‘Outlander: Blood of My Blood’ Stars Break Down the Life-and-Death Stakes of That Violent Season Finale

[This story contains major spoilers from the season one finale of Outlander: Blood of My Blood, “Something Borrowed.”]

The couples at the center of Outlander: Blood of My Blood may have finally found their way back to each other, but they must now fight to stay together.

In the season one finale of the Outlander prequel, Julia (Hermione Corfield) cleverly escaped from the clutches of Lord Lovat (Tony Curran) with the help of her real husband Henry (Jeremy Irvine) — only for Arch Bug (Terence Rae), who had long been suspicious of Henry’s ulterior motives for joining Clan Grant as a Sassenach, to pursue the couple on horseback all the way to the stones at Craigh na Dun. With Arch Bug on their tails, and not knowing whether their son has hired their time-traveling gene, Henry grabs Julia at the last second and presses all of their hands to the stones at the same time.

Meanwhile, star-crossed lovers Ellen (Harriet Slater) and Brian (Jamie Roy) managed to plot an escape of their own — but not before getting some major blood on their hands. On the day of her wedding to Malcolm (Jhon Lumsden), Ellen discovered that, by ordering to have Brian killed behind her back, her brother Colum (Séamus McLean Ross) had broken the one condition for her to go through with her arranged marriage. Instead, Ellen decided to run away from Castle Leoch with Brian — only for them to come face-to-face with a drunken and jilted Malcolm, who refused to let them leave. In the end, when Malcolm pulls out a sword on him, Brian is given little choice but to kill Malcolm in front of Ellen in the ensuing battle, tainting the start of the happy couple’s life together.

While taking a break from shooting the prequel’s already-in-production second season last month, the two couples of the Outlander prequel spoke with The Hollywood Reporter in separate conversations. Their chats have been edited into the conversation below.

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Ellen and Brian

One of the most unexpected delights of this prequel has been getting to see the parents of Claire and Jamie cross paths with each other. Julia and Ellen were able to have their first conversation without evoking suspicion in episode nine, and they were able to speak freely about the painful sacrifices that they both had to make for love. Harriet and Hermione, what stands out to you about the relationship between the two ladies at the center of this prequel?

HARRIET SLATER I love that relationship. I loved every scene I had with Hermione. I think Ellen sees Julia as a confidant, and looks up to her because she’s more experienced in love; she’s married and [Ellen] really pities [Julia] because she sees that Julia is now trapped in this marriage to Lovat that she can’t escape. She almost experiences that herself with Malcolm. The whole season, she’s trapped in this betrothal that she doesn’t want for herself.

And thank goodness for that relationship, because it’s Julia who gets them together in episode four that enables them to have that secret meeting, which then leads to Beltane [in episode five, where Ellen and Brian consummate their love]. It’s in that moment in episode nine when Julia says something like, “Losing them forever would be too great a price to pay,” that Ellen realizes that she has to break up with Brian in order to save him. Because if she doesn’t, Colum will have him killed.

HERMIONE CORFIELD Having watched [that episode] for the first time a couple of days ago, I had forgotten that Julia is the pivotal reason for Ellen to go and tell Brian that she no longer wants to be with him. Julia’s been the matchmaker throughout the whole series for Ellen and Brian, and it’s quite ironic that she’s the one through her own distress and her own circumstances — she’s not meaning to do so — who convinces Ellen that it’s not worth [it for] them to be together.

So in a way they’re sharing with each other, but it also feels quite indirect. They’re both in their own heads about their own problems, and they’re there for each other, but I don’t think Julia’s circumstances directly corroborate with Ellen’s, but [Ellen] chooses to take it as a sign. Throughout the series, they’re both women trapped in scenarios they don’t want to be in and are desperately trying to find a way out of — both for reasons of the heart.

Harriet, there’s a great moment after Ellen’s “virtue” test in episode eight where she glares at her brothers, who were too cowardly to stand up to her, on her way out of the Great Hall, as if to say that she can’t believe they made her go through such a humiliating ordeal in front of the Grants. By the finale, Ellen learns that Colum has broken her promise not to hurt Brian. What do you think is the state of Ellen’s relationships with her brothers now?

