Outlander: What That Latest Twist Means For Murtagh

In an Outlander episode full of sadness — Frank's death, Jamie's imprisonment — there's a bright spot for fans when it is revealed that Murtagh has not died on the Culloden battlefield after all.

Warning: light book spoilers ahead.

As readers of Diana Gabaldon's Outlander book series know, that is the fate that befalls Jamie's godfather in the novels — in fact, Murtagh's death isn't even something we witness firsthand; it's something we hear about later when Jamie tells Claire about his death (though there is a flashback to it wayyyy down the line in the books). Either way, we've been sad to see Murtagh go, and it turns out the show's creators felt the same way.

"He's a great actor and a great character," executive producer Maril Davis told us when we asked why the show chose to keep Murtagh alive.

"Murtagh has been such a fan favorite, and I do think we have expanded Murtagh's role in the show beyond what he was in the book. He's such a consigliere for Jamie, so I think we all felt — and certainly Diana was on board — that we couldn't see him die at Culloden," said Davis.

Davis also revealed that beyond Murtagh's important role on the show, it simply felt very flat to have him die off screen the way he does in the books.

"We've lost so many people these last two seasons. It seemed unsatisfying for him to die the way he died at Culloden with no fanfare or anything, and we wanted the opportunity to continue him on, so we got Diana's blessing as well and you might see him pop up," revealed Davis.

When fans last see Murtagh in episode three, he is being shipped off to "the colonies," aka America, with the rest of the Ardsmuir prisoners (minus Jamie), so might we see him when Claire and Jamie end up in America?

"Yes, we might!" exclaimed Davis.

EP Matthew Roberts did previously point out to us that keeping a character alive does have important implications for the show, though, so it won't be as easy as merely inserting Murtagh into the American plot.

Still . . . yay!