• Outlander: Blood of My Blood just wrapped its first season, and there's not only a huge cliffhanger, but a death to recover from.
  • There's also either a huge plot hole or a major hint about when Claire's parents actually die.
  • The show has already been renewed for season 2.

The first season of the Outlander prequel, Blood of My Blood, has come and gone. Kilts were worn, bagpipes were played, and there was so much sexual tension you could cut it with your war chieftain's finest a sword.

The extra-long final episode was jam packed with bloody battles, passionate declarations of love, and subtle clues about what's to come. So what exactly went down? And what does it mean for the story? Gather 'round and let's unpack the Outlander: Blood of My Blood season 1 finale.

But first, some housekeeping. How old is Claire in Blood of My Blood?

Throughout the entire season, we've had no idea how old Claire was supposed to be in the present day. And I, like many others, assumed that her parents crashing their car and then disappearing through the stones would have explained why the Claire we know from Outlander thought her parents died in a car accident when she was little. But a flashback in the finale pokes a big hole in that and points to her parents eventually making it back to her.

In the flashback scene, Henry, Julia, and Henry's brother are celebrating Claire's second birthday. That's right, she's only two! In Outlander, Claire's parents died when she was five! Three whole years later!! The clue gave us some hope that Henry and Julia escaped safely and got a few more years with their daughter, but it raises some questions about what happens to baby William. We know Claire doesn't have a brother (that she knows of anyway), but Jamie Fraser certainly does, and he's called William. But, to be fair, the show has taken some creative liberties, like the fact that Henry and Julia didn't time-travel in the books but did in the show, so anything could happen.

Who hired the hitmen to kill Brian?

I think we were all immediately suspicious that Colum sent the hitmen after Brian, despite promising Ellen he would not harm a hair on Brian's beautiful head in exchange for her going through with the wedding. The gang of men catches up with Brian and Murtagh and, once again, they try to take Brian out, but they're no match for him. He kills all but one, keeping the last one alive to tie up and question.

The man pretty quickly confesses that Colum was the one who hired them. And with that information in hand, Brian kills him. Brian then takes off to try and stop Ellen from marrying Malcolm Grant, whose wedding is, oh yeah, happening today!

Does Ellen marry Malcolm Grant?

Brian makes it to Castle Leoch, steals a Grant kilt from an unsuspecting man, and sneaks inside the castle. He sees Jocasta in the hallway and tells her he's brought a gift from the Grants for Lady Ellen and asks where her room is. Only one problem: Jocasta recognizes him from the other day and knows he's definitely not from Clan Grant. Brian spills the beans and manages to convince her to take him to Ellen's room, where Jocasta tells Ellen about Column hiring the hit. With that, Ellen says Column hasn't kept his word, which frees her of hers.

So no, Ellen doesn't marry Malcom. She and Brian go and hide out in the cellar, waiting until they can escape later. But that doesn't mean a wedding doesn't happen (I mean, you can't really let all that food go to waste, right?). The Grants are next-level pissed that Ellen disappeared, and they say that if there isn't going to be a wedding, the MacKenzies will have to pay in blood. So what's a laird to do? Have his brother, Dougal, marry Malcolm's sister, Maura, instead, of course. The two wed, and the pending Grant-MacKenzie alliance is saved.

Did Ellen and Brian make it out safely?

Yes, but it wasn't exactly smooth sailing. As the wedding feast starts up, Ellen and Brian take that as their chance to escape undetected. They start to make their way out of the castle when they cross paths with a heartbroken and vengeful Malcolm. Ellen asks him to let them go, but Malcolm is seeing straight red. He pulls out his sword and manages to slice Brian's arm. Brian pleads with him to stop, but Malcolm raises the sword again to go for a kill shot. Brian stops it, grabbing Malcolm's hands and driving the sword back into Malcolm's chest, killing him.

Brian and Ellen then flee Castle Leoch on horseback and make it to the little bothy out in the woods where Murtagh is waiting. (He's resting up after getting shot in the leg with an arrow by one of the hitmen earlier in the episode.) The next day, Murtagh leaves to go on an overnight hunt (mainly to give Brian and Ellen some time alone), and the two of them make the most of the privacy, if you know what I mean. Afterwards, as they're sitting outside, they see the mountainsides light up with burning crosses, signaling to the Jacobite rebels to be ready to fight. Brian says that he has to go, and Ellen vows to stand by him as his wife, no matter what comes.

Was Henry able to make it to Julia?

In the previous episode, Henry and Julia hatched a plan for him to meet her at Castle Leathers so they could both escape. Julia confides in Davina and asks her to say she's been kidnapped so that Davina won't be implicated in the escape. Julia then takes little baby William and runs out to meet Henry. They manage to flee on horseback and head out into the Highlands, hoping to make it back to their time.

One thing they don't know: Arch Bug and two of his Clan Grant henchmen are looking for Henry and want his head. They pull up to Castle Leathers trying to find him, and Lord Lovat (who's back home now and fuming that his "wife" and "son" have been "kidnapped"), puts it together that this Henry guy must have been the one who took Julia.

Do Henry and Julia travel back to the future through the stones?

Julia and Henry manage to make it to the standing stones and come up with a game plan: one of them will try to go through while holding William, and if it works, the second person will follow. If William can't travel and gets stuck behind, the other will stay with him until the first person can return. Sounds sensible, right?

Unfortunately, Arch Bug and his guys are approaching in the distance. Julia tells Henry to go through so that they can't get to him, and hands him baby William. But Henry, wanting to protect his family, gives William back to Julia, grabs her hand, and places it on the stone.

We then cut to a scene of Julia and Henry on the day they left for Scotland, at the train station, saying goodbye to Claire. And then the episode ends! So we have absolutely no clue if Julia managed to time-travel with William, or if Henry is going to escape Arch Bug unscathed. Well, I guess there's a lot to look forward to in season 2!