For eight seasons, time-traveler Claire (Caitríona Balfe) and her Highlander husband Jamie (Sam Heughan) have endeavored to alter history — to twist fate to protect their future and the futures of those they hold dear. But destiny has had a way of winning out, whether it be the bloody Battle of Culloden or the fire that burnt down the couple’s home on Fraser’s Ridge.

With a new threat looming — the revelation from Frank Randall’s (Tobias Menzies) book, The Soul of a Rebel, that Jamie would die during the impending Battle of Kings Mountain — the couple once again threw themselves into destiny’s path. Could this time be different?

Whether Claire and Jamie did indeed rewrite history in Outlander’s series finale — or history was simply jotted down erroneously in the first place — is one of the many burning questions we posed to showrunner Matthew B. Roberts, as he sat down with Entertainment Weekly to discuss the conclusion of the long-running Starz series.

MATTHEW B. ROBERTS: I always knew I wanted to incorporate [Jamie’s] ghost. It was really important that the moment have some kind of closure. And the other thing that I’ve said for anybody who would ask in meetings about the reality and authenticity and history and all these things — there’s magic in Outlander. I have to remind people, she came through time. And the question has always been why? This is my interpretation — and everybody should have their own — that this is never ending and never beginning. In a weird way, it just keeps moving. A true love story, to me, is born in the stars, like they say. We laced these things in. They’re there. Jamie says in an episode, “That’s us. We’re up there in the stars and will never end.” In the dialogue, if you’ve been paying attention all along, this story’s already been told. I’m just showing it at the end.

Just in case there is any confusion for viewers, can you confirm that both Claire and Jamie survived the series finale?