Tara Ward reviews new Outlander prequel Blood of My Blood.
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Just when you thought it was safe to visit the Scottish Highlands, along comes new time-travelling series Outlander: Blood of My Blood. It’s a prequel to Outlander, the spicy historic drama based on the best-selling books by American author Diana Gabaldon. The original Outlander series follows a world war two nurse named Claire who visits Scotland and accidentally falls through time. Trapped in 1743, she meets a farmer called Jamie Fraser and, despite their 200-year age difference, embarks on a steamy love affair that endures war, famine, separation, imprisonment, infidelity, shipwrecks, living in a cave, talking coconuts and lots of bad hair days.
After eight dramatic seasons, Outlander will slip through the stones for good in 2026, so this new spinoff offers a bonus trip back to Jamie and Claire’s world. Set a generation before Jamie and Claire meet, Blood of My Blood follows the romance between Jamie’s parents, Brian and Ellen, in 1714, and the world war one marriage of Claire’s parents, Julia and Henry. It’s not a spoiler to say that Claire’s time travelling ability is hereditary, and that the 20th century Beauchamps will pop up in the Fraser-MacKenzie universe in a variety of unexpected ways.
If you’re expecting Blood of My Blood to be different to Outlander, think again. It has the same stunning shots of the Scottish countryside, the same smouldering looks between hornbag lovers, and dialogue like “true freedom is the ability to think” and “I’ll have no talk of weddings on the day of my father’s funeral”. We’re back at Castle Leoch, with younger versions of familiar characters like Murtagh, Jocasta and Mrs Fitz, and while there’s no Jamie Fraser in sight, Blood of My Blood has nailed the casting. Brian Fraser (Jamie Roy) looks spookily like Jamie, while Julia Beauchamp (Hermoine Corfield) is heartwarmingly similar to Claire.
Like Outlander, Blood of My Blood is filled with plenty of bonkers moments. The very first shot is a pair of dead, hairy legs belonging to Clan MacKenzie laird Red Jacob (played by After the Party’s Peter Mullan), who died “mounted on a maidservant”. His death creates a power vacuum that stroppy sons Colum and Dougal are fighting to fill, while eldest child Ellen (Harriet Slater) – the most capable of all the MacKenzie offspring, despite being a woman – just wants to avoid being married off so her brothers can gain more land and cattle. It’s like an 18th century version of Succession, but muddier and with a lot more janky fiddle music.
Ellen is hiding with the farm animals when she bumps into Brian Fraser, sworn enemy of the MacKenzies, and discovers an instant attraction. He has a chiseled jawline, she has a feminist heart. Meanwhile, 200 years in the future, Claire Beauchamp’s parents are enjoying a romantic holiday in Scotland. Claire grew up believing they died in a car accident when she was young, and Blood of My Blood takes this idea and runs with it – crashing their car near the same standing stones their daughter would disappear from three decades later.
Outlander has never been subtle, but I still hoovered this up in all its ridiculous, far-fetched, historic hornbag glory. Episode one is heavy-handed in its setting up of the two main storylines, but episode two – mostly set in London during world war one – feels better paced. Technically it’s a standalone series, but Blood of My Blood will especially thrill Outlander fans, immersing them in a familiar world and reuniting them with new versions of much-loved characters. Blood of My Blood isn’t doing anything different, but that’s exactly what Outlander fans will want.
Outlander: Blood of My Blood streams on Neon.
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