Movies & TV Outlander: Blood of My Blood The Outlander: Blood of My Blood Series Premiere Justifies Its Existence Jamie and Claire’s parents are cleverly connected across space and time in Starz’s new historical fantasy romance. By Natalie Zutter | Published on August 11, 2025 Credit: Starz Comment 0 Share New Share Credit: Starz An entire Outlander spinoff focusing on the respective parents of Jamie Fraser and Claire Beauchamp Randall Fraser does beg the question, will there be enough interest? There’s no How I Met Your Mother mystery hook, though our information about the two couples is limited to stories told by their star-crossed children. Which is to say, we only know as much as Jamie and Claire do about how they each ultimately came to be—until now, where we get to learn far more about every heart-stopping moment of those love affairs. So far, Blood of My Blood winningly woos viewers. The first two episodes reintroduce us to the sweeping romance and political intricacies of 18th-century Scotland, while building in real obstacles separating two couples in drastically different yet narratively complementary fashions. The push-and-pull of why each duo can’t be together are equally believable—with the added twist that one couple’s union will be key to reuniting the other. Spoilers for Outlander: Blood of My Blood 1×01 “Providence” and 1×02 “S.W.A.K. (Sealed With a Kiss)” The credits say that this series is based on characters created by Gabaldon, so it’s functionally more pulled from the TV series canon than the books, though Gabaldon likely advised on plotlines and character arcs. To wit, the look and feel of both time periods conjure up Jamie and Claire’s respective homes in season 1, albeit thirty years earlier in both cases. The Succession-esque jockeying for leadership of Clan MacKenzie casts the Highlands in a different light than the Jacobite rebellion, while the horrors of World War I contrast with Claire and Frank’s story starting during post-World War II peacetime. There’s interesting narrative friction to these two love stories proceeding at different paces, various milestones—first declaration of love, first kiss, sex, marriage, the universe pulling them apart—occurring out of order from one another. But they have the same love song. Outlander: Blood of My Blood Theme Song While it’s a nigh-impossible task to top “The Skye Boat Song,” composer Bear McCreary has offered up another sweeping theme song that only gets better on every listen. It’s telling that the showrunners felt that the initial cut was too Scotland-heavy—more “like a travelogue,” they told Variety—and that it didn’t click until the folks in post-production merged a shot of Highland warriors into World War I. That is definitely the shot of the credits, reminiscent of how the drums pick up on all that was me is gone in the Outlander season 1 credits. Interesting that both are action shots with characters running, although instead of Claire racing through the woods in Scotland, it’s two groups separated across two hundred years. And of course, the fact that we end back at the familiar shot of the women dancing at Craigh na Dun teases how the stones will continue to be significant even a generation before Claire goes back in time. Ellen MacKenzie & Brian Fraser Credit: Starz After all of the Ellen setup in prior seasons, and especially with Brian Fraser and Brianna Randall’s conversation in the Outlander season 7 finale, the flesh-and-blood character definitely lives up to the legend of Jamie’s long-gone mother. Harriet Slater excellently plays Ellen’s deep well of grief for her father, mingled with some resentment that he could not (or would not) honor her as his heir outside of their private conversations. Her shifting alliances with her brothers are fascinating to watch, as Dougal (Sam Retford) barrels his way through opponents and women alike in his zeal to become laird, while Colum (Séamus McLean Ross) has the head for ruling but not, according to anyone of the time, the feet. Ellen is the clear choice, but her sex prevents her from taking control of the clan, even as Red Jacob gifts her her own male MacKenzie tartan in sepia-toned flashback. This of course beautifully sets up her forbidden romance with Brian (Jamie Roy, eerily great casting for Sam Heughan’s dad). He’s a bastard of his clan, she’s the unofficial heir of hers. Yet their first meeting is electric in a way that makes you believe in fate; the scene at the bridge is achingly lovely. Credit: Starz But their love story will proceed slowly, and around them everything else is moving much faster as the clans itch to see who will be the new laird of Clan MacKenzie. That means Gatherings and other opportunities to meet familiar characters in younger guises, like the MacKenzies’ lawyer Ned Gowan (Conor MacNeill). And Rory Alexander as Murtagh Fitzgibbons Fraser! It’s fun to see Murtagh, who we spent so much time with as Jamie’s rapscallion godfather in the primary series, as a twinkly-eyed lad with his own yearnings—specifically, for Ellen. I’ll be curious to see how much Brian and Murtagh actually become rivals for her, or how long it will take the latter to realize his feelings for Jocasta, with whom he has an insightful first conversation. Clan Warfare Credit: Starz As I remember Outlander season 1, it was mostly centered on the inner workings of Clan MacKenzie and Black Jack Randall’s interference, as opposed to getting into the minutiae of other clans. By contrast, the premiere introducing us to several households