Frank Randall might have been rather polarizing on the hit STARZ fantasy romance drama Outlander, buthewas also one of the most tragic characters on the show, with a spate of bad luck chasing him around.
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As the dashing Jamie Fraser's rival in love, a lot of fans didn't care much for the mild-mannered Britisherwho was Claire's husband and who never had a chance once Jamie dropped into Claire's life. As it turns out, Frank's portrayal in the television drama was more gentle and decent than the one in Diana Gabaldon's books, which makes it all the easier to empathize with him over the many rather heartbreaking facts of his life.
Frank Agonized Over His Wife's Mysterious Disappearance
Frank Randall was left agonizing over the sudden mysterious disappearance of his wife in 1940s Inverness. He didn't give up looking for her and hounded the police in Scotland to make sure they kept at it.
Frank took pains to work outa sketch of the haunting kilted figure that he had seen on therainy nightoutside Claire's window just before herdisappearance. But although he wanted the Scot from that stormy nightto befound, he never believed what the police persistently told him, that his wife had abandoned him for another man. This was a tadpathetic since Claire was, in fact, cheating on him that very moment 200 years in the past.
HeCouldn't Have Kids
Frank and Claire had tried to conceive in the few years they had beentogether before the War but to no avail. While Claire believed it likely that she was the one who couldn't get pregnant, Frank knew the problem could lie with him.
He visited a doctor and found out that he was, in fact, sterile. Seeing how he absolutely loved Brianna afterward, it was sad that he couldn't have any of his own.
Brianna Reminded Him Of Claire's Infidelity
Frank accepted Brianna Fraser, Claire and Jamie's child, as his own, and practically dedicated himself to being a wonderful father to her.Unfortunately,Brianna grew up to look much more like Jamie than Claire with the same flaming red hair.
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So however much he adored her, Brianna would have reminded him every day of Claire's feelings for another man. To accept the living proof of Claire's infidelity and learn to love couldn't have been easy.
His MarriageWith Claire Fell Through
Of course, one of the saddest things about Frank was that his marriage with Claire fell through for no real fault of his. He had honestly been in love with her and there was no way he could have known or stopped her from traveling back in time and meeting Jamie.
Claire and Frank kept up the charade of marriage for Brianna's sake, so she wouldn't have a broken home. However, their relationship was well and truly over when Claire made it clear that she couldn't get over Jamie.
Frank Stayed In Love With Claire
Even more heartbreaking than Frank's unhappy marriage was that Brianna was definitely not the only reason he stayed with Claire even after knowing that her heart no longer belonged to him.
Frank continued to love Claire despite his feelings not being reciprocated. In fact, he stayed in love with her till he died and would have happily stayed on with her had Claire given any indication that she did have space for more than one man in her heart.
He Knew That Claire Would Go BackIn Time & Die With Jamie
Another rather heartwrenching thing was that Frank had found out through his sources that Claire would go back in time and eventually die in a fire with Jamie Fraser.
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The season 4 episode, 'Down The Rabbit Hole', showed Frank upset and taking refuge in drinks after having read obituary Claire and Jamie's obituary. It must have caused him a lot of pain to know with certainty that Claire would go back to Jamie and even die with him in the past.
He Decided To Move On With A Heavy Heart
Frank finally decided to put his foot down and get a divorce after having waited for years for Claire to return to him emotionally. After Brianna had graduated, Frank decided to move on and make a fresh start with his girlfriend, Sandy, who he knew cared forhim truly.
It wasn't as if he had stopped caring for Claire, but he had had enough. Yet, it couldn't have been easy for him to call off the marriage to the woman he would always love deeply.
Brianna Fought With Him Right Before His Death
Although Frank was a great father to Brianna and she loved him back, there are fights and disagreements in every relationship. Unfortunately, Brianna quarreledwith her father at what turned out to be her last meeting with Frank. Frank wanted to take her away to England where he intended to begin a new chapter of his life with Sandy.
Brianna, however, didn't take the news of her parents' divorce lying downand was even more annoyed at being asked to shift. So the lasttime Frank saw his beloved daughter, they had a major fight, something Brianna regretted bitterly afterward. In fact, it's not impossible that Frank crashed his car as a result of being distraught in the first place.
Frank's Ancestor Was The Notorious Black Jack Randall
This is not so much a heartbreaking detail of Frank's life, as it is a sad, and even shameful, fact about his family. Frank's ancestor several generations prior was the notoriously sad*stic Jonathan Wolverton Randall, popularly known as Black Jack Randall.
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Frank was under the impression that BJR was a swashbuckling hero of his time, with a grand nickname to go with his heroic acts. However, he apparently learned later, probably from Claire, although that is not clarified, that BJR wasn't the man he had thought him to be. The factthat he wasthe descendant of such an infamous, godless man couldn't have been a happy find.
Frank Died In A Car Crash
Finally, after pining his whole life for awife who chose someone else over him, Frank died tragically in a car accident. Frank had a showdown that had been a long time brewing with Claire regarding divorce, following whichBrianna fought with him over leaving the States, as mentioned earlier.
It makes sense that he would have been very anxious and sad, which might have in turn led tohis accident. What was worse was that Claire finally told him that she didlove him, but her declaration came too late as Frank lay dead in front of her.
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