century husband (and both were played by Tobias Menzies) and a dashing highlander named Jamie Fraser. Over the course of the first season, Claire must contend with her intense feelings for Jamie all while feeling guilt about cheating on her yet-to-be-born husband. There’s tons of sex, violence, and bonny Scottish music. It was great.

Outlander Season 2 is where the plot gets more complicated. We learn that at some point, Claire returns to the 20th century, pregnant with Jamie’s red-head daughter. While following her in the future, we are also tasked with tracing her journey to pre-revolutionary France with Jamie. From there, they return to Scotland, she goes back to the future, and the plot jumps ahead two decades to when a widowed Claire, in the swinging ’60s, works with her daughter Brianna to find out what happened to Jamie — and to see if there’s a way to get back to him. She eventually manages it, they go to Jamaica, and then the colonial Carolinas, and Brianna and her scholarly boyfriend Roger (Richard Rankin) follow them and start a family.

If that sounds wild and insane and totally complicated, it is. It’s also deliriously fun. But what ties it all together is the incendiary chemistry between series stars Sam Heughan and Caitriona Balfe. From the beginning, the two of them have tackled intimate sex scenes with the kind of athleticism and fervor that Fred Astaire and Ginger Rogers put into their classic dance sequences. That is they have basically given up their bodies for the sake of storytelling, and dear lord, it works.

Sex is the beating heart of Outlander because it is the physical manifestation of the deep emotional and spiritual bond that Jamie and Claire have. I would even argue that it is a magical bond. After all, not only have these two souls been brought together, torn apart, and then reunited thanks to some druid rocks, but they have defied the aging process! Look at them! They are grandparents at this point and they are in the shape of Olympic athletes. Some critics mock their youthful appearances, but I say, it is the sex magic!

What happened on this week’s Outlander might seem silly at first blush, or dare I say, inconceivable. However, Claire saving Jamie by stripping naked, laying on top of him, and rubbing one out is actually totally logical in the world of Outlander. In fact, it is the rational thing Claire would do for the man whose penis summoned her from across the torrents of time to go back and live out her days in a time without medicine or women’s suffrage.

Of course Claire saved her man with a handjob. People, this is Outlander. This is a show about the magical power of sex, and you just have to go with it, all right?

Where to stream Outlander