Exclusive Interview
‘Outlander: Blood of My Blood’ Stars on Capturing Brian & Ellen and Henry & Julia’s Memorable Meet-Cutes (VIDEO)
[Warning: The below and video above contain MAJOR spoilers for Outlander: Blood of My Blood, Season 1 Episodes 1 & 2, “Providence,” and “S.W.A.K. (Sealed With a Kiss).”]
Every good romance needs a meet-cute between its leading characters, and thankfully, Outlander: Blood of My Blood has two with the introduction of Brian Fraser (Jamie Roy) and Ellen MacKenzie’s (Harriet Slater) first meeting and Henry Beauchamp (Jeremy Irvine) and Julia Moriston’s (Hermione Corfield) run-in in the show’s opening episodes.
When it comes to Brian and Ellen, they’re serving major Romeo and Juliet vibes when they cross paths at the Clan MacKenzie gathering following the laird Red Jacob MacKenzie’s (Peter Mullan) death. While Ellen wants to ditch the men lining up for her hand to win her brothers’ favor, Brian is dodging an attendee who questions his identity, leading the pair to find refuge in the same stable.
“We shot it right at the beginning. It was one of the first things we shot together,” Slater told Swooon. “And then, we actually reshot it right at the end in the pickup week, which was like nine months down [the line],” she continued. “It was crazy going all the way back, but like really nice as well because we knew each other so well by that point.”
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As Slater put it, “I feel like there was just an added layer of comfortability.” Roy added, “And we’d also lived with that particular scene for so long because that was part of our chemistry read audition scene.”
In the end, the scene fans got was both enchanting and reminiscent of another iconic meet-cute. “When I read it because it’s written in the script, like they see each other through these slats. So they don’t really see each other. They just have peeks at each other, and it reminded me so much of the scene in Romeo + Juliet,” Slater said.
“Of the fish tank,” Roy clarified, referencing the iconic first meeting in Baz Luhrmann‘s 1996 film adaptation of William Shakespeare’s classic play.
Meanwhile, Henry and Julia made their acquaintance with one another through letters that circulated in the redaction office amid World War I, and while they certainly connected romantically through their correspondence, their meeting in the real world felt a bit more magically serendipitous.
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As Julia walked down some park steps, she passed Henry, who called out to her, “Hope springs eternal,” the phrase catching her attention and forcing her to turn back. “Henry?” she questions, to which he nods and responds, “Julia.” The pair share a sweet and intimate moment as the passersby walk around them on the steps.
But how could Henry have possibly realized it was Julia when they’d never seen each other’s faces before? “We have a theory that I’ve been doing it to every woman that walks down the street,” Irvine joked about Henry’s identification method.
“We did discuss this, whether they’d shared photos,” Corfield revealed, but she liked the idea that Henry “smells her.” Irvine said, “I like the magic.”
“He just senses it’s her,” Corfield offered, “And then they go, ‘Thank god I find you attractive.’ And then they have that magnetic moment where they walk towards each other.”
Irvine explained that showrunner Matthew B. Roberts told him, “We want there to be magic in that scene. Things don’t have to be explained.” And we’re more than willing to accept that. See the cast’s full breakdown of Outlander: Blood of My Blood‘s premiere meet-cutes and let us know what you thought of the scenes in the comments section below.
Outlander: Blood of My Blood, Season 1, Fridays, 8/7c, Starz
