RECAP: ‘Outlander: Blood Of My Blood’ Season 2 Episode 4 — “A Portion Of My Soul”

Outlander: Blood of My Blood Season 2 Episode 4 reunites Henry (Jeremy Irvine) and Julia (Hermione Corfield), who face more than just time travel as they reckon with past betrayals and ordeals. Brian (Jamie Roy) and Ellen (Harriet Slater) also reunite, as Ellen not only delivers news about Lovat’s (Tony Curran) true loyalties, but also about their relationship.

After escaping the Inverness Lunatic Asylum in 1924, Henry successfully returns to 1715. He’s immediately captured and returned to Bowmont, where he’s met by Arch (Terence Rae). Henry, still struggling to regain his memories after electroshock treatment, remembers who Arch is, and they start fighting.

Arch’s wife Murdina (Sorcha Groundsell) intervenes, believing Henry has been marked by “the fair folk,” and blames faeries for having taken her stillborn son. She worries that hurting Henry will invoke more wrath from faeries. As in previous episodes, Outlander: Blood of My Blood Season 2 Episode 4 relies heavily on Gaelic superstition to immerse viewers in the Scottish setting. Murdina’s belief in “the fair folk” nicely parallels Mrs. Graham’s (Emma Hartley-Miller) belief in their power, two centuries on from Murdina.

Before leaving to find Dougal, Brian confronts Lovat for his dishonesty.

Arch brings Henry to Uncle Mac (Simon Merrells), who says that Lovat wants Henry punished out of “retribution” for running off with Julia. He orders Arch to lash Henry twenty times, and insists Henry fight in the battle against the Jacobites. Outside, Arch refuses to hurt Henry because of Murdina’s superstition, but tells Henry to pretend to cry out in pain, in case anyone is listening.

Ellen and Grace (Ruby Fubara) find the Frasers’ encampment. They reunite with Brian and Murtagh (Rory Alexander). Ellen informs them about Lovat’s allegiance to the English, and that Lovat has been promised a restoration of his title and land if the English win. Brian realizes that Lovat’s suggestion to split up the Fraser and Mackenzie clans was so Lovat could ambush them. They plan to find and warn Dougal (Sam Retford).

Before leaving to find Dougal, Brian confronts Lovat for his dishonesty. Lovat crudely suggests that Brian’s attraction to Ellen has distracted him from what matters, but Brian says he’d rather live a life with Ellen than a wealthy one in Clan Fraser. Lovat disowns Brian and assures him he will receive nothing from an English victory. “I’ll have my conscience, that’s more than you can say,” Brian seethes.

Uncle Mac’s letter arrives at Castle Leathers.

After Brian leaves, Lovat prepares to take the Jacobite army by surprise at Inverness. When Lovat arrives with Clan Fraser, he relishes that they arrived first, but is disappointed they didn’t run into the Mackenzies on the way.

Uncle Mac’s letter arrives at Castle Leathers. Reading it, Julia and Davina (Sara Vickers) celebrate that Henry is alive. Seema (Lauren McQueen) overhears their conversation and realizes Julia really is the woman Henry told her about. Davina brings Julia spare clothes to dress her as a man for the journey to Bowmont. Julia asks Davina to watch over baby William as long as she’s away. Davina gives Julia a small dirk that once belonged to Brian as a way to protect herself.

Ellen, Brian, Grace, and Murtagh find Dougal and the Mackenzie encampment. Ellen tells Dougal about Lovat’s plan and MacKinney’s (Ryan Fletcher) attack on Leoch. She reminds him that MacKinney has men in the Mackenzie army. Brian suggests the Mackenzies team up with another Jacobite clan further south, but Dougal objects to a Fraser telling him how to run his clan. Ellen tells Dougal that Janet (Ailsa Davidson) died in the MacKinneys’ ambush. Dougal agrees to head south, and suggests some of the Mackenzie men gather to sniff out and kill the MacKinney men.

