In the Outlander universe, time travel operates under its own set of rules. While many fans are fascinated with the stones of the Craigh Na Dun and their ability to make people who go through it time travel, the rules of time-traveling are different in both the series and the original novel by Diana Gabaldon.
The show's protagonist, Claire Fraser, accidentally stumbles upon them in the 20th century and travels back to 1743 Scotland. Soon after her visit, she learns that she is not the only time traveler who exists.
Geillis Duncan is a fellow time traveler like Claire and the first time traveler she meets in Outlander Season 1. Because of her motivations, which led her to the stones, she has been one of the show's most mysterious and fascinating characters.
Her reappearance in Season 7 Episode 9, after she died in the show before, has reopened her storyline. Fans wonder how she is back in the new episode when she was dead.
More about Geillis Duncan and her reappearance in the latest episode in our story.
Disclaimer: This article contains spoilers for Outlander Season 7 Episode 9. Reader discretion is advised.
Who is Geillis Duncan in Outlander?
When Claire travels back to 1743 Scotland at Castle Leoch, she encounters Geillis for the first time. She develops a friendship with her because of their shared interest in herbs and potions, which were viewed as witchcraft in 1740s Scotland.
However, Geillis is no ordinary woman, as Claire learns that her past husbands have died suspiciously, and she is currently married to Arthur Duncan, an old man.
Geillis was also in love with Dougal MacKenzie and was pregnant with his child. She also killed her husband Arthur, which Claire discovers, and was accused of witchcraft with her and was about to be hanged when she was saved by her husband Jamie in Outlander Season 1.
Claire learns that she is a fellow time traveler when she spots a smallpox vaccine scar (not yet discovered in 1743) on her arm while she confesses to witchcraft and is hanged for it.
How did Roger meet Geillis in Outlander Season 7 Episode 9 when she was dead? Exploring her obsession with time travel
Unlike Claire, Geillis did not accidentally chance upon the stones. She supported Bonnie Prince Charlie, who fought for the Jacobite cause. She wanted to change history and started investigating time travel by listening to various stories in the 20th century.
She killed all her husbands because she believed that time travel required blood sacrifice in Outlander. She was even adamant about killing Brianna, believing she was a 200-year-old baby whose sacrifice would allow her to travel through time.
While Claire and Roger save Brianna, they cannot stop her from time-traveling to the 20th century.
Her gray character and loose ethics found her at odds with Claire on various occasions in Outlander.
However, fans were shocked to see her in the show's latest episode. Roger meets her in the show's final moments when he takes an injured Buccleigh to get him healed.
Interestingly, they spot Geillis, Buccleigh's mother, who has not even been conceived in this timeline (God! Who doesn't love time travel?)
Geillis' appearance makes sense because it looks like Roger and Buccleigh traveled into a time before Jamie, as was apparent when Roger met Jamie's father at Lallybroch.
This only means that Geillis is very early on in her plan to change history, as this must be the initial years after she time-traveled from the 20th century and traveled to Cranesmuir (where she eventually met Dougal, and they had Buccleigh).
It would be interesting to see how Geillis' re-entry would pose new problems for Roger in her quest to find his son Jemmy.
Catch the latest episode of Outlander Season 7 Part 2 on Starz now.
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