Sam Heughan’s Top 10 Best Moments as Jamie Fraser on Outlander

4. Episode 509, “Monsters and Heroes”: Jamie almost dies

The most recent season of Outlander gave us one hell of a scare. While out hunting with son-in-law Roger (Richard Rankin), Jamie is bitten by a snake, and things take a gruesome turn. At some point in this episode, I had made peace with the idea that these could be Sam Heughan’s final moments as Jamie Fraser.

It truly felt that serious, and given that it’s the 17th century, there isn’t much that can be done to save his life. Luckily, in the episode that follows, Brianna that comes up with a genius idea to save her father. But that’s not the moment I want to talk about here.

We believe Jamie might be in real danger of dying because of Sam Heughan’s incredible performance. It almost feels like Heughan is the one who’s been poisoned, not Jamie; that’s how deep his talent as an actor goes.

But it wasn’t just the snake bite that Heughan had to act through, but also the emotions Jamie felt as he grappled with the fact that he was going to die. I don’t think he ever imagined spending his final moments with Roger, someone he hasn’t quite warmed up to yet.

“Monsters and Heroes” is a turning point for this relationship, and I love how Heughan portrays Jamie’s increasing affinity for his son-in-law. He lets some of Jamie’s vulnerability slip through, which is always nice to see.