'Outlander': Why Black Jack's Alternate Ending Was Cut
When a book is adapted into a TV show, there are bound to be some changes. The biggest changes happen when a character pops on screen.
Jonathan "Black Jack" Randall (Tobias Menzies) was a villain who strongly affected Claire (Caitríona Balfe) and Jamie (Sam Heughan) on Outlander. Author Diana Gabaldon shut down a major change to Black Jack's ending.
Black Jack's Eyes Opening on 'Outlander' Was Cut
Entertainment Weekly talked to showrunner Matthew B. Roberts, executive producer Maril Davis, Heughan, and Balfe. They revealed how much power the author had power over the show's story.
Related: ‘Outlander' Ending Explained: Does Jamie Die in the Finale?
"When we know we were going to do something big, we call Diane and go, 'Hey, we're going to go down this path. How do you feel about it?'" Roberts said. "We want to, of course, get her sign-off on it. If she hated something so desperately, we wouldn't go down that way."
Season 3's premiere revealed that Jamie survived the Battle of Culloden, but not Black Jack. Jamie battled him and won, with the evil man dying in his arms.
"The studio and the network really wanted to keep Black Jack alive so we called her and asked her and she said, 'I wish you wouldn't do that.' So he died," Roberts continued. That's not surprising since Menzies has been in the show since season 1 as the villain, but also as Claire's husband, Frank Randall.
Heughan said they filmed a scene where Black Jack's eye opened when he was on the battlefield. "We were hoping," Davis admitted. "She said no."
The series continued without him and ended with season 8. Gabaldon told Parade that the showrunner also consulted her about the ending of the STARZ series.
Related: Sam Heughan Just Joked About an ‘Outlander' Spinoff With His On-Screen Son-and Fans Are Losing It
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This story was originally published May 16, 2026 at 3:25 PM.