Frank Randall was one of the most polarizing characters in the Starz series Outlander. The English-born historian had a rocky relationship with the protagonist Claire Beauchamp. Their relationship got fractured after Claire time-traveled to the 18th century and fell in love with Highlander Jamie Fraser then later came back to the 20th century.
Frank was an intelligent man who often did nice things and tried to love Claire in the best way possible but their relationship never quite blossomed. He was also related to the 18 century English officer Jonathan “Black Jack” Randall. Here are a couple of things that made no sense about him.
Telling Claire It Didn’t Matter If She Cheated
In the pilot episode titled “Sassenach,” Frank saw a man who he suspected was trying to reconnect with Claire. He thus began pestering Claire about it and she ended up getting angry. She then asked him if he suspected she was cheating. He actually was but he couldn’t admit it.
Not one to see his lover get angry at him, Frank told Claire that even if she was cheating, it wouldn’t matter to him. He assured her that he’d love her no matter what happened. That was a bit strange since being okay with a partner’s infidelity is against human nature. If the small incident had already bothered him, what if there were to be many?
He Quickly Accepted Claire’s Story
When Claire came back from the 17th century, she told Frank exactly what had happened. Strangely enough, Frank was very understanding. He didn’t really dispute her version of events for long despite the fact that they didn’t make sense. Frank was a scholar and historian so he ought to have questioned her time-travel story.
Frank should have even asked Claire to prove that what she was saying was true but he didn’t. He simply accepted her back. He also hadn’t grown out of love with her despite the fact that she had been gone for a very long time.
Lying About Jamie’s Fate
Frank couldn’t accept that Claire was in love with an 18th-century highlander. He thus devised a scheme to make Claire forget about him. Frank secretly made a fake gravestone so that he could prove to Claire that Jamie had died in the Battle Of Culloden after she left and even if she went back in time, she wouldn’t find him.
This was unlike him. Frank was generally a good guy. He was a bit emotional but he was always good. Going to this extent for a woman who didn’t love him anymore didn’t seem like something he would do. He also risked her finding out the truth and hating him even more.
He Is A Former Spy But He Didn’t Know About Time Travel
Frank was a former MI6 agent who appeared to very knowledgable. Surprisingly he didn’t know about time-travel yet this wasn’t something that was unique to Claire. Since time-travel really existed, the government should have known about it and hence a spy should have known about it too.
It was revealed that there were many characters who could time-travel. A couple of people must have time-traveled before Claire and this is information that an intelligence agency such as MI6 ought to have had. After all, the Craigh Na Dun stones were located in Scotland which was within MI6’s jurisdiction.
He Stopped Writing Letters
Frank and Claire met and fell love when he came to consult her historian uncle, Quentin Beauchamp, about the connections between French philosophy and Egyptian religion. They got married and went on a honeymoon to the Scottish Highlands but then World War II broke out.
The two were separated during the war as Claire was serving as a nurse while Frank was working for MI6. It was revealed that Frank stopped writing letters as he used to. This seemed odd given how much he loved Claire. Given how much he tolerated her and even raised her daughter, it was unlike Frank to stop writing to Claire just because he was busy.
How Was Able To Describe Jamie So Perfectly
Shortly before Caire touched the stones at Craigh Na Dun again and returned to the 18th century, Frank spotted Jamie’s ghost watching over Claire. When Claire was gone, he couldn’t believe she had left willingly. He strongly felt she’d been kidnapped by the man he had seen so he reported the incident to the police.
A “missing persons” poster put up in Inverness and in it, Frank had given a detailed description of Jamie. He described him as 6’2 tall, with an unshaven beard and blue eyes among other things. How did he know all this given that he had only seen Jamie for a few seconds from behind?
He Wanted To Take Brianna
A heartbreaking character death occurred in Outlander after Frank was involved in a car crash. Before that, he had gotten into a very bad argument with Claire. After persevering a bad marriage for 20 years, Frank felt it was time to leave. He had a new lover after all who appreciated him, unlike Claire.
Frank told Claire that he was planning to relocate with his mistress and that he would be taking Brianna with him. But that never happened since he died shortly after. But why was he planning on taking Brianna yet she wasn’t his biological child? He had no right to her custody. Shouldn’t he just have gone on to have children with his new lover?
Wanting To Punch Claire
In Season 2’s first episode titled “Through a Glass, Darkly,” Frank almost deviates from his nature and tries to punch Claire. This al happened after Claire admitted that she was carrying Jamie’s child. He had bought her time-travel explanation but hearing that Claire was pregnant for another man was too much for him.
It hurt even more considering the fact that he and Claire had been trying to get a baby before she disappeared. So, Frank also punched her but managed to control himself. He didn’t apologize about either as should have been expected given that in the pilot episode, he apologized for simply asking if she had a history with a stranger that he had seen.
Not Divorcing Claire Earlier
The signs that Claire no longer loved Frank were always there so it’s a bit surprising that he waited 20 years to leave. Frank took excessive measures like banning Claire from talking about Jamie and even burning her clothes from the 18th century but this didn’t change anything.
Claire wouldn’t even get intimate with him on most occasions yet he stayed, hoping that things would be better. Waiting for so long would eventually cost him his life since it was the bad final argument with Claire that put him in such a bad mood, which eventually led to the car accident.
Guarding Brianna Against The Truth
Frank’s attachment to Brianna was quite baffling. First, he made Claire promise that they’d raise the baby together. He also never wanted Brianna to know that he wasn’t her real father. He made Claire promise that she wouldn’t tell Brianna about her true paternity until after he was dead.
Why was Frank so eager to have Brianna see him as her real father? If he loved Brianna so much, he ought to have allowed her to know her real father. And since he was quite intelligent, he ought to have known that Brianna wouldn’t be so happy to find out that the identity of her father was kept from her.
