The normally shabby halls of Castle Leathers were looking posher than usual when TV Insider visited the set of Outlander: Blood of My Blood in early October to chat with the cast, now shooting the second season, about what’s next in this epic time travel romance. The first season ended with 20th century married couple Julia (Hermione Corfield) and Henry (Jeremy Irvine) along with their newborn son, trying to return to the 1900s. In the Highland clan world, Ellen Mackenzie (Harriet Slater) ran off with her soulmate Brian Fraser (Jamie Roy), who had no choice but to kill her jilted groom, an enraged Malcolm Grant (Jhon Lumsden). After one night of passion, the couple saw fiery crosses on the hillside calling all clan warriors to join the Jacobite fight.
We’ll have much more reporting ahead but before that, enjoy a bonus episode of our aftershow (watch the video above for the full interview) where the two couples reflect on the first season and hint about things to come.
Irvine reveals that Henry and Julia’s journey doesn’t go exactly as hoped. “They end up in a wildly different place to where we think they’re going to end up,” the actor says. “For Henry, I went in for my costume fitting and looked at the costume and said, ‘Why would I be being fit for that?’ He ends up somewhere really unexpected and is going to have to battle with his mental health and PTSD.”
“Julia ends up kind of back where she started pretty much in this place right here, which it looks much nicer and much more cozy than it normally does,” Corfield says. She also hints that Lord Lovat (Tony Curran), whom Julia was forced to marry, comes up a notch in Highlander society, which makes him even more maniacal. Corfield would like to see Julia take control, telling us, “I pitched it to [showrunner] Matt [Roberts], I wanted Julia to become a chief. I said — so many terrible things happen, I was thinking that she could have an all-female gang.”
Slater would be happy for Ellen to join, saying her character is ready for war time. “She’s so equipped. I think she can do anything that a guy can do. We see a great flashback in Season 2 with younger Ellen and her dad and she says, ‘I can do anything my brothers can do. I can fight, I can swim, I can do this and that.’ And she has that because her father didn’t actually really treat her that differently. He gave her everything that he gave his sons, which was unusual at the time. She’s very ready.”
As for Ellen and Brian having kids, Slater says, “I’m excited to work with babies if and when that happens!”
Roy jokes about his character’s increasingly visible warrior side, “I said to Matt, ‘I’ve seen Brian kill three guys and he’s got a taste for blood,’ so, it kind of goes into this John Wick for Season 2.” On a more serious note, the actor reflects on what it means to join such a blockbuster franchise and how he is handling it by following “the advice that Sam [Heughan] gave me at the start, which was to enjoy every single day.”
Watch the video above to hear more about what’s next and find out which cast member listens to podcasts about witches and plays on-set pranks.
Outlander: Blood of My Blood, Season 2, TBA, Starz