BOMB Episode 109: "Braemar" (SPOILERS!)

Here are my reactions to Episode 109 of OUTLANDER: BLOOD OF MY BLOOD, titled "Braemar". This is a terrific episode, easily my favorite of the whole season so far. Diana Gabaldon wrote the script.

*** SPOILER WARNING!! ***

There are SPOILERS below! If you don't want to know yet, stop reading now.

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The episode begins with Lord Lovat's announcement that Brian is to accompany him to a tynchal (hunt) at Braemar, the estate of the Earl of Mar. All the clans will be gathered there. Julia wants to come with them. Lord Lovat refuses at first, but Brian and Julia convince him that it's in his interest to bring the baby, to display his "legitimate son" in public.

Lovat admires the baby. "He favors his father," Julia says, looking miserable. She's thinking of Henry, of course. Lovat agrees to let Julia and the baby come with them.

There are some wonderful shots of the Highland scenery in this episode! We see a solitary rider on horseback, obviously in a great hurry. This man turns out to be Malcolm Grant's uncle, Malcolm MacKinnon Grant.

"I've come to further Isaac's work, and protect his legacy -- which is you."

It seems clear that this uncle (whom we've never heard of before) was brought in to fill the void created when Brian McCardie, the actor who played Malcolm's father, Isaac Grant, died suddenly during the filming of this season. Now that they've acknowledged in the show that Isaac is dead, they need someone else to serve as an older mentor or advisor to Malcolm. I like the character and I think they did a good job in making his presence believable.

I liked the way Henry introduces himself as "Henry BEAUCHAMP Grant," emphasizing the name he shares with Julia.

Arch Bug addresses Malcolm as "Master Grant," and Malcolm corrects him: "M'Laird. You'll address me according to my station, Mr. Bug." He smiles when he says it, but it's obvious that he's trying to assert himself in his new role as laird of Clan Grant.

I like the next scene, between Dougal and Colum at Castle Leoch, very much. Particularly this exchange:

Dougal: "Auld men who wish us to lick their boots."
Colum: "Those auld men have power. Wealth. Could slice your ballocks off and serve them to ye on a platter." - great line!

Ellen joins her brothers just in time for the unexpected arrival of Malcolm's uncle, who introduces himself as Malcolm MacKinnon Grant. (I'll refer to him as Uncle Grant for short, to distinguish him from the younger Malcolm.)

Uncle Grant orders the brothers to leave, so that he can speak to Ellen alone. Colum bows deeply in acquiescence. Clearly he doesn't want to do anything to offend the Grants.

"I wish for you to tell me why your virtue was brought into question." Awkward question, but Ellen isn't bothered by it.

I love the way Ellen smiles when Uncle Grant says, "I've a way of gettin' to the truth of matters." We have SO rarely seen anyone in this show smile, or laugh, that it's noteworthy.

"Clan Grant values loyalty above all else." That is unmistakably a warning!

"We MacKenzies may be spirited. Curious, indeed. Stubborn to a fault at times. But once we are wed, we are faithful forever." I love that, especially that last line. (Now, if only Brian and Ellen could be wed!!)

"Mind, Lady Ellen, if you break my nephew's heart, I'll rip your own from your chest." Yikes!! The smile on Uncle Grant's face as he says it gives me chills.

Ellen confides in Mrs. Fitz, who warns her, "There must not be the slightest glance betwixt you and anyone but Malcolm Grant, or at least one of you will be dead."

I love the way the tension, and the stakes for everyone involved, gradually ratchets up and up throughout this episode. Uncle Grant's threat is very serious. How is Ellen going to get out of the betrothal without putting her life or Brian's in grave danger?

The clans gather at Braemar Castle for the tynchal. I like the look of the encampment. Impressive attention to detail in the set design. It reminds me of the similar arrangement during the Gathering in OUTLANDER Episode 104.

Ellen and Malcolm exchange condolences and reminiscences about their recently deceased fathers. That's something they have in common, and I liked the fact that they talked about it here. I especially liked Ellen's line: "I still expect him to come to breakfast. My heart breaks when I see his empty chair."

Malcolm reminiscing about his father makes him even more relatable. I am liking him more and more! Really, he's not a bad choice, if you didn't know that Brian and Ellen were destined to be together.

As Colum and Dougal walk through the crowd, they spot three burly, long-haired men. They refer to them as "Gallowglass" -- hired assassins! I'd never heard the term "Gallowglass" before. Here's an article with more details about them.

I liked the little exchange between Murtagh and Brian. Murtagh is clearly still upset that Brian essentially stole Ellen (the love of his life) away from him.

Murtagh: "Hurts, doesn't it? Seein' the lass ye love enjoyin' the company of another."
"Aye."
"Well, the lass is lost to ye. She's better off for it, if ye ask me."
"I dinna recall asking you anything!"
"Of course not! You're in the habit of takin' what you wish wi'out considerin' the consequences!" - good line!

