While we aren’t (apparently) especially close to getting that long-hoped for Lord John spinoff that every Sassenach worth their salt has been praying for, our wait for the final Outlander season will be a little bit easier when the upcoming Outlander: Blood of My Blood arrives in August on the 2025 TV schedule. We’ve known for a while now that the prequel is going to bring us the lives of some original series characters from when they were much younger, but now that I’m thinking about one OG character in particular, I’m both excited and nervous to see how this plays out.
What Do We Know About The Returning Outlander Characters In Blood Of My Blood?
It’s hard not to root for a series that promises as much as Outlander: Blood of My Blood does. First off, while Claire and Jamie won’t be any part of it (as far as we know), the show will deliver more backstory for the characters, which is something that fans have been wanting for a long time. It’s been said that the “traditional feel” of Outlander Season 8 will be worth the wait, but fans will also get some of that with BOMB, as teases from the EP and creator say audiences will see “two great love affairs” and “amazing rollicking adventure.”
The new show will follow Claire’s and Jamie’s parents as they fall in love during the tough times of WWI and the Scottish clan conflicts of the early 1700s (respectively). So, this means that we’ll see young versions of characters like Mrs. Fitz, Dougal MacKenzie, Jamie’s grandfather Lord Lovat, and others, including dearly departed fan favorite, Jamie’s protective godfather, Murtagh. And, we should all get ready to see a very different version of the gruff but loving Mr. Fitzgibbons Fraser, as show creator Matthew B. Roberts told EW:
We know and love Murtagh as being this constant companion, but he wasn't born that way. He wasn't born just to follow Jamie around. How did he get that way? Who was he prior to being this very stoic, closed-hearted man? Because he is very, very closed off. But the Murtagh you meet in Blood of My Blood isn't that way.
Now, I have to be honest, because as soon as we found out that we’d get to see more of Murtagh (and potentially a happier version of him) I was stoked beyond belief. I miss that guy! Plus, he had finally found love (and one of Outlander’s sexiest romantic moments) with Jocasta when he was ripped away from us all, though he was around on the drama for far longer than in Diana Gabaldon’s books.
Sure, I’m glad to get a different version of Murtagh in BOMB, but after seeing what EP Maril Davis had to say about the character and the new actor playing him, Rory Alexander, I’m getting a bit worried, as well.
What Outlander: Blood Of My Blood’s EP Said About Young Murtagh That Has Me Nervous
As you can imagine, with OG Murtagh actor Duncan LaCroix not able to reprise the role, the character’s new (or “old,” as it were) attitude played into who they chose to take up the mantle. EP Maril Davis added:
You automatically think, 'Oh, you're looking for a younger version of Duncan LaCroix?' And we're like, 'Oh, no, no.' The fun is seeing that trajectory. Rory is such a light. He's so much fun to watch and it makes it all the more heartbreaking when you know where that character's going to go.
Yes, at first glance this comment seems totally harmless. But if you’re like me, you’ll get stuck on the “heartbreaking” part of her quote. Guys? I don’t want to be heartbroken about Murtagh again! And for potentially brand new reasons!
All this time I’d been thinking that what turned him into the steadfast and no-nonsense man we saw by Jamie’s side all those years was not landing Ellen MacKenzie, the love of his life, who went on to marry Brian Fraser and become Jamie’s mother. What if there was a lot more that went wrong for the young man and made him retreat into himself more and more to become the “stoic, close-hearted” guy we knew?
Man, alive...just STOP HURTING MURTAGH!!
Sigh…alright, I need to calm myself. Regardless of what does or does not happen to the probably really sweet young Murtagh, I’ll be there to watch his whole “trajectory” and have as much fun with it as they’ll allow.
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