Outlander will soon come to a close, and the spinoff Outlander: Blood of My Blood will take over, but this new series may lack what made the original so great. Jamie and Claire’s story is a romance at its core, but there is so much more to this than just that. It’s fantasy and history, drama and romance, but Outlander also bends the expectations of reality. This makes the star-crossed lover’s angle so much more impactful because it’s clear that these characters never should have found each other—but also couldn’t avoid doing so. Still, Outlander: Blood of My Blood may take a different angle.
Claire and Jamie’s story will be wrapping up with Outlander season 8, but there are still more adventures set in this universe worth telling. Outlander: Blood of My Blood will follow Claire and Jamie’s parents as they fall in love in their respective centuries. Jamie’s parents, Brian Fraser and Ellen MacKenzie (Jamie Roy and Harriet Slater), will have adventures set in the 18th century. Claire’s parents, Henry Beauchamp and Julia Moriston (Jeremy Irvine and Hermione Corfield) will fall in love in the 20th. Blood of My Blood is certainly intriguing, but it sounds as if something significant is missing.
Claire & Jamie’s Outlander Romance Wouldn’t Be As Good Without Time Travel
Time Travel Is The Reak Hook
Claire and Jamie’s romance in Outlander is undoubtedly exciting. They have been through a great many adventures together, from battles to shipwrecks. What’s more, Claire and Jamie’s steamy chemistry makes Outlander a guilty pleasure series for many. Still, none of this is the foundation of the show. What really makes Outlander stand out is the time travel aspect. There’s something thrilling about a 20th-century woman slipping through time and accidentally falling madly in love with an 18th-century Scotsman—and the continued separation by time and space only adds to the intrigue.
Without time travel, Claire and Jamie’s romance would have quickly fallen flat since there isn’t much to their story that would define the Outlander series as anything special. Still, the fantasy of this goes beyond these star-crossed lovers. It’s evident throughout the fantasy romance that the characters’ destinies are entwined through time travel. It’s fun to see characters like Roger bizarrely connected with Dougal MacKenzie and Geillis Duncan or to discover that mysterious characters like Master Raymond are time travelers. Such paradoxes and mysteries are a highlight of Outlander.
Outlander: Blood Of My Blood Must Involve Time Travel
So Far, No Time Travel Has Been Advertised
While time travel is the unique foundation of Outlander, the new spinoff series seems to be heading in a different direction. Though Outlander: Blood of My Blood will jump between the 20th and 18th centuries, there is so far nothing to indicate that the characters themselves will move about in time. This is quite a disappointment since, without this mechanic, the spinoff is simply a historical romance series—not a fantasy romance. While either is enjoyable, it would be frustrating for the franchise to shift genres from one series to the next. Still, it seems unlikely that any of Outlander: Blood of My Blood‘s characters would be time travelers.
It’s Unlikely That Jamie’s Parents Are Time Travelers
There’s No Sign Of The Time Travel Gene In Jamie’s Line
It has become evident that time travel is genetic in Outlander. The gene got its start in ancient days (Master Raymond is thought to be from 500 BC) and has continued to link various descendants across the centuries. Jamie did not inherit this gene. He is, instead, considered a warrior through and through (this is another generic trait explored in Outlander). Since Jamie isn’t a time traveler, it’s highly unlikely that either of his parents would have been. There is also no indication in either of their stories to hint that one might have disappeared a time or two into another time.
Brian and Ellen have a compelling love story, and seeing a young version of these characters on screen will be interesting in Outlander: Blood of My Blood. However, we aren’t likely to see either of them slip through the stones. The best that could be hoped for is that they might unknowingly come in contact with unexplored time-traveler characters. Still, this doesn’t bring the same sort of thrill as Claire’s adventures in Outlander.
Outlander’s Author Has Already Said That Claire’s Parents Aren’t Time Travelers
They Share A Different Kind Of Adventure
Perhaps the best hope for time travel in Outlander: Blood of My Blood would be through either Henry Beauchamp or Julia Moriston. Since Claire has the time-travel gene, it would be within reason that at least one of her parents did, too. Henry and Julia died in a car crash when Claire was only five, but there has long been a theory that they actually went through time instead. This would make Claire’s story similar to Roger, who thought his father had died in a plane crash but learned that the man had accidentally gone through the stones. Blood of My Blood could explore this further, but it looks unlikely.
Outlander author Diana Gabaldon has maintained that Claire’s parents weren’t time travelers. This puts a bit of a damper on Outlander: Blood of My Blood since it eliminates the last primary characters that could bring the “fantasy” to the series. Of course, the spinoff isn’t explicitly based on Gabaldon’s books, so Blood of My Blood may backpedal on the author’s initial plan for Henry and Julia. Even if this isn’t the case, there may be other ways for time travel to get involved in the spinoff.
Other Ways Time Travel Could Be Involved In Blood Of My Blood
There’s Still Hope
There is still little known about Outlander: Blood of My Blood, so some surprises may be in store. While Brian, Ellen, Henry, and Julia are the advertised main characters, some time travelers could be placed at front and center as well. It’s possible that characters like Jemmy and Mandy MacKenzie, Roger and Brianna’s children, could make prominent appearances, perhaps traveling back in time to meet their great-grandparents. This would continue Outlander‘s theme of fate and destiny, bringing important characters together at different points in time.
Of course, only time will tell. It may not be immediately apparent how, but it can still be hoped that Outlander: Blood of My Blood won’t toss out the time-travel feature entirely. If not, then the ending of Outlander would truly be the end of a fantastical era—though perhaps future spinoffs could restore the magic.