Upcoming prequel series Outlander: Blood of My Blood has all of us fans of the historical drama so excited! We all know just how dreadful Droughtlander is. As we await the final season (what!?), Outlander season 8, the prequel show will be providing us with a great fix this summer when it premieres Aug. 8, 2025 on Starz.
The new series expands the iconic universe to tell the love stories of Jamie's parents, Ellen and Brian, as well as Claire's parents, Julia and Henry. We'll get to see them fall in love, go through challenges, and fight to be together. All things that Jamie and Claire have faced, and continue to face.
There's also a number of familiar characters whose older counterparts we know. Well, it's time to be introduced to the younger versions of Colum, Dougal, Mrs. Fitz, the one and only Murtagh Fitzgibbons Fraser, and more. And it's that last character who we'll be seeing a different side of in Blood of My Blood, which is so intriguing.
Murtagh isn't as closed off yet in Outlander: Blood of My Blood
In speaking with Entertainment Weekly, showrunner Matthew B. Roberts teased that Jamie's beloved, but endearingly grumpy, godfather didn't always have those attributes. He had more of a youthful joy to him, which is very different from how we see him in Outlander. The prequel gets to show us another side of him before life makes him into the man he is later on. Here's what the EP, as well as Maril Davis, told the news outlet:
"We know and love Murtaugh as being this constant companion, but he wasn't born that way. He wasn't born just to follow Jamie around. How did he get that way? Who was he prior to being this very stoic, closed-hearted man? Because he is very, very closed off. But the Murtagh you meet in Blood of My Blood isn't that way." - Matthew B. Roberts
"The fun is seeing that trajectory. Rory is such a light. He's so much fun to watch and it makes it all the more heartbreaking when you know where that character's going to go." - Maril Davis
It is heartbreaking to think about. Murtagh's story is one that definitely resonates with us Outlander fans. He already breaks our hearts from what we know, and now I think actually seeing it will tear us up even more. Murtagh was in love with Ellen, but she chooses and falls in love with Brian. For years, he's not able to let the unrequited love for her go, which leads him to taking care of Jamie and being there for him when she dies. That also means he becomes closed off from emotion for so long, but starts to open up a bit when he and Jocasta start a relationship.
One character who isn't going to be all that different, which hilariously doesn't surprise us, is Jamie's uncle Dougal MacKenzie. So much so that the Outlander: Blood of My Blood creatives included a callback to the shinty game. We saw the tense and "friendly" match between Jamie and Dougal in Outlander season 1, and Dougal brings that same energy in his younger years in Blood of My Blood as well. Here's what Davis had to say to EW:
"The previous episode in Outlander and this episode in Blood of My Blood, he literally decks people with the shinty club for no reason. The ball's not even around. Dougal is this boy turning into a man, who has so much anger in him and wants to prove himself, and there's such glee behind the eyes in the way that Sam plays this character."
Oh, Dougal. We're definitely not surprised by this. And I'd think in his younger years, he was even more eager and motivated if that's possible. This is like getting into the history of Outlander, which is really cool for us fans to see.
And though we really don't know them yet, I am looking forward to Julia and Henry's story as well. The producers promise their love tale will be just as epic, and I have faith that will be the case. Learning more about where Jamie and Claire come from? I'll never complain about that!
Outlander: Blood of My Blood premieres Aug. 8, 2025 on Starz.