Sumith Prasad
The sixth season of Starz’s historical series ‘Outlander‘ ends with Malva Christie’s murder. Claire Fraser gets accused of killing the girl since she tries to save Malva’s unborn baby, which also leads to her arrest. The seventh season of the series begins with Claire in prison, waiting to get tried and possibly executed for murder. Meanwhile, Tom Christie confesses to killing Malva to save Claire from the gallows. He meets Claire and confesses to loving her severely, which motivates him to put his life on the line to protect the former.
Claire and Jamie Fraser return to Fraser’s Ridge believing that Tom got executed for murder charges. The fourth episode of the season reveals that Tom is actually alive. If you are wondering how he escaped from the gallows, let us provide the answer! SPOILERS AHEAD.
Tom Christie Survives, Avoids Execution
The seventh season of the show begins with Jamie’s efforts to save his beloved Claire from death as she awaits a murder trial for a crime she didn’t commit. Although Jamie seeks the favor of Governor Martin, the latter asks the Scotsman to join the Crown’s forces against the Rebels and his own principles in the Revolutionary War to save Claire. As Jamie gets conflicted about the same, Tom Christie saves Jamie from the dilemma and Claire from her impending death. He writes a confession in which he states that he killed Malva for ruining the reputation of their family and gives the same to a newspaper.
Tom then meets Claire and confesses to loving her severely. He tells her that he is confessing to the crime to repay the compassion and kindness she has shown to him. After the publication of the confession, Claire gets released and she leaves for Fraser’s Ridge with Jamie, believing that Tom was executed. However, rather than to the gallows, Tom was sent to Governor Martin’s ship, only for him to work as a secretary. He remained on the ship for months and served the governor until an official secretary was hired. Martin then decided to leave Tom onshore for the authorities to handle him. However, the Revolutionary War altered the law and order system of the land. Authorities were more concerned about the fate of the region rather than a harmless criminal.
While the Continental Army has been gaining strength, the last thing the authorities serving the Crown must have been concerned about has to be the murder and murderer of Malva. Therefore, Tom gets a second chance at life, which he uses to serve as a preacher and teacher. Tom then comes to know about the fire at Fraser’s Ridge, only to believe that Claire and Jaime lost their lives due to the fire. Since Tom fails to leave for the Ridge and see Claire one last time, he finds another way to bid adieu to the latter.
Tom publishes the obituaries of Jamie and Claire as his way of sending goodbye to the latter. These are the same obituaries that motivate Brianna to travel through time to the past to warn her parents about the fire and their apparent deaths. Although Tom is alive, he is tormented by his feelings for Claire, especially since he knows that he cannot replace Jamie in her life ever. Thus, Tom part ways with Claire again after describing her as the “most uncomfortable woman.”
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