Warning! Spoilers for Outlander season 7, episode 16 ahead!Outlanderseason 7 has officially copied one ofGame of Thrones' grossest romance twists. Though both TV series fall within the fantasy genre, they could hardly be more different.Outlanderis a romance series at its core, and the politics that sit center stage ofGame of Thronesis nowhere to be seen. Still, there are times, especially in season 7, when there is a bit of crossover.Game of Throneswas known for its bloody and disturbing twists. Now,Outlanderhas borrowed one.
One of the ways thatOutlanderandGame of Thronesare similar is the steamy sex scenes. Neither fantasy series shy away from getting up close and personal with characters who are making love.Outlanderrecently delivered on this withWilliam Ransom and Jane Pocock. In season 7, part 2, William meets Jane at a brothel and pays for a night with her to save her from the violent Captain Harkness. While he hadn’t been expecting intimacy, they ultimately had a rather steamy time.It quickly became apparent that William had fallen in love with Jane inOutlander. Unfortunately, the finale revealed that they may be related.
Outlander Copied Game Of Thrones' Jon Snow & Daenerys Incest Twist
It Looks Like Jane Is William’s Niece
Back whenGame of Throneswas in its heyday, audiences were thrilled to see Jon Snow and Daenerys Targaryen hook up with one another. As two fan favorites, they were a match made in heaven. Of course, this was dampened by the reveal thatJon Snow was secretly the son of Rhaegar Targaryen, Daenerys' brother. So, the romance audiences had been enjoying wound up being incestuous—Jon was Daenerys' nephew.
Now,Outlanderhas pulled a strikingly similar twist. Jane was William’s first love interest, and the fact that she ended up dead was a terribly tragic end to their story. However, this was only made worse by Claire’s suspicion inOutlanderthat Fanny Pocock’s mother, Faith, is really her own daughter who somehow lived after being stillborn.If Claire’s hunch inOutlanderseason 7’s finale is true, then Jane was actually William’s niece.
How William & Jane Might Be Related In Outlander
Jane’s Mother Might Have Been William’s Biological Sister
Game of Thronesis known for its complicated family trees, butOutlandermay take the cake in this regard. Back inOutlanderseason 2, Jamie and Claire became pregnant with their first child. Unfortunately, the baby arrived too early and didn’t survive. She was named Faith and buried in France. Later, Jamie and Claire had another baby, Brianna. However, whileOutlander’s star-crossed lovers were separated for a couple of decades, Jamie fathered a bastard, William.
The finale ofOutlanderseason 7 saw Claire come to believe that Faith had somehow lived. It’s implied thatMaster Raymond had something to do with this, though the details have yet to be revealed. If Faith Fraser truly is Faith Pocock, then the woman’s daughters,Jane and Fanny, are Jamie and Claire’s grandchildren. This would also mean that Jane’s mother had been William’s sister—making Jane herself his niece. Of course, this has yet to be definitively confirmed inOutlander. Season 8 may reveal that Claire is mistaken. Still, if she is right, William has a rough journey ahead of him.
William Finding Out The Truth About Jane Could Be Just As Disastrous As Game Of Thrones
William’s Honor Continues To Be Challenged
The reveal thatJon and Daeneryswere nephew and aunt inGame of Throneswas the beginning of a disastrous sequence of events. While incest didn’t bother Daenerys, she was upset that her lover could have a better claim to the throne than her. Long story short, it quickly became apparent that both Daenerys and Jon couldn’t live. This truth led toGame of Thrones' ending being massively unpopular. The characters and their development fell to pieces.
Jane is already dead inOutlander, but the revelation that William had fallen in love and slept with his own niece could lead to a similarly chaotic mess within his own story. The whole reason he met Jane in the first place was because of a massive identity crisis.William had just learned in season 7 that Jamie Fraser was his biological father, which meant he was a bastard and not a true-born earl. This led him into a brothel and Jane’s arms. William is deciding on the type of man he is, following all these twists and turns.
If he discovers the truth about Jane, then William will have to grapple with the fact that he is the bastard son of a groom who had an incestuous relationship with his own niece.
William is all about being honorable and respectable, and learning that he is actually a bastard brings his life crashing down. He went from being the honorable Earl of Ellesmere to being the imposter son of a groom. If he discovers the truth about Jane, then William will have to grapple with the fact that he is the bastard son of a groom who had an incestuous relationship with his own niece.Outlanderseason 7 already demonstrated the sorts of destructive decisions William makeswhile grappling with his identity. Such a revelation inOutlanderseason 8will surely send him spiraling even further.
William & Jane Aren’t The Grosses Incest Twist Of The Outlander Series
Outlander Is No Stranger To Bizarre Intimate Connections
The fact that William and Jane could be related is reason enough forOutlanderaudiences to hope that Claire is wrong about Faith. The connection these two shared was short-lived but sweet, and such a reveal would significantly taint the moment. Currently, it’s impossible to tell one way or the other.Outlander’s Faith twist is not a feature of Diana Gabaldon’s books, so nothing in canon supports the idea that William and Jane are related. Still, this isn’t to say that an incestuous relationship is anything new toOutlander.
Diana Gabaldon has said that she considered bringing Faith back, but decided against it.
Game of Throneswas full of romances between blood relatives, especially where the Targaryens are involved. WhileOutlanderdidn’t contain nearly as much of this, the book sawBuck MacKenzie share an intimate moment with Geillis Duncan, his biological mother. Unlike William, Buck knew full well how he was related to Geillis, and this seemed to make him even more curious about her body. By comparison,William accidentally sleeping with his niece is pretty tame. TheOutlanderTV show ultimately cut Buck’s grossest moment, and it’s also possible that William’s incest twist didn’t happen either.
Outlander’s Faith Twist Could Still Be Undone In Season 8
Claire Could Be Wrong About Jane & Fanny’s Mother
Claire came to the conclusion that Jane’s mother is her daughter based on a 20th-century song that Fanny sang, as well as Master Raymond’s appearance in her dream. For now, that’s not really much to go on. It’s perfectly possible thatOutlanderseason 8 will reveal that Claire is wrong, though the false revelation is still sure to lead to some exciting twists and turns for the series. This would be a bit of a relief sinceOutlander’sGame of Thrones-like incest twist isn’t the best for William’s story. Still, with these types of fantasy series, it’s difficult to tell what uncomfortable surprises will come next.
Outlander
Cast
Outlander follows Claire Randall, a married nurse from 1945, who is transported back to 1743 Scotland. Amidst political intrigue and danger, she navigates life in the past and becomes torn between loyalty to her husband and the love for a dashing young warrior.