SLATER It’s in tatters. Her and Dougal (Sam Retford) were never that close, but her and Colum had a great relationship, and we see that in flashbacks at the beginning of the season. At that point, [Colum’s] betrayed her in every possible way. It’s bad enough that he married her off to a guy that she didn’t want to marry, but then he orders to have the love of her life killed. And the audacity of making that bargain with her when it’s already too late, and he’s already sent these guys after Brian —

JAMIE ROY He literally says, “You have my word.” That’s a bold-faced lie.

SLATER He lies to her face. When she finds that out, it’s really interesting that she goes down to the office and gives him the opportunity to confess in the finale. She gave him the opportunity to admit the truth, and he doesn’t, and I think that’s it for her. It’s in that moment when she realizes, “Right, you’re dead to me,” and she has to leave everything and everyone behind.

Ellen and Brian run into Malcolm as they’re trying to escape Castle Leoch. Can you each give voice to what is going through your characters’ minds as Brian is forced to make that fateful choice to kill Malcolm?

ROY I think the one thing going through Brian and Ellen’s mind at that point is, “OK, we have to get out. We just have to not see Malcolm.” And then we see Malcolm and it’s like, “Ooh.” Brian lets Ellen take the lead on that [confrontation] because she’s familiar with him, and maybe she can talk him down because they’ve had their friendship up to this point. As soon as Malcolm draws his knife, that’s when Brian steps in — and he literally pleads to Malcolm. I think he makes the assertion that he would be able to take Malcolm in a fight, so he’s not necessarily threatened. He says to him, “Please don’t do this.” But Malcolm is just so hellbent on rage, and, ultimately, he’s not going to win that one, unfortunately.

SLATER It’s Uncle Malcolm’s fault because young Malcolm was such a sweet guy. But even when Uncle Malcolm is being not very nice about Ellen, young Malcolm says, “Mind how you talk about her.” He still cares for her, and he still has that sense of honor and respect. And then Uncle Malcolm says, “Find out what she values most in the world and take it from her.”

ROY Oh my gosh, that was it! It was him who causes his demise.

SLATER Yeah, it’s his fault. He instills that bitterness and that sense of revenge in him, and that’s what causes him to draw his sword and want to kill Brian. (To Roy) And you’re right: Jamie says, “We tried. We gave him a few chances to back down.”

ROY He got one hit, and he got a nasty scar on my left arm!

SLATER Watching it, it’s Ellen’s fault. Ellen jumps in and then Brian’s distracted and is like, “No, Ellen, get back!” That’s when he takes the opportunity, and he slashes you in the arm.

Ellen is a very headstrong woman, but I don’t know if she has ever come face-to-face with that kind of violence before.

SLATER Violence is a lot more commonplace in that world, so you can’t really think about the deaths that occur [in Outlander] in the way that we would think about the deaths that occur today, because everything was a life-and-death situation really back in that time. But I think it’s the fact that she really genuinely cares for both of these people in very different ways.

She’s known Malcolm since they were children, and she knows that he really does love her and she genuinely feels bad about the situation. That’s why she tries to explain to him, “[Our marriage] was all arranged. I’m sorry.” She desperately wants him to back down and walk away from this unscathed, but he’s hellbent on revenge, so they have to do what they have to do in the end. But yeah, it’s not nice. I love that Brian feels so guilty about that afterwards. There’s such a weight to him when they arrive at the bothy with Murtaugh and he’s explaining what happened. I love that Ellen steps in and reassures him and says, “You had to do it. He would’ve hunted us for the rest of our days.”

Once they escaped together, Ellen and Brian had one of the most beautiful intimate scenes in Outlander history. It’s so playful and deeply romantic. How did you want that intimate scene in the finale to feel different from their first sex scene?

ROY We did reshoots for episode five for technical reasons, so we actually got to film them quite close together. We knew what the full story was for both these characters. We wanted a stark difference between the lovemaking that you see in episode five compared to the finale, because they’re two completely different points in the story. Episode five is this stolen moment where people could walk in on them at any point, and it’s much riskier, and it’s a lot more passionate. Whereas here, it was the first time Brian and Ellen have been alone. They’ve overcome all these hurdles. They’re in their own little safe space. Even Murtaugh said, “I’m going to go away and hunt for as long as you want.”

SLATER What a guy!

ROY What a wingman. He came around quick [after originally having feelings for Ellen]. So it was definitely a different energy that we wanted to bring. We also wanted to make sure that moment was earned. We wanted to make sure they’ve been through enough, and the audience had seen the hurdles and the moments between them, so that when we get to the finale, you’re like, “OK, this makes sense.” It’s the first time these two characters are really seeing each other and taking their time with it, without the pressures of anyone potentially walking in.

