NOTE: This post contains spoilers for Outlander: Blood of my Blood second episode, "S.W.A.K. (Sealed with a Kiss)”.
After introducing viewers to Brian Fraser and Ellen MacKenzie, the couple who will become parents to none other than James Alexander Malcolm MacKenzie Fraser, Outlander: Blood of my Blood switches its focus to Claire’s parents, Henry and Julia Beauchamp.
When did they meet? What brought them together? How did they end up in 1714 Scotland? Let’s recap what happens in the show’s second episode.
The second episode of Blood of my Blood opens with Henry Beauchamp fighting in the trenches of Passchendaele in 1917, arguing with his senior officer because he refuses to leave men behind. Against orders, he runs into the battlefield to rescue a fellow soldier, even if the wounds of the man are so grave there is nothing to be done to save him.
In between waves of fighting, Henry writes an open letter to the Times talking about the desperation of war. His letter lands between the hands of Julia Moritson, a very smart woman who works in a censorship office in London, reading correspondence from soldiers on the frontlines and removing any sensitive information before letters are forwarded to families.
Julia is deeply touched by Henry’s words and decides to keep the letter before writing him back. The couple proceeds to exchange numerous letters and to fall in love through their words. Julia provides a glimmer of hope in the darkness of war for Henry, and they talk about visiting Scotland together someday. Soon enough they are sealing their letters with kisses.
When the two finally meet in London during Henry’s leave, they immediately recognize each other. Their lives are now entwined and it does not take long for them to exchange a real kiss, and more.
Their love story moves fast, with a proposal, marriage and a child quickly following their initial meeting. But the harrowing experiences Henry had on the front are not about to be forgotten anytime soon and nightmares plague his sleep. Henry suffers from PTSD, then called “soldier’s heart,” but Julia helps him through his traumatic episodes.
Through the stones
The episode then returns to 1714, as Julia wakes up at the standing stones of Craigh Na Dun. She doesn’t realize she has travelled through time and goes looking for Henry, but he is not there (yet). A cart passes by so Julia takes the opportunity to ask for help. Unfortunately, the people she meets decide to kidnap her instead. They take her to Castle Leathers, where she is sold as a maid servant to Lord Lovat.
At Castle Leathers, Julia meets Davina Porter, the housekeeper (and Brian Fraser’s mother) and Lord Lovat, who seems to see Julia as more than just a servant. After Mrs. Porter tells Julia what year she is in, she indeed tells her that their master can on occasion be rather “attentive”... if you catch her drift.
So, Julia starts working for Lovat, scrubbing floors and doing laundry while also looking for information that might help her get the heck out of this castle. Lord Lovat finds her in his bedchamber and makes it rather clear what his intentions are. Therefore, Julia knows she better leave sooner rather than later.
She attempts an escape in the middle of the night, but Brian catches up with her. Back in the castle, Lovat orders Julia to be beaten but Brian takes the blame for her escape attempt and accepts the punishment in her place. Taking lashes to the back to protect a maid servant? Reminds us of another Fraser…
The new bladier of clan Grant
When Henry travels through time as well, he lands in 1714 a little while after his wife, too late to see what happened to her. He looks for her, following the direction of Inverness. He arrives at a pub, quite confused about what has happened to himself and Julia. He sees papers on a noticeboard, and notices a date, starting to piece things together.
He also meets Malcolm Grant, who buys him a drink before Henry assists the young man with a clan matter, leading Malcolm to decide to take him to meet his father. At Bowmont House, Henry is hired by Isaac Grant to be the clan’s new bladier after he points out his current advisor was misrepresenting the laird. Henry would prefer continuing his search for Julia but Grant says he can use his work for the clan, and the protection it offers, to look for his wife.
Arch Bug, who works for the Grants, warns Henry he isn’t sure he likes him much and shows him what happened to his predecessor, whose head is now on a pike.
Days later, at the MacKenzie clan gathering, Ned Gowan suggests that Ellen be promised to Malcolm Grant to make up for Dougal’s mistake in attacking Malcolm. Henry isn’t convinced that will do for the Grants, but Ned has another card up his sleeve: he offers his assistance in Henry’s search for Julia if the bladier accepts to bring his offer to the laird of clan Grant.
As time goes by, while Henry hopes to find for Julia and she tries to survive the hardship of being employed at Castle Leathers, the couple writes letters they cannot send, promising to find their way back to each other, and sealing them with a kiss.
Will Henry and Julia manage to reunite soon or will this drag on until the end of the season? Find out more in the next episode of Outlander: Blood of my Blood, available weekly on Starz and MGM+.
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