Outlander: Blood Of My Blood Recap: Everything's Coming Up Lovat
It brings me zero pleasure to say this, but this week's Outlander: Blood of My Blood is a win on several fronts for Simon Fraser, Lord Lovat.
He names his new son after himself. He marries Julia (well, kinda), legitimizing their child and putting the infant on the path he thinks will lead to the throne. He delights in the rumors about Ellen's virtue — which he started, you'll recall — gaining traction. Heck, not even a little erectile dysfunction can get him down... figuratively speaking.
Elsewhere, it's Jacobitepalooza this week, as the MacKenzies, Frasers and Grants weigh the pros and cons of joining the rebellion. And then, the last few minutes of the episode deliver a little hope to a character that could sorely use it. Read on for the highlights of "Luceo Non Uro."
MOO DONE IT? | When the Grants' cattle is raided in the middle of the night, Arch Bug is sure he knows who did it: "The MacKenzies, trying to steal our kine from right under our noses to pay the dowry they owe us." Henry and Malcolm disagree — it would be foolish for the MacKenzies to do so — and Malcolm tasks Henry with figuring out who stole the cows. "No one steals from us and gets away with it," Malcolm says.
(Side note: It's unclear how long it's been since Henry's break with reality, but he still looks like he washed ashore in a hurricane, so probably not that long.)
Over at Castle Leoch, Mrs. Fitz buzzes about Ellen, interpreting the redhead's reticence to talk about her upcoming nuptials as fear about consummating the marriage. They're working on her trousseau when Colum enters and tells them to pick it up: He wants this union locked down as soon as possible. Ellen counters that if she doesn't show up with the right amount of embroidered linens and such, they'll look cheap. Colum doesn't care. He gives her until the coming Sunday to wrap up the work.
Colum's smug assurance that the wedding will happen soon is rocked when Ned shows up with news of the Grants' suspicions about the raid. Even worse: Dougal hasn't come home yet from a trip to buy livestock, choosing instead to visit some known Jacobite sympathizers. "He'll have us all accused of treason!" Colum cries, fearing that his brother will pledge MacKenzie money to the Jacobite cause. And that likely will end the engagement/alliance between the families, because the Grants are still loyalists. While Colum is coming apart, Ellen volunteers to travel to the House of Nairne under the guise of a social call; while there, she'll intercept Dougal and bring both him and the money home. I love Ned's face when he realizes that not only is this the only option they have, it's a pretty good one!
WHAT'S IN A NAME? | Outside a church near Castle Leathers, Brian and Julia christen her son William Henry Beauchamp. Goodness gracious, what an adorable little burrito that kid is! Inside the sanctuary, Lovat and the priest wait so they can baptize the kid with the name Simon wants. When Davina goes out to fetch her, Julia is worried that Lovat is going to try the ol' sneak-attack-wedding maneuver, but the maid reassures her that's not the case. After all, the local gossips already assume that Julia is Lady Lovat: Why would he do anything to make them question it? As she tries to settle her fussy son, Julia guesses that Simon will want to bed her again, soon and a lot. But Davina points out that he won't want to do it while she's healing, and anyway, he'll soon move on to "something fresher." Not exactly a pep talk, but comforting nevertheless. "The bairn is safe and well, and with ye," Davina says, encouraging Julia to count her blessings and come inside. She does.
The baby is officially named Simon Fraser of Lovat, just like his supposed father, who after the brief service rips into Brian for not being more supportive. Brian counters that the whole thing is a sham, right down to having the service in a Protestant church when they're Catholic. "Parliament has declared that no future monarch can be Catholic or married to a Catholic," Simon says. "I'm doing what I must." Brian's like, uh, you'll have no throne without an uprising, dude. Simon cites the family motto — "Je suis prest," or "I am ready" — and says he'll be ready for whatever comes.
Murtagh attends the service but won't sit next to Brian and tries to evade him afterward. When that doesn't work, Murtagh decks him. His explanation: "Ellen MacKenzie." Brian sputters out an apology, saying that he didn't realize who Ellen was until he'd fallen in love with her. But Murtagh makes it clear that he's more hurt by being kept in the dark. "'Tis bad enough to lose the lass to another man. But to lose her to one I considered my brother?" Brian continues to apologize, but Murtagh isn't hearing it, and soon Balloch — who, by the way, overheard at least part of that conversation — beckons Brian and Murtagh back into the church.
Simon tasks Murtagh with attending a Jacobite meeting in order to advise Lord Lovat on which alliance the clan should take up. Lovat also orders Brian to go, threatening to hurt Davina if he doesn't.
'I MUST RETURN TO HER' | Ned meets with Henry to vigorously deny the MacKenzies' involvement in the raid, but the Grants' bladier puts him at ease: He's already surmised that the perpetrator is a Jacobite named Rob Roy MacGregor. As they talk, Henry says he's advised Isaac Grant to stay loyal to the Crown — because, like Claire, he knows how it all turns out — and urges Ned to get the MacKenzies to follow suit.
A highly relieved Ned goes to leave but pauses after noticing the tortured look on Henry's face. Henry lets him know that he's no longer looking for Julia, and that he's going to leave the Grants. Ned is shocked: To evade that family, "you'd have to well and truly disappear," Gowan says. "I think I can manage that," Henry says wryly. Siiiiing me a soooong of a lad that is gooooone!
