Sumith Prasad
In the seventh season finale of Starz’s period drama series ‘Outlander,’ Claire Fraser sees a mysterious figure named Master Raymond in her sleep. The old man tells her that her time to die hasn’t come yet, referring to her near-death experience after getting shot by the soldiers of the British Army. The comforting dream takes a turn when he asks for her forgiveness without stating what he did to her or why she should forgive him. He only adds that she will learn the reason soon and disappears from her dream. Surprisingly, not long after seeing him, she starts to believe that her daughter, Faith, wasn’t stillborn! SPOILERS AHEAD.
Master Raymond is a Physician Who Meets Claire in France in Season 2
Master Raymond is a physician based in Europe who has incredible and mysterious healing powers. He is believed to be an ancestor of Claire Fraser and Geillis Duncan, the mother of William “Buck” Buccleigh MacKenzie. In 1744, the paths of the apothecary and the protagonist cross in Paris. She meets him after getting poisoned by bitter cascara, only for him to reveal to whom he sold the same. To eliminate its effect, he gives her a white crystal. However, they properly bond after Claire delivers Faith as a stillborn. Following the delivery, she suffers from an unbearable infection while she is at L’Hôpital des Anges.
Raymond uses his healing powers to remove the infection from Claire. He makes her think of Jamie and her love for the love of her life, which creates enough energy for the physician to treat his descendant. In addition to this incident, Raymond has also spread the fake rumor that Claire is La Dame Blanche to protect her while she is in France. She returns the favor when he is prosecuted for sorcery before King Louis XV’s chamber. Since they have been able to help each other, Raymond has no reason to ask for Claire’s forgiveness in her eyes until she meets Frances “Fanny” Pocock.
Claire Seemingly Starts to Believe that Master Raymond Resurrected Faith and Kept Her Daughter Away From Her
The seventh season of ‘Outlander’ ends with Frances singing a song that is significantly familiar to Claire. It is the same song she once sang to her stillborn daughter, Faith. When the young girl reveals that she learned it from her mother, the protagonist is convinced that the latter is none other than her daughter. In Diana Gabaldon’s ‘Outlander’ novel series, she considers the possibility of Master Raymond retrieving Faith from her grave and resurrecting her back to life with his magical healing powers. This possibility gives birth to Raymond’s appearance in Claire’s dream and his request for forgiveness.
“When chatting with [showrunner] Matt [Roberts] about all things plot-wise, I mentioned that if I had written a second graphic novel, I would have shown what actually happened after Faith’s presumed death at the Hopital des Anges, and how/why Master Raymond resuscitated and nurtured the baby secretly, but wasn’t able to come back with her before Claire and Jamie left France,” Gabaldon told Parade. In other words, Raymond asks for forgiveness for potentially resurrecting Faith and not letting Claire and Jamie know about their daughter’s survival.
However, it is important to note that the period drama series does not outrightly confirm that Frances’ mother is Claire and Jamie’s Faith. Furthermore, Raymond only appears in Claire’s dream and not in reality. His wish to be forgiven by her can be her imagination. After getting shot by the British Army and confronting death at a short distance, she must have been thinking about passing and reuniting with Faith in Heaven. Such a possible thought must have paved the way for the creation of her dream. As a mother who hasn’t been able to move on from her daughter’s death, Raymond bringing her child back to life can be a thought Claire creates to comfort herself.
Read More: Were Jamie Fraser and Lord John Grey Lovers? Did They Sleep Together in Outlander?
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