Believe it or not, the end of the first season of Outlander: Blood of My Blood is nearly here in the 2025 TV schedule. While there’s still the last season of Outlander on the way and Blood of My Blood is already guaranteed to return for Season 2, the stakes are sky-high ahead of the finale in October. As of the end of the penultimate episode, both of the main love stories are far more tragic than they are beautiful.
Whether or not that lasts remains to be seen, but after pondering the state of Brian and Ellen as well as Julia and Henry, I realized that there’s a third duo that I’m very invested in. It’s not a romance, but five seasons of Outlander suggest that they’ll have some kind of positive ending. Still, let’s start with the main couples of the series!
Minor spoilers are ahead for Outlander, if you haven't seen the original series.
Ellen And Brian Have Split... Sort Of
One of the many secrets that came out over the course of Episode 9, called “Braemar,” was that Ellen had been consorting with Brian Fraser, and Colum couldn’t have been more furious. Frustrated that Dougal betrayed her and terrified for the man she lovd, Ellen gave her word that she’d end things with Brian if Colum gave his that he wouldn't have Brian killed.
I’m not 100% sure that Colum didn’t phrase his vow in such a way that he won’t actually go after Brian, but Ellen rushed off to keep her side of the arrangement. Heartbreakingly, Ellen knew that she had to hit Brian where it hurts to convince him that they needed to end their relationship.
She started out by claiming that his status as a penniless bastard changed her mind about wanting to be with him vs. marrying Malcolm Grant. When that didn’t work, Ellen claimed that she’d never truly loved him.
It devastated her to say it, especially after she’d happily arranged a risky rendezvous with him. Honestly, if not for seeing how devoted they were to each other earlier in the season, I might have believed that Ellen really wanted to cut her losses and end their relationship. After her traumatic experience with her virginity being “checked” in a room full of men (including her brothers and her intended), I wouldn’t blame the poor woman if she was willing to do anything to avoid another such situation!
As for Brian, he finally blew up at his father... and then he paid for it via Lord Lovat's wrath. Admittedly, I did laugh a bit when Lovat’s big punishment was that Brian would have to take a less prestigious place in the hunt while Murtagh took his spot, but I definitely wasn’t laughing when arrows started flying at Brian in the woods.
He of course wasn’t killed in the penultimate episode of Blood of My Blood’s first season, but there were some close calls and he had to charge through the trees in his kilt. All in all, this wasn’t the most romantic episode for Brian and Ellen, but my fingers are crossed that everything went so badly in the second-to-last episode of the season so that everything can take a turn for the better in the finale.
Julia And Henry Have Hope… But I Don’t Trust It
Julia and Henry finally had a proper (if short) reunion in “Braemar,” with Henry having to get a rundown on her side of the plot off-screen from a third party. Fortunately, his complete failure to keep a straight face in front of Lord Lovat when he learned that his wife was now considered Lady Lovat didn’t tip Simon off that something was suspicious.
And the 20th century couple finally had a few moments alone together! Henry assured her that there was “nothing to forgive” when she apologized profusely for what she’d had to do to protect herself and her unborn child. I’m not entirely sure that I believe him, though, since Henry still seems to be an emotional wreck, and he got a lot of unpleasant information in one fell swoop.
Julia doesn’t yet know about Henry’s tryst with Seema, so we haven’t seen if she also believes that there's nothing to forgive. Plus, she had a traumatic experience of her own as a woman in the 18th century! Their most pressing problem comes from outside, however, with Lord Lovat always hovering over Julia and Arch Bug still keeping an aggressive eye on Henry. Plus, Seema didn’t quite take it well when Henry reasserted his deep love for his wife, and she was on hand in “Braemar.”
Plus, the odds seem worse than ever of Julia successfully being able to escape Leathers with their baby, and Henry’s first attempt to flee the Grants backfired spectacularly. Throw in that they don’t even know if they can time travel back to their own era through the stones, and they may be in even more doomed circumstances than Brian and Ellen despite their reunion.
All in all, not a great time to be part of a secret love affair in the world of Outlander! I suppose it’s possible that their romances may go a little more unnoticed if the people around them are preoccupied by the Jacobite cause. (Spoiler alert from Outlander as well as history: the Jacobite cause is doomed to fail in this era as well as Jamie’s.)
But dang it, there is one pairing that has my heart completely.
Brian And Murtagh Deserve Each Other
Now, don’t worry – I haven’t confused Outlander with Game of Thrones and come to expect incest between main characters in Blood of My Blood. But Murtagh and Brian had one of the most endearing bonds of the series as friends and cousins starting back in the premiere, and I was nearly as devastated as they were when 1) Murtagh found out about Brian and Ellen and then when 2) Murtagh confronted Brian about it.
While Murtagh was never going to be successful with Ellen, he understandably felt betrayed that his cousin wooed the one woman who Murtagh was infatuated with. His anger wasn’t enough to actually try to sabotage Brian (or Ellen) into serious danger, but it was starting to seem like Murtagh’s close relationship with Brian was over and it wouldn’t be until Jamie comes along that he bonds with the family again.
Fortunately, I was wrong on that count. Troubled by Lovat attacking his son and then apparently finding out about the attack planned on Brian in the woods, Murtagh chased after his cousin, tackled him to the ground, and hid him just well enough for his would-be killers to pass them by.
The episode ended without revealing if the MacKenzies are behind the assassination attempt. They are the most obvious candidates, and Colum could well have broken (or wormed his way around on a technicality) his promise to Ellen. I wouldn’t rule out Lovat sending men after his own son, however, now that he believes he has a legitimate heir and has recently been listing all the ways that Brian is a disappointment.
Whatever the reason that Brian had a close brush with death, I was glad to see the cousins reunited on decent terms by the time the final credits rolled in “Braemar.” If the romances are both going to be rocky, I’ll take Murtagh and Brian mending their friendship! Plus, the promo for the finale indicates that Murtagh may have come around on (or at least made his peace with) Brian and Ellen’s love story. Take a look:
The Season 1 finale of Outlander: Blood of My Blood airs on Friday, October 10 at 8 p.m. ET as well as streams via the Starz app and a Hulu subscription with the Starz add-on. The final season of Outlander is expected before Blood of My Blood returns for Season 2, and I’m already curious to see if the final chapters of Claire and Jamie’s story will fold in any of the new canon elements from Blood of My Blood. There are already twisty theories about Claire’s brother in the OG series, after all!
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