Later, Dougal warns Brian that he won’t be able to return to Clan Fraser, but Brian says he’s committed to the Jacobite cause, and should be considered trustworthy for choosing Ellen over his own clan. Dougal thinks this makes Brian foolish, but decides they can settle their differences later, if they survive the battle. It’s a testament to screenwriter Sarah H. Haught that Outlander: Blood of My Blood Season 2 Episode 4 gives these characters credible stakes, given that many of their fates are well known to Outlander fans.

John Cameron (Alastair Mackenzie) is surprised to find Grace at the Mackenzie encampment, but Grace explains that Jocasta (Sadhbh Malin) sent her there to protect Ellen. Cameron orders Grace to go to his tent. Cameron’s cousin Hugh (Bryan Dick) says that the Jacobites will fail, but Cameron warns him to be careful of who might be listening. Hugh plans to leave the next morning to hang a Union flag on Cameron’s door. Murtagh secretly observes as Cameron skulks into the tent to see Grace.

Julia, dressed as a man, arrives at Bowmont and looks for Henry among the Grant men. Henry finds her, and their restraint almost overwhelms them as they keep up appearances and pretend not to know each other, even as they verge on tears. When they’re in private, Julia explains how she couldn’t go through the stones, and Henry tells her about the asylum.

It’s a happy reunion until Julia asks if he reunited with Claire in London, and Henry cannot remember who Claire is. A tearful Julia rattles off facts about Claire, none of which ring a bell until Julia mentions Claire’s birthday is on October 20th. Henry says he knew that date was important, but couldn’t remember why, and mourns that the electroshock treatment took memories of Claire away.

Outlander: Blood of My Blood Season 2 Episode 4 puts its characters into a repetitive rhythm.

In a tent on the Mackenzie encampment, Ellen tells Brian she’s pregnant. Ellen’s excited, but Brian worries he’s unfit to be a father since Lovat was a poor example for him. Ellen reminds him that he is not his father, and Brian starts to share her excitement. They have sex in a lengthily drawn-out scene that feels like an imitation of the intensity of those in the original Outlander.

Slater and Roy are good actors, but despite their characters being individually compelling, their scenes, in Outlander: Blood of My Blood Season 2 Episode 4, and in the series overall, often feel reduced to dreaming about the future and having sex. It’s a repetitive rhythm for characters who have so much more to bring to the table.

Julia questions Henry about how much of the story about sleeping with Seema is true. He says that when Arch lied about Julia and William being dead, his grief disrupted his sense of reality so much that he believed, on some level, that Seema was Julia. Julia says she can forgive him, but forgetting will take a long time. She begs him to find the version of himself that existed before the asylum or ever being in the 1700s. Henry swears he will.

Blood of My Blood Season 2 Episode 4 excels at reminding viewers of their history.

Grace and Murtagh sit by a bonfire. Murtagh asks if Cameron gave her any trouble in the tent. Grace, wincing, avoids the question and hopes Murtagh will make it through the battle. Murtagh quotes his late mother: “Hope is like fire; feed it, and it grows. Neglect it, and it dies.” Grace tells him how her mother made her flowers from fabric scraps. “So, you’d wake thinking of her,” Murtagh smiles. Cameron wanders out of his tent and watches them from a distance.

Despite the fire, Grace shivers from the cold, and Murtagh tries to put his plaid around her for warmth, but she stiffens and leaves. Their budding chemistry is a highlight of Outlander: Blood of My Blood Season 2 Episode 4, building on their sweet meeting two episodes earlier.

To jog Henry’s memory, Julia tells him about the day they met, after months of exchanging letters. She says their first night together was a way to express what they’d only been able to say through words before. Outlander: Blood of My Blood Season 2 Episode 4 excels at reminding viewers of their history without feeling like a shoehorned rehash of all that’s come before. She pleads that she needs the old Henry to come back to her. “Find him, tonight, for me,” she pleads. “He’s here,” Henry confirms.

They have sex, and in bed later, Julia tells Henry that she cannot cross through the stones. Henry tells her about how Mrs. Graham believed gemstones helped people pass through the stones, and that the gemstone from Mrs. Graham’s brooch vanished on his most recent trip through the stones.