In another part of the crowd, Henry spots Julia and the baby a few yards away. He finally gets a look at his son. The baby is just adorable!

Lord Lovat appears, and calls Julia "my wife", much to Henry's shock. He leads Julia away before Henry can say anything more.

Uncle Grant tells Henry that he's been summoned to a meeting of the clan chieftains. Just then we see Seema the whore emerging from what Arch Bug referred to as "the brothel tent". I was really surprised to see prostitutes at a gathering like this! It's not a military encampment with camp followers who are there to serve the needs of men separated from their wives for long periods of time. This is just a temporary camp set up for this meeting of the clans at Braemar, presumably only for a few days at the most.

Seema's presence here cannot possibly be a coincidence, but I don't like it. It seems very contrived to me, to have her show up at the exact same place where Henry is. And she never says a word through the entire episode, so we don't know why they went out of their way to show us she is there. Presumably that will be explained in the season finale.

Dougal, Colum, and Ned join the other clan leaders for the meeting, attracting the notice of some of the other chieftains. I liked Uncle Grant's explanation of why Clan MacKenzie's leadership is split between Colum and Dougal:

"Ah, Dougal is a fine warrior, who could inspire men to do damn near anything. He doesna have the temperament needed to be a laird. We should consider them to be two important halves that make a strong whole. Dougal is the MacKenzie brawn. Colum is its sound mind."

The Earl of Mar welcomes them and introduces Rob Roy MacGregor, whom we met in Episode 107, "Luceo Non Uro". Rob Roy gives an impassioned speech rousing the men in support of the Jacobites. Many of them appear enthusiastic, but the Loyalist supporters in the crowd, like Colum and the Grants, are looking very uncomfortable.

Lord Lovat, watching this, murmurs, "A Scottish ruler rising from the Fraser bloodline, uniting the clans for centuries to come!" He's clearly excited by the prospect. Supporting the Jacobites is the logical next step to making the prophecy come true.

The Earl of Mar announces that after the tynchal, the clans will vote on whether to proceed with an attempt to restore the rightful king to the throne.

Lord Lovat introduces himself to the Earl, but Uncle Grant has had enough of Lovat's lies and self-aggrandizement. I really loved the way he cut Lovat down to size!

"You, Fraser, are a liar, a fantasist, and a scoundrel! [....] You make mischief without the slightest cause. You spread lies to suit your scurrilous agenda, about my nephew's betrothed, about the false promise of your heir. As if seed from your putrid loins could amount to more than a blight upon all of us. You are a detestable nodcock, Fraser, and so is any man who would confuse your damnable lies wi' truth."

Wow! No question about it, there's a difference when Diana Gabaldon writes the script! I can't be sure that she wrote that bit, but it seems awfully likely.

Meanwhile, Rob Roy spots Dougal. In front of Colum and Ned, he asks about the chest of gold that Dougal promised to contribute to the Jacobite cause -- the same chest that contains Ellen's dowry, now pledged, of course, to the Grants.

Colum, predictably, is furious. He confronts Dougal, asking if it's true.

"A bit of Ellen's dowry money. A wee contribution." - Notice Ned Gowan's reaction, as though he's come down with a massive headache.

Colum finally loses his temper and lets Dougal have it.

Colum: "You care nothing for the greater good of our clan. You're selfish and shortsighted."
[....]
Dougal: "You care for the clan, aye. But the whole of Scotland is my concern."
Colum: "Ye bent your knee to me. Lie to me again, and I'll hire the Gallowglass to cut your tongue out at the root."

Watching this, you can clearly see foreshadowing of similar arguments Colum and Dougal will have in OUTLANDER, nearly thirty years later.

Meanwhile, in the main encampment, there's music and entertainment of various sorts going on. I smiled at Murtagh's brief attempt at Highland sword dancing. (Foreshadowing of Murtagh's dancing in OUTLANDER Episode 114, "The Search", when he and Claire are looking for Jamie.)

And then there's archery. Watch Murtagh closely at about 32:30. He sees Ellen watching the archers. She's alone, but he makes no attempt to approach her. After a moment he turns to go, and sees Brian -- and quickly moves away in the other direction. I took that as Murtagh's way of giving Brian room to have a moment with Ellen, that he wouldn't try to interfere. And sure enough, as soon as Murtagh leaves, Ellen turns and notices Brian.

They stand watching the arm-wrestling for a while, not touching, not looking at each other. Eventually Brian apologizes for what she went through during the virginity test. She shrugs it off, making it clear she doesn't blame him. And then, while the crowd nearby is distracted by the end of the arm-wrestling match, Brian's fingers brush Ellen's.

