When Outlander went off the air earlier this year, I couldn’t help but wonder whether Outlander: Blood of My Blood could carry the torch that keeps the franchise alive.
But Outlander: Blood of My Blood Season 2 Episode 2 is proof that even without Claire and Jamie, this franchise still has a lot to offer.
Arguably, the latest chapter of the spinoff had everything we’ve come to expect from Outlander: romance, mystery, war, and game-changing twists.
We’ll start with Ellen and Brian.
The last thing I expected after their painful goodbye on Outlander: Blood of My Blood Season 2 Episode 1 was that they’d somehow find their way back to each other so soon.
Of course, plenty of heartache still lies ahead, but it was nice to see the torn-apart lovers back together. Ellen’s life was quite literally on the line when she returned to Castle Leoch after going on the run.
Her brothers are straight-up terrible to her and believe she should follow their every word to the letter, so it’s always fun when she bites back at them.
Getting them to put Castle Leoch in her name so that it couldn’t be ripped from the MacKenzie family if the war didn’t go their way was an inspired choice.
Colum and Dougal fail to listen to Ellen at the best of times, and I believe the three of them could work together to be power players if the brothers weren’t so dismissive of what she brings to the table.
Throughout Outlander: Blood of My Blood Season 1, the pair were straight-up villains as they decided what would become of Ellen in the wake of their father’s death.
Outlander: Blood of My Blood is Delivering
But Ellen isn’t the type of person to back down from what she knows is right, and that’s what makes her such a fascinating character. Every time she could have done something to take down her brothers, she’s somehow given them the grace they’ve never afforded her.
Colum, in particular, put a dangerous plan in place to have Brian killed on Outlander: Blood of My Blood Season 1 Episode 10.
Looking back, it’s hard to believe he truly thought the plan through. He was so determined to stop Ellen from escaping the family’s expectations that he seemed not to care about the consequences.
That’s tragic, and Ellen must feel so small whenever her brothers try to order her around.
The caveat that she must remain unwed or the deeds to the estate will transfer to Colum is yet another power play from her family. Obviously, Ellen has no other choice but to accept it and move on, but at least she can see Brian.
Brian is becoming quite the political player, and the way he managed to round up around 100 men for his father’s cause was utterly surprising.
Lord Lovat has continually acted like Brian doesn’t deserve to be his son, but the issue is that Lovat hasn’t been seen as someone with much influence for a long time.
He’s desperate to make an impact and be remembered during the Jacobite uprising, but how can he round up troops when everyone laughs at him?
You could see the surprise on Lord Lovat’s face when Brian went to bat and used his words to get the men in the bar interested in signing up for the cause.
I don’t quite know what the future holds for Brian and his father, but I have to imagine Brian will never truly forgive Lovat for how he’s been treated his entire life.
Brian showing up at Castle Leoch, fighting with Dougal, and pledging that his men could help out in the war to come completely blindsided me.
Had Ellen not been part of the equation, there’s no way Brian would have been interested in making such a deal.
Politically, he’s giving the MacKenzies something they desperately need, but let’s be real: Brian has also engineered the perfect excuse to stay close to the woman he loves.
For now, that gives him exactly what he wants, whether he can marry Ellen or not. This is such a tragic love story, and I hope there’s some light at the end of the tunnel.
Or, at the very least, let them enjoy the calm before the inevitable storm.
Then there’s Julia, who is once again forced into this disgusting dynamic with Lord Lovat.
Julia spent the majority of Outlander: Blood of My Blood Season 1 plotting her escape, so it’s upsetting that it all went so spectacularly haywire.
The meeting with the Seer gave her some much-needed clarity and perspective, and possibly an answer for why she couldn’t get back through the stones at Craigh Na Dun.
Maisri admitted that Julia can’t travel through the stones because the power isn’t within her.
Julia was pregnant when she and Henry passed through the stones way back on Outlander: Blood of My Blood Season 1 Episode 1.
Julia is in Danger
With the baby no longer inside her, she no longer possesses the ability to slip through the veil between the two time periods.
It’s a fascinating revelation because it completely changes what we thought we knew about Julia’s journey through the stones.
She didn’t travel through time because she possessed the ability. Her unborn child did. Does this mean she’s destined to be trapped in the past forever?
Given what we know about the timeline of the original Outlander, it sure sounds like it.
Henry plotting his return to that time period with Mrs. Graham’s help suggests he eventually gets back to Julia, and they somehow spend the rest of their lives together there.
We know Quentin raised Claire and that her parents are very MIA in the mothership, so I appreciate that Outlander: Blood of My Blood is actually delving into all of that.
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There was always going to be a challenge in telling Julia and Henry’s story because we already know how Claire’s childhood plays out.
But suddenly, Outlander: Blood of My Blood is beginning to fill in those blanks in a way that could completely change how we view what happened to her parents.
Overall, this series is firing on all cylinders, and this episode is proof yet again that it is a worthwhile franchise expansion.
What are your thoughts on Ellen and Brian’s new predicament? Do you think Julia is destined to be stuck in the past?
Let’s keep the conversation going — it’s the only way the good stuff survives.
Say something in the comments, share if you’re moved to, and keep reading. Independent voices need readers like you.
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The post Outlander: Blood of My Blood Season 2 Episode 2 Review: The Calm Before the Storm appeared first on TV Fanatic.