We reach the halfway point with Outlander: Blood of My Blood season 1, episode 5, and hope of two characters reuniting is dashed with stories coming out. Julia fails to make it to the Beltane festival.
Caution: This post contains SPOILERS for Outlander: Blood of My Blood season 1, episode 5.
Brian had promised to help Julia escape Castle Leathers, but he can’t go through with it. To be honest, it’s not all that surprising that he can’t go through with it. He’s prepared to take a beating for getting Julia out, but not the intense beating it would be if he helped his father’s unborn child also escape.
Brian learns Julia is carrying his sibling in Outlander: Blood of My Blood
As Brian helps to get Julia out of the castle, Davina finds them. She can’t have Julia escape, sharing that she is carrying Simon’s child. Brian changes his tune after this, realizing that he can’t take Julia with him. If she is carrying Simon’s child, then she has to stay.
It’s heartbreaking for Julia, especially as she was so close to getting to Henry. We know that Henry will be at Beltane with the Grants, and there was a hope of them being reunited.
Instead, Julia is stuck in the castle, just as Simon calls on Maisri, Simon’s Seer. We’ve met the older version of this character in Outlander season 2, and now we get to see the younger version. She doesn’t seem to realize that Julia is lying about the paternity of the child, and instead, focuses on how it’s going to be a boy.
What’s interesting, though, is that when Julia cracks the egg into the water, there are two yolks. Maisri sees the first being a girl with curly brown hair and blue eyes, clearly indicating that it’s Claire. The second yolk is of a boy, suggesting that Julia and Henry are going to have a boy. She goes on to share that this boy will be powerful. He will end up being king, which tells Simon that the prophecy about a Fraser king being true.
Davina tries to point out that Maisri didn’t quite say that the baby Julia is carrying is Simon’s child, but he doesn’t want to hear this. Despite her pointing out that Julia was pregnant when she arrived, Simon makes it clear that he believes her. Julia is to be released from all her duties to keep the baby safe and protected, and if Davina brings it up again, she will find herself dead.
Henry has concerns about Ellen’s reputation in Blood of My Blood
Meanwhile, at the Beltane festival, Henry pulls Ned Gowan to one side. He wants to bring up the concerns about Ellen’s reputation, sharing that Isaac got a letter from Simon Fraser. Of course, to Simon, it didn’t sound like Isaac took the concerns with any weight, but it seems like he did. Henry wants to make sure that Ellen’s reputation is intact, and he will go looking for any signs that she isn’t.
Well, the Ellen before she met Brian is a virgin with a strong reputation. Let’s hope Henry doesn’t find out that Brian and Ellen get handfasted and sleep together (yes!) while Malcolm is helping with setting up everything for Beltane.
The end of the episode sees Henry watching the maidens dancing around the stones. Ned opens up a little, sharing that he did have a love in Edinburgh but she’s gone now. He hasn’t loved since—and we know that he is a single man in Outlander, suggesting that he will never find love again. Henry points out to him that he needs to keep looking for Julia because of that.
Ellen and Brian finally get together
The big moment has to be at the Beltane festival. After a dance to pick the May Queen and Ellen winning, she chooses Malcolm to be her king. Murtagh and Brian did step forward to be considered, but Brian would have known that Ellen didn’t have a choice but to choose Malcolm. It’s Murtagh who struggles with this choice, choosing to get drunk and sulk instead of enjoying the rest of the festivities.
During the dance, Brian did manage to get a quick word in with Ellen. They arrange to meet in secret, but what they don’t realize is that Murtagh has followed them. He sees the two of them together, and this makes him want to drink even more. By the end of the episode, though, Murtagh decides that being with Jocasta is a good second best after being beaten up by Arch Bug and his men, and it’s clear why Jocasta was so hostile to Murtagh in Outlander season 4.
As for Brian and Ellen, they escape into the ruins of a castle. While there, they decide to handfast to each other, so that they can finally consummate their relationship.
However, Ellen will need to find a way out of the marriage to Malcolm. He clearly wants to be with her, and this isn’t going to be a man who takes rejection lightly. We’ve seen how his men react to lesser threats, so what will they do to Brian when they learn the truth?
Now with one couple consummating their love, it’s a good place to end the first half of the season. Now we wait to see whether Julia and Henry can find a way to reunite.
Outlander: Blood of My Blood airs on Fridays on STARZ.