"'Tis dangerous for both of us," Ellen says. "We must be careful." OK, so why are you two taking such risks in a very public place??

Brian bends down and whispers, "I love you." Awwwww!! But notice that she doesn't say it back to him. I think that's because she's just seen Ned Gowan searching for her. She hastily arranges to meet Brian later.

Ned takes Ellen to a tent where Colum and Dougal are waiting. Colum orders the others to leave, but Dougal pauses long enough on the way out to tell Ellen that he's told Colum "the truth about you and the Fraser bastard." Uh-oh!!

Colum is furious, of course.

"I will have the bastard killed if that's what it takes to keep you from him."
"You harm Brian Fraser in any way, and I'm finished with you. I mean it."
Finally Colum agrees, "I willna harm Brian Fraser [....] or see him harmed, from this moment onward."

Those last four words might as well be written in bright red flashing letters, because there's a giant loophole here: What if Colum has already set in motion plans to kill Brian?

In return, Colum demands that Ellen break off her relationship with Brian, "for good". Reluctantly, she agrees.

Meanwhile, Henry encounters Brian for the first time. Brian assures him that the marriage between Lord Lovat and Julia is "not what you think", and that Julia never stopped loving Henry.

In the ladies' sewing tent, Julia and Ellen finally have a chance to talk. Julia describes what her life has been like, and Ellen marvels that Julia put up with it.

Ellen: "Great sacrifice."
Julia: "It's what we do for the ones we love, isn't it? In spite of the pain it causes you, you protect them, no matter the cost."
Ellen: "Losing them forever is too great a price to pay."

So the implication is that Julia has talked Ellen into breaking off the relationship with Brian (!) Ellen must sacrifice her own happiness (and Brian's) by going through with the marriage to Malcolm, in order to save Brian's life.

I can see echoes here of future events. Jamie giving himself to BJR at Wentworth in order to save Claire's life. Claire agreeing to go back through the stones before Culloden, to save their unborn child. Still, it's a depressing thought.

In the next scene, Brian and Ellen meet by the old kirk. Brian tries to embrace her and she pushes him away. He suggests they go inside, and Ellen says, "No, we can't!" I suppose that's to avoid the appearance of impropriety, but it still seems very risky to have this conversation outside, where they might be seen together by someone who means them harm.

Ellen tells Brian that she can't be with him any longer. "I'm pledged to Malcolm Grant."

"My heart beats only for you--" (Placing her hand on his chest.) "Ye ken it as well as I do. And yours, yours beats for me, too!" (Placing his hand on her chest.)

In the middle of this heartbreaking scene, I smiled a little, because this business with their hands reminds me of Roger and Bree on their handfasting night:

He took her hands, one at a time, and placed them flat against his chest. Her palms were hot, and his nipples tightened.

“Feel my heart,” he said. His voice sounded thick to his own ears. “Tell me if it stops.”

(From DRUMS OF AUTUMN by Diana Gabaldon, chapter 40, "Virgin Sacrifice". Copyright © 1997 by Diana Gabaldon. All rights reserved.)

And then Ellen utters the words that will burn in Brian's memory: "I'm not in love with you, Brian Fraser. Perhaps I never was."

Ellen runs off, and we see her burst into tears as soon as she's out of earshot. She's done what Julia advised, probably saved Brian's life, but in the process she's made both of them miserable, and destroyed any hope of their future happiness.

The camera lingers on Ellen's face for a long time, as she pulls herself together. She can't risk any hint of what she's feeling showing on her face when she rejoins the others. Brian, likewise, is very badly shaken.

It's hard to imagine how these two will ever repair their relationship. And yet... We know they will manage to get back together, eventually. These are Jamie's future parents, after all.

Again I'm thinking of Roger and Bree, specifically, the big argument on their handfasting night. I think it's a reasonable parallel to Brian and Ellen's current situation.

“You--bloody--arrogant--damn you, Roger!--damn you!” She jerked up the breeches and, leaning down, snatched up her shoes and stockings. “Go!” she said. “Damn you, go! Go and get hanged if you want to! I’m going to find my parents! And I’m going to save them, too!”

She whirled away, reached the door and jerked it open before he could reach her. She stood for a moment, silhouetted in the paler square of the doorway, dark strands of hair afloat in the wind, live as the strands of Medusa’s mane.

“I’m going. Come, or don’t come, I don’t care. Go back to Scotland--go back through the stones by yourself, for all I care! But by God, you can’t stop me!”

And then she was gone.

(From DRUMS OF AUTUMN by Diana Gabaldon, chapter 40, "Virgin Sacrifice". Copyright © 1997 by Diana Gabaldon. All rights reserved.)

Suppose you knew nothing at all about Bree and Roger's future beyond that point. Nothing. They fell in love, they became handfast, they had sex, but now they have a huge argument, and Bree stomps off, furious, leaving Roger devastated.

