Outlander: Blood of my Blood Season 1 Episode 7 Review: Luceo Non Uro

Rather than burn, Outlander: Blood of my Blood Season 1 Episode 7, “Luceo Non Uro,” shines with scrappy charisma.

This episode does an excellent job of balancing Ellen and Julia’s dueling story developments. It intertwines their love stories just enough for the two to brush up against each other without colliding.

The fiesty installment also reunites with an old flame as flirtations between the Scots and the Jacobite cause begin.

The episode is smart to have the women at the heart of the action.

Ellen crashing one of the first meetings between folk hero Rob Roy and the Jacobite movement is exhilarating as she participates in parts of the story deemed untouchable by the men around her. Her embrace with Brian is also a romantic little tease at what will come once their secret is out, pushing that tension along beautifully.

Her confrontation with Dougal after the embrace is easily the best moment of the episode and an authentic sibling squabble.

The two going at each other’s throats with insults, unbothered by the British officers closing ranks around them, is a delight. Dougal’s delivery as he declares “Not a Fraser!” as Ellen continues to chew him to pieces is followed hilariously by him lifting her roughly onto horseback.

More snapshots of their sibling relationships would certainly help cut the tension from time to time.

The threads of disagreement between Brian and Murtagh help move both quests along nicely as they follow their angst from the chapel to the Jacobite gathering without skipping a beat.

Interestingly enough, the episode sheds light on how Murtagh became a member of Dougal and the MacKenzies’ inner circle before Jamie came along.

(Once a Fraser hater, always a Fraser hater that Dougal is)

Coupled with Henry’s tongue-in-cheek warnings to the Mackenzies to stay with the crown, and the Grants’ positioning themselves as British apologists, these tiny bursts of conflict keep the show bustling forward.

Even so, their disagreements constantly tie into the greater tapestry of character development. So it never feels like the larger historical elements are overshadowing the love stories at the heart of this show.

This is vintage Outlander as both romances soar to new heights in the shadows of another brewing war against the English monarchy. We know all too well that Scottish rebellion and love are a winning combination.

Even Lovat, the antagonist to Brian and Julia’s adorable friendship pact, ups the stakes by revealing he will commit any crime in the Fraser name to further himself. His murderous ways and violent blackmail tendencies suggest that reuniting Julia and Henry will require blood to be spilled.

The darker forces pushing this season towards epic disaster work overtime this outing to ensure the stakes needed to pull off that final hour are in place.

Blood of my Blood leaves us on a hopeful note, and there’s nothing better for the cause than a positive cliffhanger.

The final shot of Julia accidentally coming across correspondence signed by Henry in Lovat’s chamber festers beautifully, thanks to the season’s slow burn towards this momentous reveal.

They may not be together, but this is the first significant step in reuniting Claire’s parents. It sure does give us goosebumps to see Julia come so close by chance yet again.

Plus, it’s lovely to see the reveal callback to Julia’s letter-writing rituals by having her kiss the letter in triumph. Her once sorrow-filled sign-off takes on a new meaning as Lovat’s tattling accidentally reveals Henry’s location to his wife.

After a bout of heavy loss-filled episodes, it’s nice to end things on a hopeful note for the Beauchamps.

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Outlander: Blood of My Blood airs Fridays at 8/7c on Starz and is available on Starz streaming platforms.

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