There have been many incidents on Outlander that have frustrated the viewer. Remember when Roger broke up with Brianna because she refused to marry him? Or when Laoghaire framed Claire and almost got her executed for witchcraft? Surely, one of the worst had to be Claire forcing Jamie to make that vow in season 2…

If fans compare some of the show’s worst moments, they would find that Claire features in a lot of them. It’s not just because she is the protagonist but because the surgeon has played a key part in the misery of others (and sometimes benefitted from it). Don’t believe it? Keep reading to discover the 10 worst things Claire has done.

Falling In Love With Jamie

It’s not completely the worst thing Claire could have done, but it was the worst thing she could have done to Frank and Laoghaire. In season 1, fans watched as Claire was swept away in the blossoming romance with Jamie, all the while struggling to stay faithful to Frank. Her burgeoning romance with Jamie also saw the Scotsman end his relationship with Laoghaire.

While none were too bothered about Laoghaire’s feelings, they couldn’t help but sympathize with Frank. Especially when Claire returned to the twentieth-century, announced that she had fallen in love with another man, and was now pregnant with his child. It couldn’t have been easy to hear Claire say she could never love him again because of her feelings for Jamie.

Interrupted Jamie’s life

Another aspect that goes unquestioned is how Claire returned to Jamie without considering other factors. As fans know, Claire was forced to leave Jamie in “Dragonfly in Amber” after the Scotsman believed he was going to die at Culloden. However, twenty years later, Claire discovers Jamie was alive.

With Roger and Brianna’s help, Claire manages to track Jamie down and travels back to reunite with her husband. Yet, she seems to forget that Jamie was entitled to have a life in the 20 years she was gone. For instance, Claire is taken aback when she finds out he had a son. She’s also miffed by his marriage to Laoghaire. Considering she had raised a family with Frank, Claire should have given Jamie enough time to explain.

Keeping The Name Of Brianna’s Attacker A Secret

In season 4, Jamie and Claire were surprised when Brianna turned up in Wilmington to warn them of the impending danger. They were also upset to learn that Brianna had been attacked while she was making the journey there. It was only until Claire found her wedding ring among Brianna’s clothing did she discover the truth about Brianna’s perpetrator.

Instead of telling Jamie, Brianna and Claire agreed that he shouldn’t know as the Scotsman would do something irrational and try to hunt Bonnet down. However, omitting this piece of information proved to be pivotal as Jamie had beat up Roger after he mistook the historian for Brianna’s attacker and sold him. If Claire would have told him earlier, they could have retrieved Roger quicker.

The Fort William Saga

Another incident that had to be one of the worst things Claire has done is when she put the lives of the Clan at risk. In “The Reckoning,” Jamie and a few people of Clan MacKenzie are forced to rescue Claire from Fort William after she was taken by Redcoats to be interviewed by Jack Randall.

Although it wasn’t Claire’s fault that she was kidnapped, she had inadvertently put Jamie’s life at risk (since he was wanted for murder). Now that the Scotsman broke into their territory and knocked out Randall, he had placed himself and the MacKenzies on their radar. By her trying to run away, Claire had increased the tensions between the sides.

Playing God

One of the worst and ongoing issues the fans have with Claire is how she likes to play God. In the five years fans have watched the show, Claire has made decisions about who should live and who should die. In season 1 and 2, she told Jamie about the outcome of Culloden and tried to change history by stopping the battle.

She has also meddled with the timeline by telling Jamie about the outcome of the Battle of Alamance. With Murtagh now on the rival side, she is playing with fire by giving Jamie this information as the Scotsman is unlikely to kill his godfather. Every time she reveals a bit of history, she is risking the future - which could have terrible repercussions on all.

Meddling In Alex And Mary’s Relationship

One of Claire’s most conniving moments is when the surgeon meddled in the relationship of Alexander Randall and Mary Hawkins. Despite Claire choosing Jamie, the physician spent the majority of season 2 trying to ensure the birth of Frank. Believing Frank to be the ancestor of Jack Randall, Claire does all she can to make sure he marries Mary.

However, she runs into a complication when she discovers Mary and Alex are in love with each other. Claire sabotages their relationship when she tells Alex that he is too much of a burden for Mary and tells him to call the relationship off. Although she does feel remorse for her actions, no one ever thought she would be this malicious.

Keeping The Truth About Brianna’s Paternity A Secret

Although Frank made her promise that Brianna wouldn’t find out the truth about Jamie, one of the worst things she did was keeping Brianna’s paternity a secret. In season 3, Brianna had once said that she had always felt a distance between her and her mother, which she couldn’t fix because something was in the way.

As expected, Brianna didn’t take the news lightly that Claire and Frank had been lying to her all her life. What made the situation worse was that Claire didn’t sit down and tell Brianna herself, the Harvard student realized when she found the article about Claire’s miraculous reappearance. Claire keeping her at arm’s length only made their relationship worse.

Killed Dougal

In “Dragonfly in Amber,” Claire committed a terrible act when she killed Dougal. This all came about after Claire and Jamie tried to prevent the Battle of Culloden from going ahead by assassinating Bonnie Prince Charles. However, the War Chieftan of Clan MacKenzie soon discovered their plans and confronted them about it.

When it looked as if Dougal was about to kill Jamie, Claire was forced to intervene and hit him with a wooden crate. She also helps her husband kill Dougal as she knows that it would be a heavy burden for him to carry alone.

Asking Jamie Not To Kill Jack Randall

One of the most unfair things Claire did was requesting that Jamie put his revenge on hold to ensure Frank’s existence. In season 2, Claire and Jamie were surprised to see Randall turn up in France after the Englishman was believed to be dead. While Jamie is planning his revenge for what he did at Wentworth prison, Claire had other ideas.

Worried about Frank’s existence, Claire asks Jamie to promise her that he will put his vengeance on hold for a year (“Untimely Resurrection”). Jamie looks hurt when Claire continues to bargain for Frank’s life, claiming the historian is innocent in all this. She then states that he owed her one for saving his life countless times before. Jamie agreed but it did put a strain on their relationship.

Blamed Jamie For Faith’s Death

As fans know, Jamie ended up breaking his promise to Claire when he challenged Randall to a duel. However, the end of “Best Laid Schemes…” left fans on tenterhooks as it appeared the stress of losing Frank and Jamie made Claire severely ill - to the point that it brought on a miscarriage.

Not realizing that Randall’s punch could have been the catalyst, the beginning of “Faith” sees the surgeon blaming Jamie for the loss of their daughter. She then tells her husband that she hated him for breaking his vow. It did look like she was going to leave him in the bastille to suffer, but changed her mind once Fergus told her the truth.