Outlander: Blood of My Blood Episode 3 Recap - "School of the Moon"
Updated: Sep 11
Episode 3 of Outlander: Blood of My Blood, “School of the Moon,” comes in hot with the spice.
We open with Brian and Ellen having themselves a time outside in the moss. Ellen tells Brian she is his forever, things start getting a little steamy and then—
Miss Fitz ruins everything.
Because the joke is on Ellen. It was all a dream.
And unfortunately, the reality she wakes up to is much less exciting.
The MacKenzie Gathering is still underway, her brothers are still fighting over who will become the next Laird, and Ellen has just learned that Colum plans to marry her off to Malcolm Grant.
Whomp, whomp, whomp.
Ellen MacKenzie Has Words for Colum
Understandably, Ellen is furious.
She confronts Colum and reminds him that their father promised she would never have to marry for clan politics. She also argues that marrying her off would mean losing someone who is actually valuable to the MacKenzies at home.
Ellen understands their finances, trade and alliances. More importantly, she sees something her brothers are too busy fighting each other to notice: their family's position is in danger.
MacKinney wants to become Laird too, and he's making moves of his own to gain the support needed to make that happen.
But Colum isn't trying to hear any of it.
What makes the argument worse is that Ellen and Colum were once the closest of the MacKenzie siblings. We learn that Ellen cared for him when he was ill, but there also seems to be some resentment over how much their father trusted Ellen and valued her opinions.
The conversation leaves another crack in an already fragile sibling relationship.
But Colum does tell Ellen that she needs to think about what's best for the clan.
And Ellen definitely hears him.
Just maybe not in the way he intended.
Murtagh Is Ready to Go Home
Meanwhile, Murtagh learns that Ellen is betrothed to Malcolm and immediately decides there's no reason for him and Brian to stay at the Gathering.
Murtagh is butt hurt.
This man has had a long-time crush on Ellen despite barely having a relationship with her, and apparently he was still holding onto hope.
Brian is just as shocked by the news, but he can't exactly tell his best friend why.
Because Brian has a little secret of his own.
Sir, you're secretly falling for your best friend's longtime crush.
YIKES.
I don't see this becoming awkward at all.
Mistress Porter Figures Out Julia's Secret
Over at Castle Leathers, about a month has passed, and Mistress Porter has noticed something about Julia.
Reverend Red hasn't come to visit.
Julia tries to brush it off, but Mistress Porter knows what's happening.
She's pregnant.
Mistress Porter offers Julia a chance to “bring down the flowers,” but Julia refuses.
The conversation also gives us another glimpse into the darker history between Mistress Porter and Simon Fraser.
Julia points out that Mistress Porter was allowed to keep Brian, but the circumstances were very different. Brian was Simon's child, and Mistress Porter warns Julia that Simon may not allow her to keep a baby belonging to another man.
At this point, Julia has a serious problem.
She's trapped at Castle Leathers.
She doesn't know where Henry is.
She doesn't know if she'll ever see him again.
And now she has to figure out how to protect their unborn child.
For the moment, she denies being pregnant and keeps on keeping on as best as she can.
Apparently Everyone Has Plans for Ellen's Marriage
Colum isn't the only sibling catching Ellen's ire.
Now it's Dougal's turn.
And somehow his solution to Ellen being promised to Malcolm Grant is...
promising her to another man.
Dougal has offered Ellen's hand to Marcus MacRannoch in an attempt to strengthen his own campaign to become Laird.
Talk about messy.
Ellen calls him out for trying to make decisions about her future without her consent, but she also points out the bigger problem.
Dougal has been so focused on beating Colum that he's been blind to what's happening around them.
MacKinney isn't sitting around waiting for the brothers to figure things out. He's trying to build enough support to take the lairdship himself, including seeking favor from the Grants.
And if Colum and Dougal continue fighting each other, they could both lose.
Dougal still isn't particularly interested in helping Ellen escape a political marriage, but the conversation clearly gets to him.
At this point, all of the MacKenzie siblings are determined to get their own way.
The difference is that Ellen may be the only one thinking several moves ahead.
Brian and Murtagh Bring the Gossip Home
Brian and Murtagh eventually return to Castle Leathers and fill Simon Fraser in on everything that happened at the Gathering.
They tell him about the fight between Dougal and Malcolm and explain that Ellen's betrothal to Malcolm is supposed to help repair the relationship between the MacKenzies and Grants.
There's just one problem.
The Grants are supposed to be allied with the Frasers.
So Simon is NOT happy about this potential new alliance.
Brian knows his father won't like the match, but he apparently underestimates exactly how low Simon is willing to go to stop it.
Simon decides to write Isaac Grant and suggest that Ellen isn't virtuous enough to marry his son.
Ew.
Rude.
As usual, Brian tries to convince his father that maybe—just maybe—there is an honorable way to handle the situation.
Simon Fraser remains Simon Fraser.
And Murtagh?
He's still thinking he has a chance with Ellen.
My guy, your best friend is WAY ahead of you.
How Colum Injured His Leg
The fight over the lairdship also takes us back to a night that changed Colum and Dougal's relationship forever.
During a nighttime cattle raid, Dougal pushes the men to continue despite the danger.
Colum follows, gets injured, and never fully recovers.