SLATER Yeah, we could take our time because it wasn’t a stolen moment. The first time, Ellen had to get back before the sun went down. Like you said, there was the possibility that someone might walk in on them, so there was a sense of danger and also an innocence to it because it was both their first times. They’d just been handfast as well, so it was very tender.

ROY When you think about it, there’s the playing of Ellen taking the kilt off Brian, Brian undoing the corset — there’s a lot of levity in [their intimate scene], which is a stark difference from episode five.

SLATER Because they know each other so much better, they really do belong to each other at that point. There’s a sense of freedom because they’ve escaped. They’re out of that world that constrained them for so long, and removed from it all. They’ve left everything behind, and finally have each other and have the time and space to enjoy that. That was really important to show.

Julia and Henry

One of my favorite moments in the back half of the season is the moment when Julia and Henry reunite in 18th-century Scotland, months after they were separated at the stones. How did you think about playing that moment as well as their little encounters leading up to their escape in the finale?

JEREMY IRVINE Henry has been having these strange flashbacky visions, so he almost doesn’t want to let himself believe it. If he lets himself believe it, then he is opening his heart up to just more pain. And then when Julia finally says, “Hope springs eternal,” the floodgates open.

CORFIELD Julia didn’t go into the MacKenzie house thinking that she would find Henry. She’s there to help Ellen [with the virtue test]. When she sees him, she knows he’s alive somewhere and she knows he’s working for the Grants, so there’s less of a disbelief because Henry had been told that they’re dead. So it’s almost like torture for him at the beginning until he accepts it. But for Julia, it’s pure joy. She’s been longing for [Henry] for seven episodes, so it’s a really poignant moment for her. In terms of preparing for the scene, The overwhelming thing was to feel like they can breathe again in each other’s company, which was really lovely.

IRVINE If you put barriers in the way of two characters, then immediately it’s just so much more interesting to play. You’ve got these people where all they want to do is to run into each other’s arms, but they can’t. There’s that electricity between them and this push and pull. What you’re trying to do [as an actor] is instead of doing that big run, grabbing each other and kissing each other, you’re trying to do that with just looks. I think it is a great thing to play with. If there weren’t obstacles, this would be a very short series. (Laughs.)

At the same time that he briefly reunites with Julia, Henry also meets Brian for the first time, so all of the leads of this prequel have now met each other. Jeremy, was the humor in that scene between those three characters something that you brought to that moment, or was it always on the page?

IRVINE What humor? (Laughs.)

I think there was something quite funny about Henry essentially going, “Who the hell are you?” after he realizes that Julia knows Brian quite well.

IRVINE I suppose there is in a way, but you’ve just got to play [what’s on the page] for real. “Hang on, who’s this? I mean, really, who’s this handsome fucker, and why does he know my wife? I’ve just been told Lovat [is married to my wife] — at least the man is this sort of slimy guy. But then who’s this 6-foot, strapping [guy]?” (Laughs.)

Jeremy, you told me in our last conversation that Julia and Henry really put “unconditional love to the test” in the final four episodes. How does Henry process what Julia has done, and has he really forgiven her for getting involved with Lord Lovat?

IRVINE Well, he hasn’t exactly been an angel himself [because he slept with a sex worker after he thought Julia died], and [what he did] is still to be said to Julia. With unconditional love, he knows she would’ve been trying to keep his child alive and keep herself alive, and at no point do we see them have the time to unpack that. So I think it’s a sort of, “Look, I forgive you. We will discuss this later” thing, but I don’t think not forgiving her is ever a thought that crosses Henry’s mind. He’s too much of a good guy. But I would struggle!

Compared to Ellen and Brian, who are really falling in love in real time, Julia and Henry are much more of an established couple. Given that they spend so much time apart, how have you thought about deepening the sense of intimacy between your characters? Since you had already known each other for a decade coming into this show, do you think your own real-life relationship has helped facilitate the dynamic we see onscreen?

CORFIELD What’s great about having a friendship beforehand is there’s a real level of comfort with each other, so you are never afraid to try new things, which is a key to a good scene partner. You want to be able to do something and know that the other person will have your back or say if this works, or whatever the response is.

