Hello Outlander fans or fans new to Outlander! The Blood of my Blood prequel has arrived and I am here for it.

In my excitement for the show, I picked a Montana Whiskey Peach Cider by Western Cider out of Missoula, MT. I thought something fun and summery. I just wasn’t quite prepared for Blood of My Blood being a little grittier than Outlander.

We start the episode with the death of Red Jacob MacKenzie, Laird to Clan MacKenzie. His daughter is Ellen, who is Jamie’s mom (those of us from the mothership show know). We see the body being prepared and the cultural death observances (covering mirrors, opening the window for the spirit to leave, etc). We also see a pretty distraught Ellen weeping by her father. We next see the plaid getting prepared for Ellen’s arisaid, the way tartan was styled for women do the clan. Mrs Fitz, played by Sally Messham, does a fabulous job of sounding like a young Mrs Fitz and even catches some inflections of the original. And we get one of three flashbacks of Ellen with her da, where he promises that she won’t have to marry if she doesn’t want to and that she’ll always be a MacKenzie. It’s a beautiful scene shot in black & white. We swing back to the present where Mrs. Fitz is saying Ellen might have to marry now. Ellen wipes away a falling tear (much like her granddaughter Brianna in Season 3 after Claire leaves to return to the past), and insists there be no talk of weddings today.

We cut to the wake and see the Mackenzie siblings, Ellen, Colum, Dougal, Jocasta, and Janet. Poor Janet is so sad, but Jocasta is more embarrassed that their dad went out McConaughey-style with a maidservant. Jocasta here is totally giving off middle kid syndrome. Saying unkind things but “speaking the truth,” and stirring the pot. She keeps stirring the pot during the funeral procession, talking about how the married women should be leading the way or that Leticia & Colum should be leading the procession as the next Laird & Lady.

I wonder if I spy a Father Bain walking as the priest. He has hair! And sorta looks like Ron Moore. How fun would that be if that was a real cameo?

Ellen gets a flashback to another time when her dad promised she wouldn’t have to marry. We also see how Jacob has allowed her to learn chess and be educated. We get a tender moment, showing how much he loved Ellen. We even see that her name if she was to be a boy would have been James. Is it just me, or does Grandda Jacob’s voice sound’s like Jamie’s when it’s low and gravely?

From this we go into the opening credits, and it’s pure bliss. I’ve loved the song and Julie Fowlis’s voice ever since I heard it. The only disappointment is that there’s no title card. I hope this isn’t a new thing for Blood of my Blood.

We jump to seeing a cattle raid going on. Dougal and his men handle it mercilessly, including cutting two fingers off a man. It’s a reminder to us Outlander fans that this time was brutal. It also reminds me of a book series by Julia Brannen. In her historical fiction books that include clans and the Rising of the ‘43, we see things more from the clan perspective. This type of immediate justice of losing fingers would be expected if they weren’t able to steal the cattle. In fact, if the raiders were to show up empty-handed back to the clan and without those types of marks of justice, it would show the clans that the new Laird was weak. So in many ways, Dougal does have to do something that we would see as drastic to send a message not to mess with Clan MacKenzie, even if it looks like he’s in a roid rage.

We see the brothers duke it out in the office, shooting all sorts of fiery word darts that Ned tries to jump around. Somebody get Ned a referee whistle!

It’s a nice break to see some Scottish sun and Brian and Murtaugh riffing each other. To see them laughing and giving each other a hard time is wonderful. But then they are called to dinner and you meet the lovely Lord Lovat, who’s not lovely at all. A real slimy fellow he is. That must have been a rough upbringing for Brian. How quick he is to step in for Julia because of the horrors he must have seen his mother face. Which there’s a surprise to see Julia, and working for Lord Lovat. Poor Davina gives a trauma response and tells Julia it is better for her to be like furniture to Lovat.

Back at the gathering, Ellen gives Colum her support as Laird but they also discuss his options if he’s not chosen, and it’s pretty morbid. The meet at McKinney? MacKenney? Any relation to my husband’s family perhaps? It’s no mistake for us to see him. He’ll probably circle back around Ellen like a vulture.

We then get some good flashbacks to Season 1 of Outlander with the shinty game, and wee Angus and Rupert being peeping Toms. Dougal definitely seems to be in a roid rage. He’s having trouble with that poor girl. Is that the sister of Geordie that passed away during the boar hunt of season 1? And oh, the stories Ned could probably tells about the Mackenzies. Poor guy has been doing cleanup on aisle 5 every day.

Red Jacob truly left a mess in his passing. The boys are squabbling and poor Ellen is deflecting suitors left and right. Although I love Mrs. Fitz telling Murtaugh to look elsewhere.

I do love how we get a greater picture of the gathering between the dancing, ax throwing, Ellen & Colum’s observations as they walk together, the men singing before they start the tynchal. It really immerses you in Highland culture.

