The Outlander: Blood of My Blood series premiere opens with a funeral, promising a battle for lairdship. That lairdship isn’t just potentially between Colum and Dougal MacKenzie.
Caution: This post contains SPOILERS for Outlander: Blood of My Blood season 1, episode 1.
We think we know of the story about Clan MacKenzie after the death of Red Jacob. That all changes as Outlander: Blood of My Blood opens. Colum and Dougal aren’t the only ones at war, with threats from outside of the clan. That’s even something Ellen worries about.
Meanwhile, as Castle Leathers, we get to see the world of Simon Fraser, Lord Lovat. It turns out a certain someone from the 1920s is already there.
Clan MacKenzie face a difficult start in Outlander: Blood of My Blood
For Clan MacKenzie, we open with them in mourning. Red Jacob has passed away, and he’s left the future of the clan in question. We get a series of flashbacks to show that Ellen really was his favorite child, and there’s a beautiful nod to how Jamie ends up getting his name. It turns out that was the name Jacob would have picked for her if she was a boy.
However, Ellen may have been the favorite, but she can’t be the laird of Clan MacKenzie. That’s either one of her brothers, and she makes it clear that she favors Colum. Of course, if Dougal gets the lairdship, she believes Colum will need to get away or he’ll end up dead, and Colum knows that too.
If only the brothers were the only threats to each other. The episode opens with a clan trespassing on MacKenzie land in the attempt to take it. Dougal and his men capture them, with Dougal cutting the fingers off the man he catches. Is this how Arch Bug got his injury? Sadly not, but it would have been a great story to tell.
Dougal thinks it was either Clan Fraser or Clan Grant, but he can’t prove it. They need to watch out for other clans, and even Ellen agrees with that.
Ellen and Brian meet for the first time in the Outlander prequel
Meanwhile, we head to Castle Leathers, to find out that Brian Fraser isn’t known by the MacKenzies. As the illegitimate son of Simon Fraser, he’s been kept away, and that is going to work in Simon’s favor now. After a debate, which also includes Brian attempting to protect a certain Julia from Simon’s advances, Brian ends up heading to Castle Leoch with Murtagh (who kills the boar that he fashions the tusks from) for the mourning festivities.
This is where Ellen and Brian meet. The two don’t get to know who each other are, but it’s clear that there’s a connection between the two of them. They end up agreeing to meet in secret later on, but Brian needs to get away as he’s already making enemies.
During the wake for the clan, Clan Grant turns up to share their condolences. This is where we get to meet Henry Beauchamp, who is going by Henry Grant now. He and Ned Gowan quickly form a connection, and I just love seeing that Ned once met a time travel, clearly without knowing it based on his future conversations with Claire.
Ned is intrigued by Henry’s story, though. Henry has become Isaac Grant’s advisor and scribe, and eventually the bladier, which makes Ned question about his predecessor. He had no idea that something had happened, and we’re sure to learn what that story was soon.
Situations arise between MacKenzie and Grant
Of course, we know that Clan MacKenzie and Clan Grant don’t get along in Outlander, so we need to find out why that is. It all starts with an attack on MacKenzie land, but it’s clear from their first meeting that Malcolm Grant is interested in Ellen. This is sure to be an interest in the potential lairdship that he could force by marrying her, though.
Things take a turn when Ellen sneaks out from the gathering and Malcolm sees her on the road. He considers following her, but he’s then interrupted by another man to share that Isaac has left. Malcolm decides that it’s time for them all to leave, and that leaves Ellen a chance to head out to meet Brian in private.
We get the scene from the sneak peek, as Ellen learns that she’s falling for a Fraser. For Ellen, there’s the question of what they can do. How can they possibly make a relationship work considering all the obstacles they’ll face.
With Ellen gone, they hear that she left and they wonder if the Grants have taken her. Dougal shows that jumping to conclusions leads to major issues, and it’s no wonder Jacob didn’t name him the successor. Meanwhile, Colum thinks and plans, although it runs the risk of hurting Ellen, showing that he doesn’t really care all that much for family if it means he can get ahead in the lairdship.
Dougal rushes for the Grants, stopping them on the road and attacking them. It’s Henry who helps to break up the fight, getting the upper hand on one of the MacKenzie men. With the mistake made, Dougal needs to go back with the tail between his legs, and now Clan MacKenzie need to make it up to Clan Grant.
There is only one way to make this right, and that’s to promise Ellen to Malcolm Grant. Of course, she doesn’t want that, and she’d rather deal with the Grants coming for them all when she learns that if she doesn’t do what she needs then she will lose everything when Colum or Dougal become laird. Jacob always promised that Ellen wouldn’t have to marry until she wanted to, but with him gone, so is his word. Colum will do what’s right for the clan.
Jocasta goes to see Murtagh in Outlander: Blood of My Blood
While Ellen is finding her man, it looks like Jocasta has found hers. She quickly takes a shine to Murtagh, but she can tell that he’s interested in Ellen MacKenzie. Considering how this relationship forms in Outlander, I love seeing the hint of it in this scene. I think we also see why there is the tension between Murtagh and Jocasta in Outlander season 4 when they meet again.
There are actually some great moments with younger versions of characters we’ve come to know. Rupert and Angus are just adorable, and we have a great look at a young Mrs. Fitz, and while she’s on the shyer side in this episode, it’s clear how she can become the Mrs. Fitz we end up knowing.
A trip to the future in the Outlander prequel
The end of the episode takes us to the 1920s. Julia and Henry are spending some quality time together in the Scottish Highlands before we cut to the scene of Henry and Julia from the sneak peek. This ends with a car crash and the two of them falling into the river, which explains how they end up at the stones. They need to find a way back with their car damaged and being in the middle of nowhere.
As Henry stops to get a rock out of his shoe, Julia heads to the top of a hill to get the lay of the land. A scream alerts Henry to something happening, and suddenly Julia is gone. However, Henry can hear the buzzing of the stones. Julia has already gone through, and now we can see how they end up separated, even in the past, but we also get a hint that Henry is drawn to that middle stone.
Outlander: Blood of My Blood airs on Fridays on STARZ.
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