For more than a decade now, “Outlander” has held mooning fans (and single-show Starz subscribers) in thrall, captivating with its time-traveling love story, historical drama and very spicy sex scenes. And yet, given that it’s based on a series of books by Diana Gabaldon, the show’s ending is in sight, with its eighth and final season due out early next year.
Fortunately for Starz (and for kilt-lovers), Gabaldon’s “Outlander” universe has always been sweeping and expansive. While she wrote the original series of books, spanning decades and continents, Gabaldon was tucking away backstory details in her mind, building a family history for main characters Jamie Fraser and Claire Randall.
And thus began “Outlander: Blood Of My Blood,” the new prequel series from Starz. Framed around source material from executive producer Gabaldon, the series follows the romantic arc of two couples: Jamie’s parents, Brian Fraser (Jamie Roy) and Ellen McKenzie (Harriet Slater), and Claire’s parents, Julia Moriston (Hermione Corfield) and Henry Beauchamp (Jeremy Irvine). The latter meet during WWI and fall in love through letters, having Claire and then zipping off for a short holiday in Scotland, leaving their daughter with her uncle. After a car crash, the pair find themselves thrown back in time, separately, through one of the countryside’s stone fairy circles. Their paths diverge, with a pregnant Julia ending up living alongside Brian and working in servitude to Jamie’s lecherous uncle, Lord Lovat, while Henry ends up working as a sort of consigliere to a wealthier family, the Grants. Neither knows where the other is or if they’ll ever meet again, but their love is a burning driver for their paths forward, especially given the fact that Julia seems — to the skeptical 18th century Scots around her, at least — to be carrying a bastard child.
With Simon, Lord Lovat, excised from the clan for standing accused of the abduction and rape of a noblewoman, the Fraser name has become a burden. When the head of Clan MacKenzie dies, Brian and BFF Murtagh (Rory Alexander) decide to slip into Castle Leoch for the gathering that ensues, intent on meeting bonnie lasses and watching the drama unfold around which MacKenzie son — Colum or Dougal — will emerge as the new head of the clan. While Murtagh has a long-standing megacrush on the stunning, red-haired Ellen, it’s Brian that ends up secretly capturing her heart after a run-in amongst some farm animals. Their love is instant and all-consuming, and — not unlike a sort of Scottish Romeo and Juliet — absolutely unacceptable. Ellen’s being used as a pawn in her brothers’ quest for power, offered as a bride to the nice but safe Malcolm Grant, and it’s clear that, try as she might, her future is out of her control.
In terms of casting, “Blood Of My Blood” has done a bang-up job. Somehow, you feel like Slater and Roy could actually have birthed Sam Heughan’s Jamie Fraser, and Corfield is a dead ringer for Caitriona Balfe, who plays Claire. There’s no relation between any of the new actors and their original counterparts and yet it all feels somehow genetically and cosmically aligned, with actors like Sam Retford, who plays a young Dougal McKenzie, so thoroughly embodying the affectations of their elder on-screen counterparts (in this case, the lovely Graham McTavish) that you can really only marvel at the actors’ canny craft.
And, indeed, for fans of the original “Outlander” series, “Blood Of My Blood” is chock full of familiar names and plot points. Lovers are torn asunder, kilts are ruffled and punches are thrown. There are stones and fairies, and characters like Colum, Dougal, Murtagh and even MacKenzie advisor Ned Gowan are present in greater force here, with storylines that should please those long invested in Gabaldon’s universe.
Fans might also like the fact that, despite a good amount of sadism levied at its four on-screen heroes, “Blood of My Blood” manages to feel lighter than its source material. In recent seasons, the “Outlander” has become almost too macabre, with the almost endless physical and sexual abuse Claire and Jamie have endured wearing on viewers. But “Blood of My Blood” is still in the blush of new love — even if it doesn’t look great for pretty much all parties involved in the long run.
And, maybe even more so than with “Outlander,” that could be the hurdle “Blood of My Blood” faces in the long run. Can viewers stay invested when they know — roughly, at least — what’s going to happen to these star-crossed lovers? Can a show that’s built in a world where pain and hardship breed strength find new fans, or will original “Outlander” heads stick around for what’s next?
Having watched the six episodes released to press (with subtitles, because of Scottish accents), it’s clear that “Blood of My Blood” is certainly reveling in its ability to deliver “Outlander” fan service. Whether that will be enough to build a long term fanbase — or even a set of stories that viewers come to care about on their own merit — is still really anyone’s guess.
“Outlander: Blood of My Blood” premieres Friday, Aug. 8 on Starz.
