When it comes to the world of Outlander, there are only some characters we’ve heard about. Maura Grant MacKenzie was one of them, until now! She was introduced in Outlander: Blood of My Blood.
We knew from the flagship series that Maura and Dougal were married, so their wedding in the Outlander: Blood of My Blood season 1 finale wasn’t too much of a surprise, as we’ve mentioned at ClaireandJamie.com. However, her introduction was always going to be important, and it certainly helped to clarify something in Outlander season 1.
Maura is unlike the women Dougal has met in Outlander: Blood of My Blood
When Maura walks in, she isn’t surprised to see Dougal and her maid, Hetty, up to what they’re doing. We’ve seen Ned Gowan walk in, unsurprised by situations, but not any of the women. In fact, most would cover their eyes or say something negative to the woman in the situation, but not Maura.
She isn’t surprised, and she shows no embarrassment at the same time. She’s just matter-of-fact in her nature, and that’s something that will shock Dougal. He’s used to women being coy. The only women who have stood up to him are his sisters, especially Ellen, and others are just the women of the time.
This sets a change of tone for Dougal when it comes to interacting with Maura. He’s able to remain matter-of-fact with her, and then later on in the episode, he’s thrown off a little by the way she acts and says things.
Dougal’s love for Maura in Outlander makes sense
There has always been a lot of confusion about Dougal’s feelings toward his wife in Outlander season 1. The fact that we never meet her also throws us off. Maura always remains at their family estate, while Dougal is always back at Castle Leoch. He doesn’t say much about her, and she’s often described in a negative way.
Yet, when it comes to her death, he’s rocked by it. He’s angry and gets drunk because he doesn’t really know how to cope with the grief. In fact, the grief may have surprised him, considering the affairs that he had up to this point. What it does show is that there were some feelings between Dougal and Maura.
The introduction of Maura in Outlander: Blood of My Blood sets the path for us to see those feelings grow. It’s easy to understand why Dougal would start to feel lost without his wife and why he would grieve her so hard. While he wasn’t faithful to her, he didn’t stop caring about her. There was something Maura could offer that others couldn’t. At least, that’s what this introduction suggests, helping to make Outlander season 1 make a lot more sense.
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Outlander: Blood of My Blood is available to stream on STARZ.