As we left off in Outlander: Blood of My Blood season 2 episode 5, many of our heroes were in precarious positions. Several had been carried off to parts unknown. Others were left awaiting word on whether their loved ones survived.
Outlander: Blood of My Blood season 2 episode 6, “Small Mercies,” provides some answers but also more heartbreak. Let’s dive in.
Struggles at Leoch
Colum (Seamus McLean Ross) is struggling. He struggled in episode 5 with his position and whether he’d be a kind father. In the episode, he is struggling in his powerlessness as his clan and family crumble. It doesn’t get any easier when Grace (Ruby Fubara) returns with the news that Ellen (Harriet Slater) has been taken. They don’t know who has her, and even if they did, Colum doesn’t have the forces to get her back.
Ned (Conor MacNeill) questions whether Colum cares, but it’s not that he doesn’t care. It’s that he feels powerless to do anything. That only increases as he forces his return home battered and broken, with countless dead. Dougal (Sam Retford) isn’t among them. He learns Dougal was captured, but it’s not clear if he’s left alive. That leaves Colum further frustrated and struggling.
A surprise guest
There is struggling with Julia (Hermione Corfield) and Davina (Sara Vickers), too. They are left to bury Seema after the events of last week. Julia needed to act to survive — likely saving Davina and her son. And yet, she carries guilt and shame. But she has little time to dwell as they return to find Lord Lovat (Tony Curran) has returned. He’s not pleased Seema is gone and demands that a new maid to fill the role be found.
There is little time to dwell as his man delivers Ellen to the castle. It turns out he had his man watching Ellen. He claims it was for her benefit, but his motives seem suspect. Still, he invites her to dine, and he calls for Maisri (Katharine O’Donnelly) to offer a vision of Brian (Jamie Roy) and his fate. During the dinner, Maisri suggests Brian is alive, but there is a debt yet to be paid. It isn’t long before Ellen begins to suffer.
When Julia also begins to suffer, she begins to suspect that Lovat did something. He had Maisri poison the wine in order to leave Ellen barren. He can’t have another Fraser born, lest that child fulfill the prophecy. Julia is outraged and goes to Ellen’s side. Ellen asks to be taken home immediately, and Davina gets her back to Castle Leoch.
Ellen arrives in distress. She’s welcomed to the household, and they render care, but it seems clear she’s lost her child. Colum seeks to visit his sister, but she’s in no condition to see him. He knows she suffered, which only furthers his frustration and sense of helplessness.
A rescue
Meanwhile, Brian and Murtagh (Rory Alexander) make their way to the British castle. Dougal is being held in chains, and he’s been tortured for information. He hasn’t given anything up, but it looks as though his silence will cost him his life. Still, he remains firm in his fidelity to the cause and seems prepared to die.
But Brian and Murtagh have managed to get into the castle. They fight their way to the chamber and arrive just in time. They are able to pry the bars free and pull Dougal out before the water overtakes him. But he’s the only one to survive. The three of them make their way out of the castle and are heading back. Dougal is alive, as are Brian and Murtagh, for now, but they still have a perilous journey home. Who knows what awaits them?
This episode of Outlander: Blood of My Blood season 2 was a tough one at times. There is plenty of sadness between the mourning of those who died and the attack on Ellen. Brian and Dougal have survived, for now, and are headed home. Likely, we’ll see a reunion.
Meanwhile, Henry (Jeremy Irvine) manages to get to Julia, so she knows he survived. They also have a new plan to write letters and keep in touch, which gives both hope as they progress through this difficult time.
Outlander: Blood of My Blood airs Fridays on Starz. Check back next week as we recap all the action of the season.
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