Jamie's grandfather wasn't featured much on Outlander, only having appeared in season 2 episode 8, "The Fox's Lair." Though Simon Fraser, aka Lord Lovat, will certainly be one of the central characters in the upcoming prequel series, Outlander: Blood of My Blood. And surprisingly, he may be a fan-favorite.
Speaking with Entertainment Weekly, showrunner and executive producer Matthew B. Roberts teased the character and how he thinks us viewers will feel about him in this unexpected way.
"Lord Lovat is going to be a fan favorite. What Tony Curran brings to Lord Lovat is this believability. You want to wrap your arms around him — you love him so much, and then as soon as your arms get away, you go, 'God, I hate that guy!' I want the fans to leave the episode and go, 'I hate myself for liking him. And that's what Tony brings to the character. He makes him so unbelievably lovable to hate. And every scene he jumps out like that. He doesn't think he's doing anything wrong ever, but he has to believe that. And Tony grounds that part of the character."
This is honestly really surprising, but intriguing to hear. The much older version of the character was sneaky, completely unlikable, and clearly doesn't do any favors for family unless there's something in it for him to benefit from. Even if Jamie is his grandson, he wasn't ready to help unless he turned over Lallybroch to him. We also got a look at how Lord Lovat treats his son, and Brian's half-brother, Simon, who eventually joins the Jacobite cause with Jamie and Claire.
I wonder how the relationship between Brian and his father is going to look like, especially since Brian is a bastard born out of wedlock when his father fancied a kitchen maid. EW teases that relationship most likely won't be easy as Lord Lovat is "an even wilier manipulator, seeking to pull strings in his favor — a fact which may not benefit his son, Brian."
Even in his much later years, it was clear how powerful Jamie's grandfather is. He and Claire go to visit him to ask for troops in the fight with Charles Staurt and the Jacobite cause after all. He did have his eyes set on Lallybroch, but Jamie was able to keep his grandfather's hands off his home. I do expect much tension to happen between Simon and Brian, which will be interesting to explore. Especially as Brian and Ellen's romance begins to blossom.
If there's one thing the Outlander casting department is good at, it's definitely bringing in actors who embody their characters so well. And if you look at these character side by side with their older counterparts. Wow. They are so similar, it's crazy. I wasn't a fan of Lord Lovat in season 2, but I am looking forward to learning more about the character in Outlander: Blood of My Blood and what makes him so that Roberts thinks he's going to be such a fan-favorite. I am willing to be proved wrong, so we'll see!
Outlander: Blood of My Blood premieres Aug. 8, 2025 on Starz.