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Outlander author Diana Gabaldon is currently writing the 10th and final book of her long-running fantasy romance series. She’s been telling Jamie and Claire Fraser’s (Sam Heughan and Caitriona Balfe) epic love story for more than 30 years. And it won’t be long before fans finally find out how it all ends.

In the meantime, they’ve been sharing their Outlander theories on social media and sometimes Gabaldon takes notice. Recently, she crushed one popular fan theory about Jamie Fraser.

Outlander author Diana Gabaldon and star Sam Heughan speak onstage during the Outlander panel as part of the Starz portion of This is Cable 2016 Television Critics Association Winter Tour at Langham Hotel on January 8, 2016
Diana Gabaldon and Sam Heughan | Frederick M. Brown/Getty Images

How does time travel work on ‘Outlander’?

The Outlander story began with Claire traveling back in time via the stones at Craigh na Dun. The WWII nurse jumped from life in the 1940s back to 18th century Scotland, but the details surrounding how she got there have remained relatively ambiguous.

In Gabaldon’s books, the rules of time travel in the story have slowly emerged. We know that both location and timing are extremely important. In addition to Craigh na Dun, there are other locations where time travel is possible, including the Ocracoke stone circle in North Carolina and the Abandawe Cave in Jamaica.

Time travel also appears to be easier at certain times of the year, and it could be related to the changing of the seasons. The executive producer of the Starz series — Maril Davis — also confirmed that time travelers must wear a precious gemstone for survival.

“That seems to be another consistent rule to get through so you don’t kill yourself,” Davis told IGN.

Diana Gabaldon just crushed a popular Jamie Fraser fan theory

Another rule of time travel in Outlander is that only certain people can do it. Viewers and readers don’t know why some people have the ability to time travel and others don’t. A popular fan theory is that time travel is an inherited trait.

Jamie is not a time-traveler, but in the pilot episode fans briefly saw his ghost in 1940s Scotland. This has led to many fans theorizing that he will somehow make it to the 20th century before the story is over. But Gabaldon just crushed that fan theory with one simple tweet.

One Outlander fan recently wrote on Twitter, “Diana, keep your creative processes up!  Your readers will love book 10 as soon as it’s completed. I’m putting in my plug for you to creatively write in a way for Jamie to be able to travel into the future with his family & live out of his life at Lallybroch.”

In response, Gabaldon wrote, “Sorry, Not Happening.”

The ‘Outlander’ author has known how Jamie and Claire’s story ends for 20 years

Gabaldon revealed in November 2021 that she had started writing the final book in the Outlander series. She promised fans that the book would be done before the Starz drama caught up with her. The author also revealed that she knows how Jamie and Claire’s story will end.

Related

‘Outlander’ Author Diana Gabaldon’s First Reaction to Sam Heughan Being Cast as Jamie Fraser — ‘Are You Sure?’

“It was about 20 years ago that I saw the ending, and I got up in the middle of the night and wrote it down with tears rolling down my face,” she told Parade Magazine. “And no, I’m not telling you what it is.”

Outlander Seasons 1 through 5 are now playing on Netflix. Season 6 is available on the Starz app.

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