In 2003, wandering the shelves of my local library, my fingers brushed the spine of a novel, Outlander. Its title and cover art intrigued; I was new to the world of the Renaissance faire and only beginning to discover what it meant to embrace my Scots heritage. The thrum of the Bodhrán and the weave of my family’s tartan were fresh and a novel that transported a woman of the 20th-century to the 18th-century highlands of Scotland… well, it ended up stealing breath and heart for the next two decades as I read over 8,500 pages and watched each chapter of the story unfold on the screen in the Starz adaptation. Outlander fans know that the final season of the original series adaptation will air in 2026, but in 2025 we were given a new incarnation, the Starz series Outlander: Blood of My Blood.

Unlike those fans who expressed consternation that the series was a cash grab and have approached it with suspicion, I was intrigued. The seeds of the story of Jamie’s and Claire’s family trees were planted throughout the original book series. It was especially easy to feel curious affection for Ellen MacKenzie and Brian Fraser, whose own passionate love clearly readied Jamie’s heart to be as open and generous as fans know him to be.

Having now watched the first two episodes of the series, I find it intensely beautiful and immensely satisfying for those who love this world. The casting is impeccable; Catriona Balfe’s features are credibly mirrored in Hermione Corfield’s Julia, while Sam Heughan’s rugged good looks and mannerisms erase all doubt that Jamie Roy could be his father. Lord Lovat is as menacing as we imagine, Archie Bug (I broke into chills, hearing him addressed for the first time) as frightening; the Mackenzie brothers, Colum and Dougal, are brought to powerful life as young men, brothers vying for power of the clan, each with different, opposing talents, objectives, and obstacles. By the end of the second episode, we’ve met many key players: Murtagh, Ned Gowan, Jocasta, and more. All perfectly cast and beautifully developed in the script and in their performances.

However, I believe the heart of this incarnation will be carried by the performance of Harriet Slater as Ellen MacKenzie. She is breathtakingly beautiful, cunning, and powerful; it is not difficult to imagine how those strengths, as well as her glorious flaming hair, will pass to Bree. She is a character to be reckoned with, as deeply layered as any Gabaldon has ever given us. The author, as fans well know, is a master at character development, it is her highest priority and it serves her well in this new series. “Character, I think, is the single most important thing in fiction. You might read a book once for its interesting plot—but not twice.” ~ Diana Gabaldon.

The production values are of the highest quality. The costumes are detailed, the stitches in Julia’s shift are rough and visible, while the finer garb of the Grant clan is impeccably executed. The sets are detailed and beautifully lit; Olivia Emily of Country & Town House wisely posits that the true protagonist of the series is Scotland herself. We return to Doune Castle as Castle Leoch; an echo of Claire and Frank’s Highland road trip is seen as Julia and Henry drive the Highlands. We are also introduced to Bowmont House as the seat of Clan Grant; Balvaird Castle stands in for the impoverished Castle Leathers, where Lord Lovat weaves his webs of intrigue and deceit.

One of Diana Gabaldon’s strengths as a writer is her ability to evoke the senses: scents, sounds, sights, and textures spring to life in her prose. The production team, led once again by Mike Gunn, gives substance to what we, as readers, have imagined. Alasdair Walker returns as cinematographer; the gorgeous shots of the landscape as well as the intimacies of the characters’ relationships and inner lives are once again evident, inviting us into this beautiful world underscored by the pipes and Bodhrán of Bear McReary’s score.

The one concern I have seen shared is that we, the viewer, are not as invested in these stories as we were with Jaimie and Claire, Bree and Roger, Jenny and the Ians, John, Fergus, and more. Recently, Gabaldon herself, also a writer on BoMB, addressed this concern by posting an excerpt from the first prequel novel, which she started several years ago. She knows that the audience doesn’t come to Blood of My Blood with the years of reading and loving the story that they did with Outlander; a consummate author and storyteller, she understands the power of the written word, and assures her fans that “that there _are/will be_ books that tell this story.”

Through the cooler days and falling leaves of autumn, Blood of My Blood will be a gorgeous watch, its lush romance and sweeping vistas a fitting companion for the darker, longer evenings of this season. It will queue up the finale of the original series as well as prepare our hearts for the final novel of Jamie and Claire’s story, A Blessing for a Warrior Going Out. May I invite you to pour yourself a comforting beverage, tuck into your favorite nubby textile, and immerse yourself in the heather, peat, pipes, and lush, unabashed romance of this lovely series? For just a moment, let the crazy world we live in be set aside. Pause time and allow story to speak to your soul, as Gabaldon wrote in the very first novel. “In that moment when time stops, it is as though you know you could undertake any venture, complete it and come back to yourself, to find the world unchanged, and everything just as you left it a moment before. And it’s as though knowing that everything is possible, suddenly nothing is necessary.”

Kim Bryant is a veteran performer, educator, and writer. With 25 years teaching experience, an adjunct professorship in Theatre, and twenty years in the festival world, she brings a wealth of experience to LadyFaire Magazine. She earned her Bachelor’s degree in Education from Lubbock Christian University, a Master’s degree in Theatre from the University of Houston, and a Master’s degree in Communications from Southern New Hampshire University. Kim has studied at Actor’s Studio of Chicago, the Royal Academy of Dramatic Arts in London, and at New York’s Lincoln Center, and currently works in leadership for Disney Live Entertainment.