Outlander: Blood of my Blood Season 2 Episode 1 Review: Back Where We Began

Outlander: Blood of my Blood Season 2 Episode 1, “Remembrance Day,” is a somber reunion for our struggling Scots.

The Season 2 premiere marks the spin-off’s first solo outing since Outlander’s final curtain call. As such, the series has much to mourn and even more to prove as we return to the interwoven lives of Jamie and Claire’s parents.

In an act of remembrance, Blood of my Blood showers us in the nostalgic beats of lush Scottish scenery and steamy under-the-kilt foreplay. Yet, the premiere struggles more than its predecessor ever did, and that’s a concern Scotland’s beauty cannot cushion.

The premiere mistakes regression for conflict often. It feels like the episode is actively avoiding decisions that will change the trajectory of the series in a meaningful way.

The result is a premiere that not only wipes the slate clean for our two couples, but erases many of their developments from Season 1. That alone could frustrate even the most loyal of viewers.

After all, the first season had its trusty road map. Claire’s parents travel through the stones and have to find each other again. Jamie’s parents fall in love despite all odds and have to fight to be together. It all culminates in a grand finale where both couples are reunited and must now face uncertainty together.

So it is defeating to see all of that work undone, and both couples whisked back to where they started this journey.

Julia and Henry are not just separated, but sent back to square one, with Julie in Lovat’s possession as his mistress and Henry having no memory of where Julia is once again.

They now have to repeat a very similar storyline to Season 1 if they want to be reunited. With little in the way of a leg up this time around, the circumstances suggest we are dangerously close to having to relive the same plot in a slightly different package.

Brian and Ellen don’t leave us much better off. Despite fighting tooth and nail to the point they kill a man for their love to be set free, both decide after a few hours that they need to go their separate ways again. Regardless of how justified it feels for those two in the moment, it’s anticlimactic, to say the least.

It feels like the show is already circling the same storylines, and that’s not good.

It’s not all bad, though. Blood of my Blood is a tapestry of good and bad, with the good moments really leaving an impression.

Both our titular couples have undeniable chemistry, and that connection becomes the undeniable drive behind the best moments of the premiere.

However, this episode really thrives in its quieter, subtle moments. Dougal and Maura Grant’s declaration of love speaks volumes despite having almost no dialogue spoken between them.

Dougal simply being there in a moment of grieving for Maura without having to be asked is quiet brilliance. The brief shot of their fingers interlocking is a show of silent solidarity that has our hearts beating faster.

From an arranged marriage to two strangers sharing these small declarations of intimacy, Dougal and Maura quietly run away with the best moment of this episode.

Certainly, Season 1 had its struggles. But it forged through them and built something that could one day be interesting and independent enough to step out of Outlander’s shadow.

The hope was that as we entered a second season, the show would embrace that individuality. Instead, something odd is happening. It desperately wants to stick as close as possible to Claire’s legacy, but is far too scared to look the ramifications of that choice in the eye.

By putting Henry back in his own time, the show has only one rule it cannot break. Claire cannot reunite with her father. Unfortunately, how the show goes about the roadblock threatens to unravel this entire project’s momentum.

Sticking him in an insane asylum because he was dressed in old Scottish garb and rambling about magic stones is digestible. However, the idea that the only way around the Claire-sized elephant in the room is to make him forget her is ridiculous.

Memory loss is such a weak scapegoat in any series.

Henry’s inability to remember his daughter after electroshock therapy is problematic as it is. However, the justification that he remembers Julie because their love is just that powerful suggests that a love between father and daughter is weaker somehow.

The decision suggests that it’s entirely plausible Henry would remember Arch Bug but not Claire Fraser, the literal blood of his blood.

It’s obviously a move to have Henry interact with more characters from the Outlander universe. And indeed, it’s good to see a young Reverend Wakefield and Mrs. Graham brought to life in the spin-off. Sadly, they come at a cost the series can’t afford to pay.

It begs the question: can this series exist effectively at the same time as Outlander?

Because this episode clearly struggles to live adjacent to Claire Fraser’s journey through the stones. Whereas an anthology series following a different character each season, or a spin-off following someone who lived separately from Claire, like Geillis Duncan, wouldn’t have to resort to cheap tricks to live in her world.

Blood of my Blood is eager to make a lasting impact on the story but afraid to make the moves necessary to demonstrate that this show wants to be more than a one-season gimmick. 

With beautiful cinematography of the rolling Scottish Highlands and actors performing the hell out of these characters, the feast for the eyes is never-ending.

So, the writing needs to back up the transfixing imagery with the same substance.

Seeing the beginning of the Jacobite cause coming to life is fascinating, and it gives every character something to fight for in this series. That fight is ultimately what can save this season from repeating itself.

The foundation for a good show is right there, and the passion of each couple during this outing shows they just have to reach out and grab it.

If Starz is looking to continue the Outlander legacy in earnest, it can’t expect to coast on name recognition alone. These characters deserve a story brave enough to forge its own path.

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Outlander: Blood of my Blood airs Fridays on the Starz app and streaming platforms.

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