They list the stones that vanished before, including ones from Henry’s watch, Julia’s wedding ring, and the gemstone on the hilt of the sword Henry stole from Arch. Julia worries she still won’t be able to do it even with gemstones, but Henry believes if Julia did it once, she can do it again. He plans to leave during the battle, hoping the Grants will believe him dead, to start searching for gemstones.

In the morning, Julia writes Henry a letter, labeled “S.W.A.K.,” standing for “sealed with a kiss,” as they used to write on their envelopes in the early days of their relationship. It’s nice to see that tradition return in Outlander: Blood of My Blood Season 2 Episode 4. “Your letters kept me alive,” Henry says, accepting Julia’s letter. He asks her to stay at Bowmont until everyone has left for battle.

Blood of My Blood Season 2 Episode 4 might as well be called “Watching People from Afar in Secret.”

Murtagh apologizes for offending Grace by offering her his plaid. She says no apology is necessary, and gives him a flower, made from her underskirt, as a token to bring back from battle. “So you remember there’s kindness in the world, even in war,” she says. “I’ll not forget,” Murtagh responds, and Grace prays for his safe return.

Brian wishes he could leave with Ellen as she heads back to Castle Leoch, but knows that deserting the battle would make him “as bad as my father.” Ellen asks him to fight like he has everything to lose, and Brian assures her that, with their child on the way, he does.

Though Outlander: Blood of My Blood Season 2 Episode 4 is titled “A Portion of My Soul,” it might as well be called “Watching People from Afar in Secret,” as Balloch (Chick Allan) observes Brian from a distance as Grace and Ellen leave, just as Murtagh, Cameron, and Seema have also watched people from afar in this episode.

Henry and Julia’s reunion feels truly charged with energy.

Julia returns to Castle Leathers and leaves the dirk from Davina on a table. Seema grabs the dirk and follows Julia to her bedroom. Seema taunts Julia about Henry, and says she fell in love with him. “He loved me back,” Seema says, “he just didn’t know it was me he was loving.” Seema points the dirk at Julia and locks the door. With Julia trapped at Castle Leathers once again, Outlander: Blood of My Blood Season 2 Episode 4 yanks her freedom away just as she gets a glimpse of it.

While Outlander: Blood of My Blood Season 2 Episode 4 reunites Henry and Julia at last, it separates them again too soon. But their reunion at least feels truly charged with chemistry, as Corfield and Irvine turn in emotional performances that range from relief to the devastation of realizing their reunion comes with more baggage than they bargained for. Ellen and Brian, on the other hand, feel woefully reduced to longing stares and dialogue that centers on their undying devotion.

That said, the further development of Murtagh and Grace’s friendship is beautifully done. There’s a promising future ahead for those two, unless Outlander: Blood of My Blood has devastation ahead, as it does for most in the Outlander-verse. And, though Henry and Julia’s reunion grippingly explores highs and lows, it’s a reminder to them that they’ve conquered hardship before, long before the events of Outlander: Blood of My Blood Season 2 Episode 4.

Outlander: Blood of My Blood barrels towards a battle it’s been building toward all season.

If anything, it empowers their journey ahead. Outlander reunions are never as simple as completing a task, even though Henry hopes his plan to leave the battle to find gemstones and reach his goal will work. With just over half a season left, more drama lies beyond.

Emotional and driven, Outlander: Blood of My Blood Season 2 Episode 4 is satisfying when it brings Henry and Julia together again, but separates them too soon. The opposite is true for Ellen and Brian, whose reunion feels like a rehash of their previous declarations of love.

But the emergence of Murtagh and Grace as a potential new pairing is endearing and gentle, and there’s a palpable tension as Outlander: Blood of My Blood barrels towards a battle it’s been building toward all season, with Scottish independence and Julia’s freedom on the line. If this is the Outlander-verse version of calm, viewers and audiences alike are in for a brutal storm.

Outlander: Blood of My Blood Season 2 Episode 4 airs October 9 on Starz.

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