Brian & Ellen have a sweet meetcute. We hear about chickens and Ellen is jealous of Brian’s “suitors” until she sees who they are. You can tell something is a-brewing.

We meet the Grants and get another shock… Henry Beachump is with the Grants. Malcom. Grant seems quite sweet with Ellen, but maybe he’s just kissing up. All of Dougal, Colum, and Ned’s discussions around the Grants let us know that they are sketchy and not to be trifled with.

Ellen, after being thwarted by Malcom Grant’s attentions, uses the secret escape to make it to Brian. Again, we get Bear McCreary’s beautiful music and Julie Fowlis’s wonderful voice. I don’t know where Outlander and Blood of my Blood would be without Bear McCreary. 

Brian & Ellen’s meeting in the bridge looks magical just because of the location. But they are quite sweet together too. Brian uses the bridge as a chaperone but they can’t help but meet in the middle anyway.

Murtaugh wins the hunt as us Outlander fans know. We see him cleaning the tusks for an infamous present as Jocasta happens upon him. While disappointed to see that yet another man is vying for her sister’s attentions, Murtaugh leaves her with a sweet line that he “never knew any Mackenzie that was in any shadow.” It also ties into the MqcKenzie motto “I shine, not burn.” But I’m also left wondering, where is Jocasta’s husband?

Meanwhile, Ellen’s disappearance to meet Brian is causing problems. Mrs. Fitz hesitantly mentions that Ellen was seen with Malcolm Grant last. Dougal jumps to conclusions, and Colum stirs the pot to push him to action. Dougal attacks the Grants and comes up empty and foolish. Colum’s plan may have worked to make him look like the better laird candidate but repercussions will be tough for all. In the end, Ellen sees the ugliness of her brothers in its full glory. “Protection” of her way of life means she will do what they say. And you can tell Colum takes a certain pleasure in the roles reversing and being the one in charge, instead of Ellen having the ear of her father. It’s a reminder of even her father saying to her if only she was a boy. As close as they were, he was not going to change the rules for her. And it’s brutal for all the kids because in one way, they all had their moment of not measuring up to their father. And you can see the result with the cat fighting between them all, except for Janet. It why I struggled to enjoy the first episode. I’m very sympathetic to characters. It’s why I can’t watch comedies where everything goes wrong. While others laugh, I feel so bad for the characters that I can’t enjoy the movie. And my first watch of the episode left me sad to see a family fall apart. You can tell Ellen is holding on to Brian like a lifeline, the way she says his name in the bath. He shows kindness where most men in her life show ruthlessness, save poor Ned trying to speak up for her. And yet even Ned mentions how the chance of Malcom violating Ellen would prove to be lucrative for the clan. And in the end, Colum tells Ned to give Ellen to Malcom Grant like she’s a boat or a car, an item to bought, sold, or traded. Maybe it’s a little bit of my faith seeping in, but it reminds me of the story of Joseph, who was the favorite, who was eventually sold into slavery by his half-brothers.

We have a little transition with a bird and are transported to the future, where we meet Claire’s parents engaging in other activities. Although how old is that bird? Did its wing touch the stones and was transported forward in time? Have birds been time travelers all this time and we never knew it? 

Once Henry & Julia are done frolicking in the heather, we see them go for a drive and mention little Claire. She’s going to be a big sister, until Henry swerves to miss a stag in the road and the car goes flying. They are thrown into a river and make out alive but lose their bearing. And as chance would have it, Julia goes up a hill to catch her bearings while Henry gets a rock out of his shoe. Henry hears her scream and follows her. He sees the standing stones and wonders what new sorcery is this and follows through. 

This episode is well laid out with different surprises, Easter eggs, and a trove of details and information. I truly didn’t appreciate this episode until subsequent watchings. It’s definitely made with a rewatch-binge in mind, and it works. And like Season 1 Episode 1 of Outlander, you can’t stop with Episode 1, you have to go on to Episode 2. And while the length of both episode back to back are the length of a movie, they really do set up the show well together. While the first episode sets many things in motion, the second episode brought me to tears and forced me to root for Henry & Julia, which I wasn’t prepared for because Diana never had much vision for Claire’s parents and so I saw it that way too. But I’ll discuss that more in my next post.

Curse you Outlander and Blood of My Blood for making me cry more than I laugh! I started out with a summery Peach Whiskey Cider and ended with a soft fuzzy blanket and some soup.

Slainte!

Dram: Western Cider Co’s Whiskey Peach Cider

Food: Bacon & Chicken Chowder…I mean chicken may be poor company but they can be pretty tasty, especially with some bacon.

Song: I love the opening credits. I think I could listen to Julie Fowlis sing every day. Otherwise it’s a tie for Mad World or Rhianna’s “We Found Love.”