Outlander: Blood Of My Blood's Julia Is Hit With Some Shattering Time-Travel News — Read Recap

It's Halloween in this week's "Outlander: Blood of My Blood," which is fitting for an episode full of both tricks and treats.

One member of the Beauchamp family gets a very welcome life line at the moment it's most needed. (Treat!) The other learns that there's virtually no chance of ever passing through the standing stones ever again. (Trick!) Brian and Ellen manage to steal a few moments together after being forced apart last week. (Treat!) Colum and Dougal are forced to go along with signing Castle Leoch over to someone they'd rather not. (Trick!) And Murtagh finds some unexpected sweetness, with the potential for much more. (The whole candy bowl!)

Read on for the highlights of "The Veil of Time."

Let's start with Henry. When Mrs. Graham asks for details about the day he came back, he can't remember much. Thanks to the electroconvulsive therapy, Little William, for instance, is pretty fuzzy in his brain. But Rev. Wakefield's housekeeper is undeterred. "The stones answer the heart's true call," she tells Henry, running through Craig na Dun's greatest hits: blood sacrifices, gem stones, and All Hallow's Eve (which is fast approaching). In no time, she's brought him clothes and a jeweled brooch; he can prick his finger with the pointy end, she explains, and he should be well-protected for his trip back.

By the end of the hour, we watch Henry — dressed in his contraband reverend outfit — walk out of the asylum in hopes of returning to Julia.

Colum goes to see Ellen where he sent her at the end of last week's premiere: penned her up in Leoch's chapel. He's still vibrating with anger over her running away from her wedding. "I had every intention of marrying Malcolm until I learned you had sent men to kill Brian," she points out, reminding him that he'd promised her he wouldn't hurt Brian. But he loopholes his way outta it, reasoning that he'd already sicced the Gallowglass men on young Fraser before he promised Ellen anything.

When Dougal arrives, he wants to a) whip Ellen for her infractions, and b) join up with the Jacobites as soon as possible. Colum is still not 100 percent sure about the latter, worried about losing everything the family has if things go south. Ellen has the brilliant idea to put Castle Leoch in her name to safeguard it, regardless of how the rebellion turns out — and Ned agrees it's a good move. So Colum grumbles a lot but has Ellen sign the deed to the estate. But if she marries, he says, the land goes back to him.

Simon is on the road, attempting to recruit men to join the Jacobite cause, but it's not going well on account of him being a big, gross joke. It's only when Brian stands up in the tavern and pulls an 8-Mile, openly acknowledging his father's MANY faults, that the crowd starts to perk up. Turns out, Brian is pretty good at rallying people behind a cause, and by the end of his talk, they're fired up and ready to fight the British. Simon leaves after that, telling Brian and Murtagh that he'll meet them on the road to Inverness.

While Lord Lovat has been gone from Castle Leathers, Julia has summoned the seer Maisri, who's given her some unwelcome news: She doesn't have it in her to go through the stones. (Side note: "But wait," you're likely wondering, "then how did she do it the first time?" We don't know yet. My current theory: William is able to travel, and because he was literally in Julia's body when she and Henry came through, that allowed her to be his plus-one, maybe?)

As Maisri leaves, she has a quick word with the devastated new mother: Julia's daughter "is safe, but in a land you cannot reach" and her "father's heart is watching over her."

Meanwhile, Arch Bug arrives at Seema's brothel and buys the young woman from her madam. He wants to know if she's seen Henry (obviously, no) and he's got a plan for her: "You are to be my eyes and ears, and speak when I bid you," he says gruffly. Later on, Seema arrives at Castle Leathers as a "gift" from the Grants: a maid for Julia. She's welcomed right in.

After Jamie and Murtagh amass an even bigger army for Simon, Jamie and Murtagh swing by Leoch: There's an All Hallow's Eve gathering, and Brian hopes that the presence of so many people will offer him some cover as he ducks in and makes sure that Ellen is OK. It... does not: Colum marches over to Fraser almost as soon as he enters, and Dougal's not far behind. A fight starts soon after; someone pulls Murtagh away when he comes to Brian's aid, leaving just Brian and Dougal circling each other in the center of the room.

After a brief tussle, Brian asks to pause the fighting and save all their efforts for the looming war. He gets Dougal's attention by announcing that there are 100 men nearby he's gotten to pledge to the Jacobite cause. So Dougal begrudgingly agrees to hold off on pummeling Brian's pretty face — for now.

Afterward, Maura is so impressed/surprised/turned on by both her husband's fighting spirit and his ability to rein it in, she pulls him into the hallway and leads him into a nearby dining room so they can have vigorous sex on the table. The poor fruit bowl nearly ends up on the floor, Mr. and Mrs. MacKenzie are so into the proceedings; he's extra invested, now that Colum and his wife Letitia have announced that they're expecting the first MacKenzie baby of the next generation. Mrs. Fitz winds up walking in on the newlyweds, mid-act, and I love both how quickly she starts scolding Dougal for being a dog, and how quickly she changes her tone when she realizes that for once, he's ravishing someone he's supposed to be ravishing (even if it IS taking place where unsuspecting people will eat their parritch tomorrow morning).

Mrs. Fitz leaves the lovebirds to finish (heh) and heads down to where Murtagh is being held. He's a little scuffed-up from the fighting, but the fact that he's bleeding doesn't stop his aunt from yelling at him for being such a dunderheaded fool. At one point, a young, female maid named Grace (played by Ruby Fubara, "Breeders") comes by; Mrs. Fitz tasks her with keeping an eye on Murty. But that doesn't seem like it'll be very hard work, given how easily the pair falls into chatting and flirting. We learn that Grace is one of Jocasta's new servants, and almost as though she were summoned, Jocasta herself appears moments later. She takes in the warm way Murtagh and Grace are hanging out, feels some sort of way about it, then relieves Grace and sends her back upstairs. Jocasta takes over, holding the cloth to Murtagh's battered head.

Later, when Brian and Murtagh are let go and sent home, Grace finds Murtagh to flirt some more as she gives him some food for the road. She's been with the Camerons for about six months, she says. "You're fairing well enough, from what I can see," he says. Murtagh's got game, everyone! They bond a little over not having much control of their fates; when they part, they keep looking at each other as long as possible, and she makes sure to steal one last quick glance. THIS IS SO CUTE AND I AM HERE FOR IT.

Brian and Ellen also have their goodbye, where she interrupts the kissing to let him know that "I gave my word: We can't marry until the rebellion is ended." But he's resolute that they're supposed to be together, and he'll "have you yet, it if means waiting 'til my dying day." She grabs some chestnuts and tosses them in a nearby fire. "If they burn, then our marriage will be blessed." If they split, she explains, it means "strife between us, a love that cannot hold... but they will not."

She looks at him, both pleading and ordering: "Come back to me."

Now it's your turn. What did you think of the episode? Sound off in the comments!