RECAP: ‘Outlander: Blood of My Blood’ Season 2 Episode 6 – “Small Mercies”

Rescue missions are at the heart of Outlander: Blood of My Blood Season 2 Episode 6, where an unexpected reunion saves Ellen’s (Harriet Slater) life, the action returns to one of Outlander‘s most notorious settings, and Colum (Séamus McLean Ross) grapples with his decision to prioritize Clan Mackenzie over his sister.

Julia (Hermione Corfield) and Davina (Sara Vickers) bury Seema (Lauren McQueen). Davina says she and baby William were not at Castle Leathers when Seema died because Davina had found a bad-luck charm in William’s crib and left to throw it down a well, and took William with her. Julia, still shaken from killing Seema, says she will carry Seema’s death with her forever, because there was no one to love Seema in life or mourn her in death. Davina reminds Julia that she acted in self-defense and should not feel guilty.

Grace (Ruby Fubara) arrives at Castle Leoch in Outlander: Blood of My Blood Season 2 Episode 6 to inform Colum (Séamus McLean Ross) that Ellen (Harriet Slater) has been kidnapped, unaware that Ellen’s captor is Lovat’s (Tony Curran) enforcer, Balloch (Chick Allan).

Julia and Davina endure many surprises in Outlander: Blood of My Blood Season 2 Episode 6.

Colum worries that the Mackenzies do not have enough manpower to find Ellen, and Ned (Conor MacNeill) advises him to pray for Ellen’s safe return. Colum says that since Ellen owns Castle Leoch, the estate will revert to him if she dies, and the English could easily seize it. Ned scolds him for worrying about the castle more than about his own sister, and Colum says that if there is a price to pay for Ellen’s love, he can no longer afford it.

Davina and Julia return to Castle Leathers in Outlander: Blood of My Blood Season 2 Episode 6 only to find a triumphant Lovat. Julia lies and says Seema was discontent and ran away. Lovat doesn’t believe the story, but is too consumed with pride over successfully overtaking Inverness, though he’s annoyed that Brian would not fight for Clan Fraser. He orders Julia and Davina to find a replacement for Seema and to prepare the house for a guest, which is only the beginning of the surprises they endure in Outlander: Blood of My Blood Season 2 Episode 6.

On the outskirts of the Grant encampment, Arch (Terence Rae) asks Henry (Jeremy Irvine) if he’ll ever give up leaving the Grants, since Julia belongs to Lovat and could legally be considered a bigamist. Henry points out that he didn’t find Julia quickly enough when they first arrived in Scotland, and that’s why Julia was forced to marry Lovat. Henry asks Arch to turn a blind eye to his running away, and Arch agrees to help if he can.

Colum visits the Mackenzie encampment in Outlander: Blood of My Blood Season 2 Episode 6, surveying the dead.

Balloch and Ellen arrive at Castle Leathers in Outlander: Blood of My Blood Season 2 Episode 6. Julia is surprised to see Ellen, and they share knowing smiles, grateful to see one another but sad to meet under such unpleasant circumstances.

There’s another surprise in store for Julia: Lovat has summoned Maisri (Katharine O’Donnelly), whom Julia finds in the kitchen, for a mysterious purpose. Ellen refuses to make “polite chitchat” with Lovat, who confesses he had Balloch follow her because he believes Ellen was being reckless by “gallivanting” after Brian in a time of war. He says Ellen can return to Castle Leoch after dinner, and suggests they make the best of it for Brian’s sake.

Colum visits the Mackenzie encampment, surveying the dead from the Battle of Sheriffmuir, including Old Rupert (Craig Clelland), and is haunted by memories of Ellen saying Colum would lead their clan to ruin. John (Alastair Mackenzie) reunites with Jocasta (Sadhbh Malin), who, like Grace, is less than enthused to see him. Colum and the rest of the group learn that Dougal (Sam Retford) and Old Angus (Ross Mann) have been captured by the English, with two Fraser men–Brian and Murtagh (Rory Alexander)–deserting the Mackenzie army to find them.

Julia and Ellen join forces to fend off Lovat in Outlander: Blood of My Blood Season 2 Episode 6.

At dinner, Julia and Ellen inform Lovat that they’ve met before, at Braemar back in Outlander: Blood of My Blood Season 1 Episode 9. Ellen slyly references Henry by saying she remembers Julia’s admiration for her husband, and they share a knowing smile. As Davina serves the table, Julia introduces Davina and Ellen to one another as Brian’s mother and fiancée, respectively, without saying as much outright as Lovat would get suspicious. The sly joy shared by Julia, Davina, and Ellen is a highlight, as the three women bond over a friendship forged under unconventional circumstances.

Lovat says that though Ellen does not yet have children, parents must do what they can for their children, and asks if she’s aware that Brian has a younger brother, baby William (still known as “Simon” to Lovat). Ellen says she expects Brian’s brother to inherit, as he is not illegitimate, like Brian.

Lovat toasts the Mackenzies and Frasers, comparing the families to the Montagues and Capulets, and Ellen and Julia grimace at one another but fake convincing smiles for Lovat. Being quick on her feet is not new territory for Julia in Outlander: Blood of My Blood Season 2 Episode 6, but at least she gets to share the burden of fending off Lovat with Ellen this time.

