Henry has a flash of hope in Outlander: Blood of My Blood season 1, episode 4. Meanwhile, Julia finds someone she can trust, but she also needs to do that person a favor.
Caution: This post contains SPOILERS for Outlander: Blood of My Blood season 1, episode 4.
We knew eventually that Julia and Ellen’s paths would cross. That was shown in the first trailer for the series, and now we finally see it happen. It’s thanks to Julia that Ellen and Brian start to find a way to be together.
However, Julia needs to get into Castle Leoch first. That’s not where she wants to go, though, as she looks for a way to get home.
Julia starts to believe in the fairy folk in Outlander: Blood of My Blood
When Claire went to the past in Outlander, she quickly dismissed any idea of the fairy folk. I do find that amusing considering she literally went back in time. Her mother, on the other hand, decides that maybe there is something in the fairy folklore. After all, she’s in the past somehow.
So, when she spills milk and Davina chastises her for not thanking the fairies for their offering, she suggests that she takes an offering to them. Maybe it will appease them, but it does give Julia time to think of another plan. While she is starting to think that the fae are real, she also wants to get out to get a herb.
Remember that she knows about fruits and herbs, so it’s not surprising that she picks out a plant that will cause a rash. Simon Fraser is deeply worried about getting ill, so when he sees the rash he makes her go out to get the help she needs. Brian volunteers to take her, knowing that this could also help him.
Brian takes Julia to Castle Leoch
On the way to the apothecary, Brian and Julia get to know a little more about each other. It’s clear that there is a want for openness, but they don’t trust each other just yet. However, in the end, Brian takes a risk.
He doesn’t take Julia to the apothecary at all. Instead, he takes her to Castle Leoch, sharing that as a servant, she can get in and get to Ellen MacKenzie. He wants to get a message to her so that he can see her. Julia isn’t too certain about it at first, but Brian promises to get her to where she needs to go and out of Castle Leathers, especially when he learns that she’s pregnant.
Julia is worried about getting caught, but Brian points out that she can ask for Glenna Fitzgibbons, Murtagh’s aunt. It isn’t suspicious when a servant is going to see another servant.
Julia finds a way to get to Ellen MacKenzie in Blood of My Blood episode 4
Well, Julia manages it. She’s immediately stopped, but she remains calm and tells the guard that she’s there to see Glenna. He doesn’t question anything and takes her straight to him, where she can make up a story about being sent from Castle Leathers as she knows herbs but getting lost along the way.
Glenna believes her and takes her to an alcove to wait while she gets food to Ellen MacKenzie. Of course, Julia secretly follows, so she can get to Ellen. Biding her time, she manages to talk to Ellen, sharing that she has a message from Brian Fraser. At first, Ellen doesn’t want to speak with her, believing that everything with Brian is lost, but Julia manages to convince her to talk.
Ellen tries to get the marriage contract rescinded
You see, up to this point in Outlander: Blood of My Blood season 1, episode 4, Ellen had been working on Colum and Dougal to rescind the marriage proposal. However, Colum can’t do that. Now that he has all the financials, he’s realized a huge problem. Red Jacob had bled the family dry, and they’re close to being destitute.
Ellen had no idea, because Jacob had hidden all of this from all of them. Colum has only just found out, and now he needs to figure out a way to get money back and lower spending. It means they need the Grants for money. Of course, Colum needs to find a way to raise a dowry for Ellen for the marriage, but that’s a side problem.
Colum does note that with Ellen in Castle Grant, she can act as a spy for the MacKenzies. However, Ellen is quick to point out a flaw in Colum's thinking, and this is why he couldn’t be laird on his own. When a woman marries into a clan, she becomes part of that clan. Her loyalty to her former family is broken, and so, Ellen would need to work for the Grants and not the MacKenzies.
With it clear that Colum won’t budge on the marriage, Ellen turns to Dougal to see if he’ll rescind the offer. However, now that the two brothers have what they want, Dougal is willing to listen to Colum on the marriage matters, so he’s not going to change anything either.
This is why when Julia gets to Ellen, Ellen feels like everything is for nothing. However, Julia shares that she knows what it’s like to be separated from your true love. She encourages Ellen to at least meet with Brian, and so she does, sneaking out through a hidden passageway in the castle.
Ellen shares that they’ll meet at Beltane, which Julia learns involves a festival for the story of a woman traveling through time. Julia realizes that it’s linked to standing stones, and this even offers her a way back home. Ellen says that she’ll have to be that the Beltane festival with Malcolm, but she will do what she can to get out of the marriage. She wants to be with Brian, and he wants to be with her.
As Brian and Julia slip away, Ellen goes to see Colum to say that she will go to Beltane with Malcolm. It’s time to stop the fighting in between them.
Henry gets a glimmer of hope in Blood of My Blood
While all this is going on, Henry remains on his quest to find Julia. The madam from the brothel says she has found the woman he seeks, but Henry immediately realizes that it’s not Julia. On top of that, the woman shares that her mistress told her to fake it because Una is afraid of losing Henry’s money. Honestly, this is why Henry should turn away from Una.
Isaac Grant isn’t happy with Henry constantly looking for Julia. While it’s not interfered with clan business yet, it is getting annoying. So, he sends Henry out to collect the rent, with the news that there will be an increase.
Of course, nobody wants to pay that increase. They’re all crying poverty, and Henry isn’t really sure what to do. With some flashbacks to his time after the way, including his PTSD (and not understanding what it is) and working on getting his job as a solicitor back, Henry remembers reading about a lottery that was created to help refill the coffers for Britain after World War I. Henry is angry about it considering what he went through, but Julia shares that she’d buy a lottery ticket. The lottery has a sense of hope, and that leads to people paying their last money for it.
Henry uses that memory to help raise the rents. People can buy as many tickets as they want, and the winner will get a year’s rent free. Arch Bug makes it clear that’s not what Isaac told him to do, but Henry’s plan does work. Not only does he get the raise, but Isaac gets double what he expected. When facing Isaac, he says that he’ll pay for the year’s rent himself because he believes in this system so much.
Isaac makes it clear that Henry is on thin ice. With Henry dismissed, Isaac turns to Arch to see if there’s anything to report. Arch doesn’t have anything, but he notes that there is something off about Henry. He did see some of his PTSD moments, and it shows that Henry isn’t the most stable person. Is he a risk to the Grants, though? Arch will keep an eye out.
Simon learns Julia is pregnant
The end of the episode takes us back to Castle Leathers. Naturally, Simon wants more intimate time with Julia, but she shares that he needs to be careful with her. She’s pregnant, and she tells him that it’s his.
While a lot of men would be annoyed their servant got pregnant, Simon looks happy about it. Of course, when they tell Davina, she’s shocked, and she likely knows that Julia is up to something. Maybe she’s also worried about what it means for her as Julia becomes more favorable to Simon now.
Outlander: Blood of My Blood airs on Fridays on STARZ.