‘Outlander’ Season 3 Changes A Death From The Book, Fans Rejoice

“Outlander” often isn’t too surprising to the fans who have read Diana Gabaldon’s bestselling novels. However, the Starz series shocked the readers during Sunday’s episode when Murtagh was revealed to be alive.

In “Voyager,” the source material for “Outlander” Season 3, Jamie realizes on the battlefield that Murtagh must have died. When he and Claire reunite, Jamie reveals that he was by Murtagh’s side as he was dying. He said he wasn’t afraid of death.

In Season 3, episode 3, viewers discover that Murtagh (Duncan Lacroix) is alive, but he is far from well. The Scot was sitting in Ardsmuir prison with Jamie. By the end of the episode, the prison was closing and Murtagh was sent to the colonies while Jamie (Sam Heughan) was being taken to Hellwater.

So why bring Jamie’s godfather and close pal back just for an episode? “Outlander” showrunner Ronald D. Moore emphasized the character’s importance on the TV show, and he revealed that this isn’t the last audiences will see of Murtagh.

“Murtagh’s development in the series is different than the books basically from the beginning,” Moore told Mashable. “We made him much more of a key player in the story, much closer to Jamie, and then he got in on [Claire’s] secret in Paris. He became part of the family in a different way than in the books. And I just wasn’t ready to let him go in Culloden. He is going to survive and we will catch up with him later, we will just keep him going.”

Meanwhile, Heughan hopes that fans are happy with the decision to keep Lacroix’s character alive. “It is a departure from the books, and I think people are going to like it. He’s a great character… He’s such a fan favorite,” the actor told TVLine.

However, it didn’t seem like Jamie was thrilled to be by Murtagh’s side. Without Claire (Caitriona Balfe), Jamie just wanted to let his life go by. Murtagh and the other prisoners forced him to carry more weight on his shoulders than he’d like.

“There’s a responsibility for Jamie there in prison now, and he doesn’t really want the responsibility,” Heughan explained. “He’s trying to live a simple life in the shadows and not deal with anything, but constantly he’s being forced to stand for the men or to look after Murtagh. So once again he’s forced into the situation of being responsible for people.”

While many are purists when it comes to page-to-screen adaptations, it seems like there are quite a few “Outlander” fans who are delighted by Moore’s latest change. Many fans on Twitter shared their joy and used the hashtag #MurtaghLives to celebrate the episode.

Despite Murtagh’s survival, this wasn’t exactly a happy episode. After seeing Claire and Frank’s (Tobias Menzies) marriage dissolve to the point where he wanted a divorce, the episode ended with Claire discovering Frank was in a fatal car crash.

“Outlander” Season 3 airs Sundays at 8 p.m. EDT on Starz.