IRVINE Knowing each other so well beforehand gives you a shorthand. There’s nothing I couldn’t say to her and nothing she wouldn’t say to me [that would surprise us], because she’s seen me at my absolute worst over the last 10 years and my best as well. So I’ve got nothing left to hide. We’re very comfortable with each other, and we genuinely get on. We hang out more off-set than we do on set. It’s really lovely doing this job, getting to hang out a lot more than we ever have.

The thing about that onscreen spark, you can fake it, but it’s hard work. I’ve done things with actresses where I thought we were getting on, but they probably just didn’t like me. It makes it harder. But it’s effortless with Hermione. We chat about the scenes in the evening and talk about what might be coming up and ideas that we’ve both had, and then we get on set and it’s easy. That’s when you know it’s right. We know what will make each other laugh, what will wind the other one up, and we like to do both in equal measure.

CORFIELD When we meet them in episode two, there’s that budding romance. It is that kind of fresh romance, and then we do see them later on in the marriage and we see their problems. We see all the different things they’ve had to work through, and those things don’t go away because they’re separated. It’s not like everything’s perfect once they’re back together again, particularly after all the challenges they’ve dealt with. I think it’s a whole different set of hurdles now. But we’ve seen them establish their relationship and go through quite a real marriage — and when I say real, I mean that it’s not been completely plain-sailing.

IRVINE No, actually, in season two we see more of that. At first, we are really just looking for each other, and it’s all sunshine and roses in terms of our feelings for each other. But then things get more complicated, and that’s real-life marriages for you. We do come to address that, don’t we?

CORFIELD Yeah.

The first season ends with Henry trying to get himself, Julia and their new son William through the standing stones together, in a desperate attempt to escape the wrath of Arch Bug and the rest of the Grants’ men, but it remains to be seen if they were successful or if they have been separated again. Can you give voice to your characters’ internal dialogue in that final scene?

IRVINE I wouldn’t say there was so much internal dialogue — we were trying to remember the dialogue! It was being written at the side of the camera, wasn’t it, Hermione?

CORFIELD Yeah.

IRVINE You never know how the story’s going to come together, so I think we filmed about four or five different versions that were being adapted as we went.

CORFIELD I think it was keeping in mind what was going to happen in season two. [Pauses] Wait, was that before we knew we had season two? Yeah, it was. So, yeah, we did all these different variations, and I suppose the stakes at that point are 10 out of 10, and it was quite interesting.

IRVINE For Julia, the 1700s is not a good time to be a woman, and especially not if you are the property of one of these less-than-kind lairds, and I think there’s no way in hell that Henry was going to leave her there and go back himself. I think, ultimately, if it means laying down his life for her, he would do it in a heartbeat.

CORFIELD But they’ve also risked all to do that together. By being caught doing that, how the hell do you get out of that if you’re caught by Arch Bug? That’s an impossible scenario to find yourself in. You’d get the sack, for instance!

So much of the first season was about these couples trying to find their way back to each other, and now they will be tasked with trying to stay together in subsequent seasons. Where will we find your characters at the start of season two?

CORFIELD Season two is always interesting because normally season two happens because your characters are still struggling with similar problems. I’m so bad at talking about this. (Laughs.)

IRVINE Hermione is the absolute queen of giving spoilers away in interviews. It’s such a talent.

CORFIELD It’s hard to talk about stuff in an interesting way without giving away spoilers.

IRVINE Firstly, we’re now just coming back to work with all our friends, which is delightful. I felt like there was unfinished business at the end of season one. It’s been like, “Oh, we’re going to find each other.” We finally find each other, and then the season ends. I want to see what happens next.

I will say this: Where we end up in season two, I would never have guessed. I went in for my costume fitting, and they showed me this costume, and I went, “Why the hell am I wearing that?” And yeah, it is wild, man. I think it’s even better. It’s very difficult to tell at this early stage, but I think it just builds and builds. We’ve really found a groove now.

ROY We’re going to find Ellen and Brian pretty much where we left off. We see the fiery crosses at the end of the finale, so we’re going to obviously see what happens with that. It’s a really nice place. We see Brian become a man by the end of the season, much more independent, and I think that only grows into season two. He’s found who he is, he’s found what is worth fighting for, what he’s passionate for, and that’s only going to enhance going into the future.

SLATER I guess Ellen has a lot to face back home if she does ever end up going back home, because there’s been a lot of betrayal.

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The full first season of Outlander: Blood of My Blood is now streaming on all STARZ streaming and on-demand platforms.