at once brings to mind Game of Thrones and Shogun, broadening an already-familiar world by contrasting the petty ruin of the Frasers in Castle Leathers versus the opulence of the Grants’ abode. Obviously if you’ve read the books and/or watched Outlander you know how things turn out, but Ellen’s brothers dangling her as bait for the Grants (and potentially other suitors) is an interesting wrinkle in how it will likely lead to even more discord among the clans. And guess which time-traveling interlopers are gonna get caught up in the middle? Initially I thought that “Providence” would be the sole premiere episode, which made its subtle introductions of Claire’s parents all the more exciting: she a maid at Castle Leathers, he the bladier (or spokesperson) for the Grants. “S.W.A.K. (Sealed With a Kiss)” gives us the entire backstory for how they wind up in the past and the obstacles ahead, in a whirlwind romance delivered via love letters and mortar fire, motor accidents and crossing through the stones. Julia Moriston Beauchamp & Henry Beauchamp Credit: Starz Meeting the Beauchamps mid-fuck on the picnic blanket was an almost laughable contrast to Brian and Ellen’s forbidden cheek touches, but it immediately establishes what entirely different points these relationships inhabit. One couple is trying to figure out how to meet for a second time, the other are young parents desperate for a babymoon before number two arrives. Then we get the car crash, then the stones, and it cuts to the credits. Whew! “S.W.A.K.” rewinding in time to show us how Julia (Hermione Corfield) and Henry (Jeremy Irvine) fall in love was a bit dizzying, but in a good way. The montage lingered just enough on the important moments to show us what drew them together on a foundational level (both questioning war and calling for change, like his open letter and her suffragette work) as well as what they still have yet to learn about one another (his PTSD).  The war forces both to take on alternate roles for the greater good—he a barrister-turned-soldier, she putting aside university studies to censor letters from the front. That adaptability will serve them well in Scotland, both for donning masks in various clan households but also to bear the shocking everyday violence of Highlander life. (Brian taking the lashes for Julia’s escape attempt!) Though no doubt it will prompt them to once again challenge the why of it all. Some of their motivations are signaled pretty clearly, but in a big romance like this it works; Henry being introduced as telling his superior on the warfront that “I promised I wouldn’t leave anyone behind this time,” with us knowing he’ll be separated from Julia, is a gut punch. In short, we can see where Claire gets it from. But what a cruel twist of fate that she was cheated out of the chance to grow up with them. And her sibling! I don’t have high hopes for the viability of Julia’s pregnancy, though a surprise relation displaced in time might tie to Claire’s theory (from the season 7 finale) that Faith lived…! The Standing Stones of It All Credit: Starz Found an interesting Reddit post from a few years back citing Gabaldon claiming that Claire’s parents died in a car crash and that’s all there was to it. Obviously the author could have been playing that card close to her chest; or she may not have known or decided at that point, and that kind of fate leaves many narrative possibilities open. I’ve already seen mixed opinions on Claire’s parents also being travelers and whether that takes away from her experience going through the stones; but since she didn’t know they were, I think we can reserve judgment until we see more of how they’ll survive in the past. Sure, there’s a bit of The Force Awakens vibes, where we’re experiencing familiar story beats—a Sassenach in the Highlands, a couple who barely knows each other torn apart—with winking nods to the iconic original moments. But the remixing here is strong enough, and the story groundwork intriguing enough, to tune in for the rest of the season. There’s not necessarily a will-they-won’t-they to the series, unless the showrunners wanted to make Julia and Henry’s ultimate fates exceptionally tragic. And yes, we know that Brian will far outlive Ellen, but we will, quite literally, cross that bridge when we get to it. It’s clear that the foundation of both love stories is, enjoy the time you have with someone, no matter how short. It’s what’s kept Jamie and Claire going all these years—and generations, and centuries—after all. Scattered Gemstones Credit: Starz Julia’s wedding band sapphire gets sacrificed to the stones, but did we see which gemstone allowed Henry passage through? What do you want to bet that Julia’s aptitude for watch repair may come in handy in the past? Certainly her photographic memory will, though hopefully she won’t repeat her daughter’s footsteps (or, should we say, set the precedent) of getting accused of witchcraft. The casting really is top-notch with both couples. I can’t wait to see how they continue to channel their respective children slash which classic Outlander moments we might see reinterpreted or seeded more in the past. Speaking of, that’s “I Do Like to Be By the Seaside” playing during the letter-writing montage at the start of “S.W.A.K.”…! What did you think of the Outlander: Blood of My Blood series premiere? Are you more invested in one couple over the other?[end-mark] The post The <i>Outlander: Blood of My Blood</i> Series Premiere Justifies Its Existence appeared first on Reactor.