First, though, he has to return to the brothel and retrieve something he accidentally left there. Seema is happy to see him, and pretends to be Julia when he arrives, but he stops her fast. He was out of his mind with grief when they slept together, he explains, and now all he wants is for her to return the necklace Julia gave him. She does, and he starts to cry. Seema tries to comfort him, quickly offering to be whomever he wants, but he says he has to go. "There is still someone who needs me, and I must return to her," he says, clearly thinking of Claire; he mentions how he has to get to Craig na Dun, then shrugs off her request to accompany him. He gives her a bag of coins and leaves. When Henry is gone, Seema cries.
Henry rides like a mad man for Craig na Dun... where he encounters Arch Bug and a bunch of Grant men — thanks, Seema — who tell him he has to come back to the estate: "You've a job to do."
THE BIG MEETING | Ellen arrives at the House of Nairne and is not as stealthy as she thinks: Lady Nairne nearly immediately susses out that she's got an ulterior motive, and Ellen comes clean about needing to find Dougal. The older woman is sympathetic, and agrees to help before the big meeting gets underway, and oh my goodness how did I JUST NOW REALIZE that Brian and Murtagh are probably on the premises?!
Indeed they are, as is Dougal and cowthief Rob Roy. Ellen gets to her brother right as the meeting starts; he refuses to leave with her. Then Ellen and Brian see each other, and Murtagh sees them seeing each other, and the lovers are so caught up in their gaze that Ellen almost misses it when Dougal immediately pledges the MacKenzies' support, men and cash to the Jacobite cause. She whisper-screams at him that this is a bad idea, but he rebuffs her, ordering her to convince Malcolm Grant to support the cause, as well.
And speak of ye old Timothee Chalamet, look who shows up! Malcolm is shocked to see his fianceé in a room full of potential traitors, but she turns on the "I'm just a girl!" act, HARD, and he buys it, because of course he does: THIS is the Ellen he likes best! He's accompanied by British soldiers whom he stops from arresting Rob Roy for robbery, but they've got far more plaid fish to fry: They want to arrest a whole lot of people in that room on suspicion of Jacobitism.
WAIT, IS THIS GOOD OR BAD FOR ELLEN AND BRIAN? | Brian pulls out his gun and fires a shot into the floor as a distraction. In the resulting chaos, Malcolm and Ellen are separated but Brian and Ellen find their way to each other like magnets. He doesn't want her to go home, but she reasons that her presence at the meeting will be enough for Isaac Grant to break off his son's engagement with her. They're kissing goodbye when Dougal sees them and punches Brian in the jaw. (His poor, beautiful face!) Dougal pushes Brian into a Redcoat's hands and hauls Ellen off, marveling at how she's hooking up with "the bastard of Da's sworn enemy." Then he boost her up onto a horse, yells for Murtagh to follow, and takes off.
That night, back at Castle Leoch, Mrs. Fitz finds a piece of Fraser tartan among Ellen's fabric and instantly knows her mistress was handfast. "Lord in heaven," Mrs. Fitz says, jumping to the assumption that Murtagh is the man in question. She tries to burn the plaid but Ellen stops her, so Mrs. Fitz instructs her to hide it — well.
Ellen is about to go out for a ride when she's summoned to the Great Hall. Her brothers are there, as are Ned and Henry, and they inform her that the Grants have received a letter regarding her "virtue," and now she must undergo a test to prove that no one has watered her lady garden.
THE WEDDING NIGHT | After Simon gives him a bag of money, the reverend marries him and Julia and fudges the church's official ledger so it looks like the baby is of legitimate birth. At home, Julia introduces Davina to the attributes of chasteberry, a natural ingredient that lesses desire and inhibits below-the-belt bloodflow. Davina sees to it that a powder made of the ground berries is liberally sprinkled over the lord's dinner; she and Julia can barely keep in their giggles when Simon remarks on how much he enjoys the taste of the meal.
Brian returns home from the meeting to learn that his dad married Julia, and that Lord Lovat knows about him and Ellen. "Balloch told me," Simon says, happy that his son's involvement with Ellen has bolstered the rumors about her Simon was trying to get going a few episodes back. "Let's see if our sworn enemies can survive a ruinous scandal," Lovat says, gloating as all the color drains from Brian's face. Meanwhile, Balloch drives the inebriated reverend home, bludgeons him to death and then wipes a spot of blood off the marriage/births ledger before returning it to the church.
That evening, Simon wants to consummate his marriage with Julia, but thanks to the chasteberry, Little Lord Lovat refuses to join the party. "Maybe some spice will wake the old fox from his hole," Simon says, sending Julia to get more food (but only after we — and she — are subjected to him vigorously trying to get his body to respond. Ew.). When she returns, the old goat is out cold. As she passes his desk, however, she notices a letter and is overcome when she realizes it's from Henry, looking for any leads on his missing wife. This is her first confirmation that he's in this time period with her, and she presses a kiss to the paper as the episode goes to black.
Now it's your turn. What did you think of the episode? Sound off in the comments!