During Outlander: Blood of My Blood season 1, episode 4, we saw Henry have another nightmare from his time in the war. Julia helped him through it again, and this time, she gave him something special.
Caution: This post contains some SPOILERS from Outlander: Blood of My Blood season 1, episode 4.
Many World War I soldiers returned home with what was known as shell shock back in the day. It is now known as PTSD, and there’s a lot more understood about it. At the time, though, nobody realized what PTSD was or how to treat it.
We see that Henry believes himself to be a failure because of it. He doesn’t know what’s going on and why he dreams so much of World War I. Some of the memories come back in the daytime, triggering him to fight. However, it’s not weakness, and Julia is there with him as much as she can be.
Julia gives Henry a gift to help him in Outlander: Blood of My Blood
The nightmares certainly take their toll on Julia as well. She has to wait for Henry to come out of the moments slowly, and she needs to find a way to help him through it all. We get a look of her heartbreak for her husband in Outlander: Blood of My Blood season 1, episode 4, as she sits on the floor with him while he brings himself back to the present day.
To help, she takes off her necklace and hands it to him. From this point on, Henry holds onto the necklace. In fact, when he drops it in 1714, he quickly picks it back up, as it’s not something that he can lose.
That necklace is one of St. Anthony, meaning the necklace carries a double meaning for Henry, especially in the past.
What is St. Anthony the patron saint of?
Henry and Julia are Catholics, so it’s not surprising that Julia has a necklace of a patron saint. St. Anthony is the patron saint of lost things, and in the post-World War I era, it’s almost a way to help bring the Henry she knows back to her. St. Anthony is helping to find the man from before the war.
In the past, the necklace has a bigger meaning to it. Not only is it Henry’s connection to Julia, but it’s also a connection to finding his “lost thing.” He needs to find Julia, so that they can get back through the stones. At the same time, he needs to get himself home, as the two of them are lost in time.
It’s a beautiful way to connect the two timelines and show us how important Julia is to Henry. This is sure not to be the last time the St. Anthony necklace comes up.
Outlander: Blood of My Blood airs on Fridays on STARZ.