The incident helps explain some of the resentment between the brothers, but it also explains why their father didn't completely trust either of them to lead.
Colum is more methodical.
Dougal is very much a shoot first and ask questions later kind of guy.
And their father saw the problems with both approaches.
The flashback also explains the episode's title. “School of the Moon” refers to the Highland cateran tradition associated with nighttime cattle raiding.
But there was another name dropped during that flashback that Outlander fans may have caught:
Davie Beaton.
If your ears perked up at that name, there's a reason.
Years later, Davie Beaton is the healer at Castle Leoch before Claire comes along. Early in Outlander, Mrs. Fitz even asks Claire if she's a Beaton after seeing her medical knowledge.
I love little connections like this because Blood of My Blood isn't screaming, “LOOK! AN OUTLANDER REFERENCE!”
It's just casually placing these people into the world before Claire and Jamie ever get there.
Ellen Has a Plan
After chewing out both of her brothers, Ellen goes to Ned Gowan.
She has an idea.
And this is probably my favorite part of the episode because we finally get to see just how politically savvy Ellen is.
Everyone around her is treating her like a piece on a chessboard.
Meanwhile, Ellen is quietly figuring out how to move the pieces herself.
She realizes Colum and Dougal don't necessarily need to compete for the same position.
Their strengths are completely different.
Colum is calculated and methodical.
Dougal is a fighter.
So why not use both?
Ellen has Ned look into whether there is precedent for the clan to essentially divide those responsibilities.
The plan is simple:
Colum becomes Laird.
Dougal becomes his War Chief.
Instead of continuing to fight each other, the brothers present themselves as a united front.
The MacKenzies Finally Have Their Laird
When the oath ceremony begins, there is definitely some tension in the air.
The MacKenzie sisters have spent this entire Gathering watching their headstrong brothers go after each other, so who knows what these two are about to do?
Then Colum declares himself Laird and names Dougal his War Chief.
And it works.
The brothers pledge themselves to one another, and even MacKinney eventually swears his oath.
Outlander fans already knew where this story ended.
We knew Colum MacKenzie became Laird.
We knew Dougal became his War Chief.
What we didn't know was the hand Ellen played in making it happen.
And I'm really enjoying watching her flex her intelligence without her brothers even realizing how much she's influencing what's happening around them.
In a time when women are largely being treated as pawns for political marriages, Ellen is playing the game herself.
I'm beginning to see where Jamie gets some of his cunning from.
And About Marcus MacRannoch...
There's another Outlander connection hidden in Dougal's attempt to marry Ellen off.
Marcus MacRannoch isn't a random new character.
We've met him before.
Years later, Claire turns to MacRannoch for help rescuing Jamie from Wentworth Prison. His affection and respect for Ellen play a role in his willingness to help her son.
Now we're getting some of the history behind that connection.
Knowing what happens later makes Dougal offering Ellen's hand to him a lot more interesting.
Henry Is Still Looking for Julia
After the oath ceremony, we finally check back in with Henry.
He and Ned meet at a house of ill repute looking for information about Julia.
And I have a feeling Ned has misunderstood exactly what kind of woman Henry is looking for.
Henry hasn't completely caught on to that yet.
Ned gets Madame Una Hay involved in the search, while Henry makes it clear that he's willing to pay whatever it takes to find his wife.
So while Julia is slowly losing hope that she'll ever see Henry again...
Henry is still out there looking for her.
She just doesn't know it.
Julia Makes a Devastating Decision
Back at Castle Leathers, Julia has reached a breaking point.
She doesn't believe she's going to escape.
She doesn't know if Henry is alive.
And she knows that if Simon discovers she's pregnant with another man's child, her baby could be in danger.
But she refuses to give up the only piece of Henry she still has.
So Julia comes up with a plan.
If Simon believes the baby is his, he'll have a reason to let the child live.
Julia writes to Henry, knowing he may never receive the letter, and explains that although she's losing hope, she can't let go of their child.
Then she goes to Simon Fraser and makes it appear that they sleep together.
It's an awful choice, but from Julia's perspective, it may be the only one she has left to protect her baby.
And that's where “School of the Moon” leaves us.
Final Thoughts on Outlander: Blood of My Blood Episode 3
Episode 3 doesn't give us a ton of movement in either of our main romances, but I didn't mind that.
Instead, “School of the Moon” gives Ellen and Julia a chance to take center stage.
Both women are trapped in situations where powerful men have decided they should have control over their futures.
Ellen's brothers see her marriage as a way to gain political power.
Julia's ability to protect her pregnancy depends on convincing Simon that the baby belongs to him.
Their circumstances are obviously very different, but neither woman simply accepts the hand she's been dealt.
Ellen uses her intelligence and understanding of clan politics to quietly change the outcome of the MacKenzie succession.
Julia makes a much darker sacrifice because she believes it's the only way to protect her child.
And knowing these women are the mothers of Jamie Fraser and Claire Beauchamp makes it hard not to notice the similarities.
Jamie and Claire are both stubborn, clever, and remarkably good at surviving situations they probably shouldn't.
After Episode 3, I'm starting to see exactly where they got it from.
Now I just need Murtagh to figure out what's happening between his best friend and Ellen because THAT conversation is going to be awkward.
What did you think of “School of the Moon”? And did you catch any other connections to the original Outlander that I missed?