Would you think it likely, based on their relationship at that moment, that they would eventually be happily married with three children? It seems to me that Brian and Ellen are at a similar point right now. We know things will eventually work out, that they, too, will be happily married and raising a family some day. I'm looking forward to seeing how they resolve this.

In the next scene, Brian enters Lord Lovat's tent to find his father in a fury, with Julia and Murtagh silently watching. Lord Lovat starts spewing insults at his son, calling him all sorts of names.

"You can't even f*ck properly, it seems! If ye were even half a man, ye'd have taken the MacKenzie slut's maidenhead, and she would have been disgraced before her whole family and all the clans! But no, you couldn't even perform when she was handed to you on a plate!"

At that, Brian finally loses his temper, and shouts back, "Enough! You wicked man!" He and Lovat fight briefly, but neither is badly hurt. Lord Lovat, however, is still furious. He tells Brian he's to be a "beater" in the upcoming tynchal (a lower-status role), and Murtagh will take his place among the hunters.

"You're no son of mine," Lovat says.
"Then I'm glad to be free of ye."

FINALLY!! Now maybe Brian will start acting on his own, without constantly being criticized by his father. I see a strong parallel here to the change in Colum's demeanor in Episode 103 ("School of the Moon"), after Red Jacob died, when he was finally free to do what he wanted, without his father's constant belittling, name-calling, and criticism.

In the next scene, Henry comes to see Ned Gowan, to tell him that Julia and the baby are alive. "I can't leave here without Julia and my son," he says. "And I certainly can't return to the service of the Grants. I must escape."

Ned delivers a note from Henry to Julia. "Meet me by the shore during the tynchal." It's signed, "S.W.A.K."

The next morning, all the clansmen assemble for the tynchal, to hunt wild boar. (You may recall that we saw this in OUTLANDER Episode 104, "The Gathering".) The women, including Ellen and Mrs. Fitz, are there to see them off. Malcolm is the perfect gentleman, as always, and Ellen tries to smile at him, but she's clearly still depressed.

Brian moves ahead of the others into the forest, banging a stick on his targe to make a noise to attract the boar. Suddenly an arrow whizzes past his head, hitting a tree trunk and missing him by inches. Then a second arrow also misses him. Then a third!! Brian runs for his life.

Murtagh catches up with Brian and pushes him down into some bracken, where they hide until the others run past.

"If anyone's going to kill ye, it's going to be me," Murtagh says. Good line! Murtagh has thoughtfully brought along an extra horse, and he and Brian take off at a gallop.

Meanwhile, Henry meets Julia by the shore. She's very apologetic, but Henry says, "There's nothing to forgive." I was surprised that he got over it so quickly! But yet again, they are interrupted. Julia asks him to meet her at Castle Leathers.

And suddenly we see Seema, the prostitute, who has been hiding nearby, hearing everything.

Meanwhile, the Earl of Mar speaks again to the clan leaders. It's time to vote for or against the planned uprising. The majority of votes are in favor. Uncle Grant suddenly speaks up, saying, "Aye! Clan Grant stands with ye."

That's awkward, to say the least! He's not the laird, he has no right to speak for Clan Grant, but Malcolm is right next to him and doesn't say a word. So the Grants have switched sides. Under Isaac Grant, they were Loyalists, but now they're committed to the Jacobites. That's an interesting twist, and I didn't see it coming.

As the Earl of Mar raises the standard, proclaiming King James the rightful king, the ball atop the flagpole falls to the ground. This is a real historical event:

On September 6th [the Earl of Mar] proclaimed James as "their lawful sovereign" and raised the old Scottish standard, whereupon (ominously) the gold ball fell off the top of the flagpole. Mar's proclamation brought in an alliance of clans and northern Lowlanders, and they quickly overran many parts of the Highlands.

It definitely struck everyone present as a bad omen, as you can tell by their stunned reaction immediately afterward.

Malcolm angrily confronts his uncle, who is unapologetic. The men of Clan Grant, and the other clans present, "had to see that we'd act, that we're still strong." Still, Malcolm has been undercut by his uncle in public, and I think he'll be wary of Uncle Grant from now on.

Finally, Malcolm sees Ellen off home. As she gets into the carriage, she and Colum exchange somber, wary looks. Neither of them trusts the other. I'm betting it's going to be a long, awkward, silent ride home to Castle Leoch! And with that, the episode ends.

I hope you've enjoyed this recap! Look here for my reactions to the other BLOOD OF MY BLOOD episodes.

IMPORTANT NOTE!! There will NOT be a new episode of BLOOD OF MY BLOOD next week! The season finale, Episode 110, "Something Borrowed", will air on STARZ on Friday, October 10, 2025.

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