The hit STARZ historical fantasy Outlander, based on the series of novels by author Diana Gabaldon, revolves around the adventures of the time traveler Claire Randall Fraser and her romance with the dashing Scottish Highlander Jamie Fraser. However, since the fans are usually engrossed by this storyline, they sometimes forget that there was one other person deeply impacted by this relationship - Frank.
As many fans know, Frank Randall was one of the more unfortunate characters in the show. Despite knowing that her feelings for Jamie far surpassed those for himself, Frank did his best to be a loving husband and father. While fans did feel sympathy for him, they would agree that he is rather forgettable considering he only appeared in 15 episodes. Apart from his interest in history, how much do fans remember about him? Here are a few details about him that might have escaped notice.
10 Frank Wasn't A Direct Descendant Of Jonathan Randall
Frank Randall was never a direct descendant of Jonathan Randall, otherwise known as Black Jack Randall, the sadistic, godless ancestor whom Claire came across during her escapades in 18th century Scotland.
For a long time, fans were led to believe that Frank was a direct ancestor of the Captain. In fact, the idea had been cemented in the public's mind considering Frank and Black Jack Randall were played by the same actor Tobias Menzies. However, it turned out that Frank actually was a direct descendant of Alex Randall, who was Jack's mild-mannered, good-hearted younger brother. Frank's line had only been tied to the sadistic Captain because Randall married Mary Hawkins.
9 He Knew About Claire's Future In The Past
Frank was aware that Claire would make her way back to Jamie at some later date after he found her obituary. This was seen in the season 4 episode, "Down The Rabbit Hole", where Frank realizes that everything Claire had told him was true and that she would ultimately die with Jamie at her side.
For the viewers, this sort of explained why the historian was ready to divorce and start a new life in England. His discovery also meant that he had inadvertently saved Claire's life as this was the exact clipping that caused Brianna to undertake the journey into the 18th century.
8 He Was A Good Cook
Frank was apparently a good cook. A few years after he and Claire had moved to Boston with Brianna, and the two had already started leading separate lives, it was shown that Frank was making delicious English breakfast for the family.
Frank loved Brianna like his own and wanted to give his daughter an English upbringing, which is why he would make the traditional breakfast so as to give Brianna a taste of the English food and culture.
7 He Possibly Took To Drinking
It is very possible that Frank found some solace in drinking after his marriage with Clare became a farce. In the first couple of episodes of season 3, Frank was shown to be slightly inebriated.
There was the time where he got drunk to spite Claire after he ruined her graduation party. Another time when he had discovered that Claire would reunite with Jamie in the past, and again when he and Claire had a final showdown. He may have loved Claire, but this relationship was not good for his health.
6 Frank Had Offers From Some Of The Bastions Of Education
This is something that might have escaped notice but the truth was that Frank Randall was, for all intents and purposes, quite a brilliant intellectual.
He was coveted by some premier academic institutions such as Oxford University, which he was supposed to have joined as a professor of history after his vacation in Inverness. He was also offered a post by Harvard University, which is another bastion of higher education. At a later time, he was yet again offered a position at Cambridge University, which, unfortunately, he could never take up.
5 He Still Cared Deeply For Claire
Frank Randall cared for Claire deeply throughout his life, despite their rather unhappy marriage. While both agreed to stay married for the sake of Brianna, this compromise didn't work as Claire never managed to forget Jamie.
Although a large majority of the fandom would probably choose Jamie over Frank any time, the fact that Frank cared for Claire in spite of everything was proven more than once.
He himself told Claire that had she managed to keep her word and get over Jamie, their marriage could have been salvageable, which meant that he himself had been ready to work on it. Another time, when Brianna found Frank with Claire's obituary, he was very obviously distraught by the news item and told her that meant was everything to him. He said that he was in love with Sandy but it was clear to all that there were some residual feelings for Claire.
4 He Never Knew About Claire Wearing Both Her Rings
In the series, Frank was never shown to have been aware that Claire continued to wear her rings from both her marriages - even when she was with Jamie.
Although Claire never loved Frank as much as she loved Jamie, she did acknowledge her relationship and her wedding to Frank by wearing his ring. However, Frank wasn't shown to have known this as such, even though it might have offered him some semblance of comfort, knowing that Claire had cared at least that much.
3 Frank Could Have Got Brianna On His Side But Didn't
When Brianna had found Frank with the obituary for James and Claire Fraser, Frank was drinking and appeared very upset by the news he had read.
This could have been an opportunity for him to open his heart to his daughter and bring her to his side. After all, Brianna was clearly closer to her father than her mother and would have easily been biased towards him had he told her the truth about Claire's past and his current loveless relationship with her. However, the decent man that he was, and perhaps also to avoid telling Bree that he wasn't her father, he didn't divulge the truth.
2 Menzies Feels Frank Wouldn't Have Loved His New Wife As Much As Claire
Actor Tobias Menzies feels that Frank wouldn't have loved his new wife Sandy as much as he had loved Claire, a fact that he would have admitted to himself in all honesty.
Since he had held a candle for her his whole life, Frank couldn't possibly have cared for Sandy quite as deeply as he had for Claire, which might not have been very fair to Sandy either, in hindsight.
1 Actor Would Have Preferred A More Fleshed Out Arc With Claire
Menzies has stated that a more fleshed out, richer storyline for Frank and Claire's relationship would have been preferable. However, he knew that this was highly improbable as the writers had to cleverly craft everything together to convey as much as they could about all the characters involved.
Frank had been Claire's husband and her 'first love', as she herself stated later on. He was also the one person most profoundly affected by the Claire-Jamie love story. However, he remained a peripheral character until his death and could have done with some more screentime, focusing on how his marriage was really falling apart through no real fault of his own.
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