Water begins to rise in the vault, threatening to drown Dougal and Angus in Outlander: Blood of My Blood Season 2 Episode 6.

At Fort William, an Outlander location infamous for Jamie’s torture in Season 1 of the original series, Dougal is interrogated by Lord Grey (Digby Edgley). A young sergeant (Finley Glasgow) steps in, believing Dougal’s interrogation to be too tame, and punches him and threatens to burn him with hot coals.

Lord Grey stops the sergeant from further harming Dougal, and addresses the sergeant as “Randall,” revealing the sergeant to be the sadistic man who will one day torture Jamie at Fort William and terrorize Outlander‘s characters for several seasons. His presence is a surprise for Outlander fans, as Dougal is not previously known to have been tormented by Randall. Lord Grey has Dougal locked up in a vault alongside Angus. At Castle Leoch, Colum wonders what his father would do about rescuing Dougal.

After dinner, Lovat summons Maisri. Ellen asks Julia if she finds Maisri’s prophetic powers convincing, but Lovat shoots Julia down when she starts to talk about Maisri foretelling that William will one day sit on the throne and unite England and Scotland. Ellen starts to look visibly unwell throughout dinner. Maisri says she can tell that Brian is alive. Ellen nearly collapses trying to leave, and Lovat tasks Davina with arranging Ellen’s return home.

In the vault at Fort William, water begins to rise in the vault, threatening to drown Dougal and Angus. Brian and Murtagh break into Fort William, killing several redcoats in the process, and find Dougal and Angus. They manage to free Dougal, but Angus drowns before he can be freed, and they reluctantly leave his body behind.

Lovat causes harm in his pursuit to protect his family in Outlander: Blood of My Blood Season 2 Episode 6.

They confront Randall, with Dougal intent to kill, and Brian says Randall shouldn’t be killed since he’s “just a boy.” Dougal locks Randall in a chest instead, but such conflicts are rarely ever truly resolved, and Randall will likely return to terrorize the Mackenzies and Frasers long beyond Outlander: Blood of My Blood Season 2 Episode 6.

Davina and Julia attend to Ellen, and Davina observes that Julia looks sickly, too. Julia wonders whether Lovat tampered with the wine he had encouraged them both to drink. Ellen begins to bleed heavily, and says she’s pregnant. Julia confronts Lovat, who admits that he had Maisri put something in the wine. “I protected my family,” Lovat says, saying that the potion was intended to make Ellen and Julia both infertile, as either having children would threaten William’s destiny as a leader. Julia leaves in horror as Ellen cries that Lovat must have succeeded in his goal, given how much she’s bleeding. She begs to be taken back to Leoch.

When Ellen returns home, Mrs. Fitz (Sally Messham) and Jocasta tend to her. Mrs. Fitz blocks Colum from being there, saying that though her body will heal, her spirit is more broken than she’s ever seen it. She says that Ellen’s ordeal happened at Leathers, and that if Colum loves his sister, he must “give her the mercy of silence and leave her be.” Colum’s conflict over prioritizing Clan Mackenzie over Ellen has been a constant throughout the season, but it comes to a head in Outlander: Blood of My Blood Season 2 Episode 6, as Colum can’t turn a blind eye to Ellen’s plight.

Women are at the center of Outlander: Blood of My Blood Season 2 Episode 6.

Henry and Arch sneak up to Leathers in Outlander: Blood of My Blood Season 2 Episode 6. Arch retrieves Julia from the castle, but this is left offscreen, leaving audiences to wonder how Arch might have managed to get Julia without raising suspicion from Lovat. Her reunion with Henry is a joyful but brief one, and Henry suggests that he and Julia leave letters tucked under a loose stone in the castle’s outer walls, with Arch serving as their messenger. Julia promises to write soon, and runs back to Leathers, a sense of hope following in her wake.

Outlander: Blood of My Blood Season 2 Episode 6 brings a much-needed liveliness to the series after a repetitive previous installment. The highlight is the unexpected sisterhood formed by Julia, Ellen, and Davina, whose unconventional friendship and unbridled willingness to support one another proves to be not just a ray of light in grim Castle Leathers, but a lifesaving measure.

Women are at the center of Outlander: Blood of My Blood Season 2 Episode 6, but Brian’s rescue mission and Colum’s turmoil take the stage in their own measure, too. Only Henry gets the short end of the stick as the Outlander: Blood of My Blood protagonist, with the least time onscreen, leaving him little to do but bond with Arch, whose reluctant support contrasts with how he’s depicted decades later in Outlander.

It’s a steady plot-advancing episode that doesn’t sacrifice heart or emotion and proves that friendship, from Arch and Henry to Julia, Ellen, and Davina, can be found in the most unexpected places. Outlander: Blood of My Blood Season 2 Episode 6 is a welcome return to form in a season that has ebbed and flowed in its pacing, and promises an exciting, if always tense, future for its heroes.

Outlander: Blood of My Blood Season 2 Episode 6 is streaming now on Starz.

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