'Outlander: Blood of My Blood' Stars on Series' Season 2: "Sense of Familiarity"

After introducing audiences to the beginnings of the love stories that gave rise to the protagonists of Outlander, Outlander: Blood of My Blood is getting ready to return to screens with an even more ambitious second season. The new season promises to expand the universe created by Diana Gabaldon by exploring different historical periods and diving deeper into the journeys of Ellen MacKenzie and Brian Fraser, as well as Julia and Henry Beauchamp.

In an interview with Omelete, Jamie Roy, Harriet Slater and Jeremy Irvine, who play Brian, Ellen, and Henry, respectively, talked about what fans can expect from the new episodes and what it was like returning to these characters after a first season that was well received by fans. Read the full interview below.

OMELETE: How are you all doing?

JAMIE and HARRIET: Very well, and you?

JEREMY: Thanks for your time!

OMELETE: Doing great! I’ll start by asking: will the second season deepen the connection between Blood of My Blood and the events of the original series? And what does that mean for your characters?

JAMIE: Yes, I definitely think so. The first season had a lot of easter eggs and familiar elements, recognizable characters and all that, which I’m sure fans of the original series appreciated. And season two won’t be any different in that regard. We’ll see legacy characters returning, as well as new characters who may already have been mentioned in the books being introduced.

And yes, there will be some blink-and-you’ll-miss-it moments. So the connection between the two series will deepen, although ours is still very much its own story, something standalone that can be watched by people who haven’t seen the original series. But if you have seen the original, it simply enriches your understanding of the whole universe.

HARRIET: It’s hard to talk without giving away spoilers. But there are definitely things that happen later in the second season that fans of the original series will recognize and, hopefully, be excited to see. It’s just impossible to talk about that right now.

JEREMY: Well, there are some more familiar characters that I think people will recognize from the original series. But yes, I’d say it’s not necessary to watch the original to enjoy ours. The series doesn’t assume you’ve already seen the original.

OMELETE: Perfect. Going in the opposite direction, the series made some changes. It moved away from the canon established by the books and the original series, such as William’s existence, from what we know. Will we get more interesting changes? And I know you just said it’s hard to say anything without revealing major information, but can we get at least a tiny spoiler?

JAMIE: I’ll think about it, because our material is based pretty loosely on a few core ideas. And, obviously, Diana [Gabaldon] also works as a consulting producer to make sure the story follows the path she envisioned. But since we don’t really have actual books to base ourselves on, books the fans already know, I think that at this point everything is happening as it should.

I don’t think there’s anything drastically different that comes to mind right now. But that said, the series will premiere and people will say, “Hey, that didn’t happen.” And we’ll reply, “Yep, that’s right.” So we’ll have to wait and see.

OMELETE: The first season ends with three major cliffhangers: the consequences of Malcolm’s death, the call to the Jacobite rebellion, and Harry and Julia’s escape. Which of these developments are you most excited for fans to see?

JEREMY: I think the rebellion is going to be a lot of fun. And it ends up involving all the characters. There’s no one who isn’t affected by the war that’s coming. So yes, it was also a lot of fun to film those scenes.

OMELETE: So Henry will be directly involved?

JEREMY: Maybe... No one escapes.

HARRIET: I agree with what Jeremy said. I think the Jacobite rebellion affects the lives of every character in the series. And they practically have to put their personal lives on hold to answer that call. And, you know, do their duty and stand by their clan and everything that implies. The stakes are really very high for everyone. It’s a matter of life and death every day for each of the characters.

JAMIE: Yeah, I agree with all of that.

OMELETE: You were filming the second season when the first one premiered, right? Did the reaction online influence the way you developed your characters in season two? Did you feel more pressure? Or did it make you think, “Okay, people are liking it. Now I feel more comfortable”?

JEREMY: Yes, I think we all felt a huge sense of relief when the reaction was so positive. Because, you know, you have a very passionate fan base, but that can work for you or against you. So yes, it was a lot. I let out a huge sigh of relief when people decided they liked the series.

JAMIE: Yeah, it was complicated. I think filming while also promoting the first season was difficult, because we often had to travel to the United States and things like that. So that was an added stress.

But in terms of filming itself, I feel like we’re in a little bubble here in Scotland when we’re shooting, which is great, because we’re not influenced by the energy of Hollywood or anything like that, where you see billboards and things like that. When the first season premiered, it was incredible. There were billboards all over Los Angeles. And I think that kind of thing can really mess with your head.

You know, if you’re going from home to work every day and seeing your face on those billboards, that can have some effect on you. But when we’re here in Scotland, it’s honestly like a world apart, where we don’t hear any of that noise unless we go looking for it online. So I think we were very lucky in that sense. And it didn’t influence, at least speaking personally, the way I approached season two all that much, I think.

HARRIET: Yes, I think more than anything, there was a nice sense of familiarity in coming back for the second season. And it was extremely encouraging that we had gone back to filming before the first season premiered, because that’s incredibly rare. I think we all felt very lucky to be in that position.

Which is due in large part to the fan base and their enthusiasm for the original series. And, as Jeremy said, I think we were all very relieved when our series premiered and they liked us too. So it was really lovely to return to a job where you already knew everyone, knew the entire cast, the whole crew, and knew the characters really well.

And it was like, you know, slipping into...

JAMIE: An old pair of sneakers.

HARRIET: It was like slipping into an old pair of sneakers.

JEREMY: Filthy as hell.

HARRIET: Filthy, but beloved.

OMELETE: I want to ask a lighter question. If you could play any other character in the series, who would it be and why?

JAMIE: I don’t know. I’d like... I used to say it would be Murtagh, but I want to play Dougal. Yeah, I’d love to play Dougal and just be a cheeky guy all the time.

And he has a really good arc this season. I think he’ll probably talk a little about that too, I’m sure, but seeing how he’s different from the first to the second season is a big change. So I think it would be a lot of fun to play him.

JEREMY: Yes, I think for me it’s the same thing, I think he has a lot to offer. He’s a really fun character to play, I think.

OMELETE: Would you also like to play Dougal, Harriet?

HARRIET: [laughs] To be honest, there must be a huge sense of freedom in just doing whatever you want, whenever you want. Not many characters in the series live that way. But Dougal does. He’s quite selfish. And yes, I agree. I think he would be a lot of fun to play.

OMELETE: All right. That’s it. Thank you so much for your time and for the opportunity. I’m also looking forward to the second season.

The new episodes premiere on September 18 in Brazil on Starz. The season will feature clan disputes, shifting alliances, and the consequences of war, as well as challenges related to the stones at Craigh na Dun.