‘Outlander’ Star Sam Heughan’s Surprising Reaction to The Return Of Tobias Menzies Via Voiceover: “Personally, I Didn’t Love the Fact That We Hear His Voice”

Outlander Season 8 is now fully committed to reviving Jamie Fraser’s (Sam Heughan) bitter feud with a man with the last name Randall. Just last week on the Starz hit, Jamie finally discovered — thanks to Frank Randall’s author portrait on a history book Brianna (Sophie Skelton) brought back from the future — that both Claire’s first husband and his tormentor Captain “Black” Jack Randall (Tobias Menzies) shared more than DNA. They had the same face.

**Spoilers for Outlander Season 8 Episode 2 “Prophecies,” now streaming on Starz**

Now, in Outlander Season 8 Episode 2 “Prophecies,” we learn that Jamie is being haunted by Frank’s somewhat taunting voice in his head.

That’s right: Starz brought Tobias Menzies back to Outlander for the eighth and final season. (Well, they brought the booked and busy actor back to do some voiceover.)

At the end of Outlander Season 8 Episode 2, Jamie learns that his new neighbor Captain Cunningham (Kieran Bew) believes that he cannot die for another five years, because two years prior, his dying son foretold they would meet again in the afterlife in seven years. Later, Jamie is seen reading Frank’s history book in bed, reflecting on this.

“Seven years from Saratoga, Cunningham said, so he has five more years to live,” Frank’s voice echoes in Jamie’s mind. “He’s not the only one who knows the day of his death.”

Last week, Jamie told Claire that Frank’s book, which details the Scottish involvement with the American Revolution in the Carolinas, alleged that James Fraser dies in a year’s time at the Battle of Stone Montain. Now, it seems Frank is the personification of Jamie’s own fears.

Outlander star Sam Heughan told DECIDER that it was “cool” that former costar Tobias Menzies “got to come back and do that,” but he also revealed that he wasn’t always sure it was the best creative choice for the story.

“Actually, it’s something that I queried a little bit. Would Jamie know what his voice sounded like?” Heughan said. “Personally, I didn’t love the fact that we hear his voice, because I think it should almost be Jamie’s voice.”

“But it’s a tough one because he’s plagued by this character. And it is Jamie’s fears that are, you know, personifying it in his head,” he said. “So I think, yeah, I mean, it’s very dramatic and I think certainly it’s plaguing Jamie and on his mind for a majority of this season.”

We don’t yet know if we’ll see Tobias Menzies on screen in the final season of Outlander, but Heughan did say, “I wish we had seen him on set. That would have been super fun.” Who knows if he’s telling truth or keeping a big surprise secret for fans?

New episodes of Outlander Season 8 premiere weekly on Fridays on Starz.