The first season of Outlander: Blood of My Blood has now come to an end – and shocked fans have been left reeling after a major character was killed off in the finale
Brian Fraser and Ellen MacKenzie were reunited in Outlander: Blood of My Blood (Image: STARZ)
*WARNING: This article contains spoilers from Outlander: Blood of My Blood and the Outlander novels by Diana Gabaldon.*
The season one finale of Outlander: Blood of My Blood left viewers in shock.
The first season of the prequel, which consists of 10 episodes, serves as a lead-in to the wildly popular historical romance drama Outlander, based on Diana Gabaldon’s novels. The show featured scenes that took many fans completely off guard. The catalyst for all this was Ellen MacKenzie (Harriet Slater) running away on her wedding night with her true love Brian Fraser (Jamie Roy).
When Brian reveals that Colum (Seamus McLean Ross) has broken his promise and tried to have him killed, Ellen hatches a plan to run away with Brian. Their hasty exit from Castle Leoch is noticed by Malcolm Grant, the man Ellen is supposed to marry. The finale aired after Outlander star Nell Hudson made a candid pregnancy confession.
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Understandably angry, Malcolm quickly turns to violence to resolve the situation. He calls Ellen a “jezebel” and tells the couple he won’t let them pass while he’s still alive.
Jhon Lumsden as Malcolm Grant in the series(Image: STARZ)
He then attacks Brian with a dagger, and in self-defence, Brian stabs Malcolm in the stomach, killing him and leaving his bloody body in the hallway as he and Ellen flee into the night. Fans were quick to share their reactions to the dramatic scene and speculate about what it means for season two.
Outlander enthusiasts have flocked to Reddit to share their astonishment and speculation following the unexpected death of a major character. One stunned viewer wrote, “Ah, what a cliffhanger! I didn’t see Malcolm Grant getting killed coming, it felt like it would’ve been a big enough deal to be mentioned in the Outlander when discussing Brian and Ellen. And he’s a truly tragic figure in all this. I look forward to the next season.”
Another devotee was similarly shocked, declaring, “Malcolm’s DEAD!?!! Boy I did not see that one coming. So Maura gets married and her brother dies on the same day. Clan Grant needing all the therapy. And clan Mackenzie needing all the alibis.”
Sharing these feelings, another concurred, “I wasn’t expecting Malcolm getting killed. After his chat with his uncle about revenge I thought that would be his arc next season.”
Outlander enthusiasts have flocked to Reddit to share their astonishment (Image: STARZ)
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One supporter expressed a comparable perspective, stating, “I was not expecting Malcolm dead. That was the biggest surprise to me in the finale. I assume it must remain unknown Brian had anything to do with that because there aren’t consequences we know of to him.”
Meanwhile another wondered, “I was ready for Malcolm to be the big bad in season 2. Why the hell would they kill him?” One individual, sharing their response on X, even went as far as declaring “the Blood of My Blood season one finale is rage bait.” In Diana Gabaldon’s Outlander novels, Malcolm is the leader of Clan Grant and a spurned suitor of Ellen.
He sought an arranged marriage with Ellen, but after she rejected him, he ceased to be an ally of Clan MacKenzie. In the TV series Blood of My Blood, Dougal and Colum were eager to marry Ellen off to Malcolm, against the wishes of the late Red Jacob. According to the Outlander fandom page, during the 1716 Gathering at Castle Leoch, Ellen insulted Malcolm so severely that he dramatically left the event without saying a word to the hosts.
Ellen also fled Castle Leoch, eloping with Brian and hiding from her brothers. It seems her departure was known, but the details of how it occurred weren’t or are being slightly adjusted for this prequel series. Since Blood of My Blood isn’t a direct adaptation of a specific book, there could be more changes in the pipeline for future seasons.
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