Note: This story contains spoilers from “Outlander: Blood of My Blood” Episode 10.
After Ellen MacKenzie (Harriet Slater) shut down the idea of a life with Brian (Jamie Roy) for his safety at the threat of Colum (Séamus McLean Ross), the “Outlander: Blood of My Blood” Season 1 finale picks up on Ellen’s wedding day to Malcolm Grant (Jhon Lumsden), with the reality of her upcoming nuptials slowly sinking in.
“Ellen always hoped that she would find a way out of that betrothal, so she played the part of the dutiful betrothed to the Grants with the hope and the knowledge that she would find a way out,” Slater told TheWrap, noting that Colum’s Episode 9 threat made Ellen realize “she’s screwed” and lead her to break Brian’s heart, which, in turn, breaks hers as well.
Luckily, in true “Outlander” fashion, Brian came to Ellen’s rescue, revealing that Colum had sent someone to execute him despite Ellen breaking things off with him, therefore freeing Ellen of her end of the bargain so she and Brian could plan their escape with the help of Jocasta (Sadhbh Malin) and Mrs. Fitzgibbons (Sally Messham).
“She is prepared, in that moment, to leave everything and everyone behind in order to be with the man that she loves,” Slater said.
As the dust of Ellen’s disappearance settled, Colum whipped up a plan for Dougal (Sam Retford) to marry Maura Grant — whom Slater calls “well-matched” despite being opposites — and the couple’s escape plan is underway until they are intercepted by Malcom Grant, who wouldn’t let Brian leave his sight unscathed, taking his uncle’s advice to take what Ellen loves away from her. Malcom’s determination to fight doesn’t intimidate Brian though, according to Roy, who noted that Brian knew he could take Malcolm, but instead offered him the option to quit while he was ahead. When Malcolm refused to back down, Brian took him on in a fight, which Brian ultimately ended by killing Malcolm.
“It’s the last thing on Brian’s mind,” Roy said. “He doesn’t want to do this. He absolutely wants to just get out of the castle … but Malcolm has other ideas and unfortunately, it didn’t end too well for him.”
“It is kill or be killed in that moment,” Slater added, noting that Brian struggled with the weight on his decision. “It’s a really lovely moment when Ellen sees that and reassures him [by saying] ‘You had to do it, because he would have hunted us forever. He wouldn’t have relented.’”
Still, killing Malcolm will inevitably complicate Brian and Ellen’s happy ending, with Roy explaining, “killing a laird to the clan isn’t something that’s taken lightly during that time.”
Brian and Ellen escape to the bothy, joining Murtagh (Rory Alexander), who shared a sweet moment with Ellen, solidifying their friendship. Slater and Roy revealed that moment made them cry when watching the finale as a cast. “It’s such a gentle kind of love, which is something that Ellen just isn’t used to,” Slater said. “I really love their friendship.”
The couple’s fantasy of a happy ending is then disrupted by a political call, when Ellen and Brian see fiery crosses across the Highlands, indicating the start of the Jacobite rebellion, which Brian can’t ignore.
“Back in those days, he has two options: He either answers the call, goes back to his laird and goes to war, or risks exile from Scotland,” Roy said. “If you don’t answer that call, you basically have [to leave] the country, because if you don’t, and you’re found out to be abstaining from war for whatever reason, you could be killed, so Brian really doesn’t have much of a choice at the end of the season.”
Despite their potential separation, Slater said the couple is “very much united,” saying, “they’re a team. They’ve been through so much together, and they are determined to stay together whatever happens.” Plus, it helps to know that they eventually stay together to have Jamie down the road.
Brian and Ellen aren’t the only lovers who got a reunion in the Season 1 finale, with Julia (Hermione Corfield) successfully concocting a plan to escape the clutches of Lord Lovat (Tony Curran) to run off with Henry (Jeremy Irvine) and their baby.
While Julia has always been resolved to escape Lovat, Corfield noted that this time, she paid close attention to protecting Davina (Sara Vickers), who Corfield said could be beaten, or worse, should Julia and the baby disappear under her watch. Davina standing as Julia’s ally and accomplice is a welcome change for Julia, who notes Davina previously saw Julia as a “competitor” and a “threat,” both to her place in the castle, as well as for her son Brian. “Over time, Davina realized that actually, she had no intention of anything like that,” Corfield said. “It was purely protecting her child, and they bond over the fact they’re both mothers and are actually doing most of what they do to protect their children.”
With this in mind, Julia instructed Davina that after she, Henry and the baby were clear of the house, she should alert Balloch and tell him Julia had been kidnapped.
Their plan goes off mostly without a hitch, but the couple suddenly realizes they can’t be sure if their baby can time travel, meaning that one of them will have to attempt to go through the stones with the baby first and should their son not be able to go through, the other would stay stuck in the past with him. With men coming after Henry, Julia insisted he go through first with the baby, explaining that she has more protection that him. But, at the last minute, Henry put Julia’s hand on the stone with the baby — leaving their fate in question.
Irvine revealed that they filmed a “few, different versions” of that final sequence, explaining “we had someone literally at the side of the camera writing different versions, just so it gave the writers options for Season 2, because I think we were all pretty hopeful we were coming back, but you never know.” (Starz gave the Season 2 greenlight in June). Ultimately, however, Irvine feels confident they chose the right one.
“I don’t think there’s any world in which Henry would have abandoned his wife,” Irvine said. “The life that Julia has back in the 1700s is so much worse than what Henry has to go through. Anyone who’s a father and a husband will relate — you’d sacrifice yourself for them in an instant.”
While it’s unclear if the time travel worked and whether Julia, Henry and the baby will all make it back home, Irvine teased “big surprises” ahead in Season 2, which is in the midst of filming, as well as some “awkward conversations” between Julia and Henry regarding what Irvine calls Henry’s “transgressions,” referencing to his hookup with the sex worker after thinking Julia was dead.
“Henry and Julie have a lot of things to discuss and unpack between them,” Corfield said. “They’ve got quite good training in dealing with stuff within their marriage when it’s not ideal, but I think this is a whole new challenge for them [to] learn forgiveness and … reconciliation.”
“In ‘Outlander’ utter, true, unconditional love exists — it exists in the real world too, but in this world … God it’s so deep, and we really put that to the test,” Irvine said.
“Outlander: Blood of My Blood” Season 1 is now streaming on Starz.
