TV Romance
‘Outlander: Blood of My Blood’ Deep Dive: What Happens to Ellen & Brian?
[Warning: The below contains MAJOR spoilers for Outlander: Blood of My Blood Season 1.]
Outlander: Blood of My Blood ended its first season on a cliffhanger, especially in the case of Henry (Jeremy Irvine) and Julia (Hermione Corfield). Though we know for sure that the Beauchamps don’t make it back to their daughter, Claire (Caítriona Balfe), in the show’s present day, the Starz drama can take their story in any direction. Nothing about their history has been confirmed in the main show. However, that’s definitely not the case for Brian (Jamie Roy) and Ellen Fraser (Harriet Slater).
Over the past seven seasons of Outlander, viewers have learned bits and pieces about the fate of Jamie’s (Sam Heughan) parents. However, even though we know the couple’s ultimate destination, we only know some particulars of their journey. Blood of My Blood certainly still has the ability to surprise us when it comes to their romance. But what has already been revealed so far about their story?
Outlander has already dished out a ton of Brian and Ellen lore, and we don’t blame you if you can’t remember it all. So, if you’ve found yourself curious about if Ellen and Brian actually end up together, the cause of Ellen’s eventual death, and more after watching Season 1, you’ve come to the right place. Keep scrolling for the full history lesson, and find out what you’re in for once Season 2 arrives.
Do Ellen and Brian end up together?
As you’ve probably already assumed, Ellen and Brian are endgame. As we know by the end of Season 1, Ellen gets out of her arranged marriage to Malcolm Grant (Jhon Lumsden) and escapes with Brian instead. Their bliss doesn’t last long, however, once Brian learns that a Jacobite rebellion has begun. Brian decides that he can’t refuse the call to the men of the clans. Otherwise, he would have to leave Scotland forever.
Regardless, Ellen assures her love that she’ll stand by his side. “I’m your wife,” she says. “And we are one.” Get ready, Blood of My Blood fans: Things are surely about to get even more complicated for the Frasers.
What happens to Ellen in the Outlander universe?
Starz
It’s no secret that Ellen tragically dies at only 38 years old. Her fate was revealed all the way back in Season 1 of Outlander, when Jamie tells Claire about his family’s history on their wedding night. More recently, in Season 7, Jamie confesses that he’s been thinking of his mother because he “needs the strength of your dead in battle.”
“I remember seeing her in her coffin,” he recounts to Claire. “The women had braided her hair to be seemly, but my father wouldna have it. He’d have his last sight of her as she was to him. He was crazed with grief.” (We’re not ready for that heartbreaking scene, if Blood of My Blood reaches that point.)
How does Ellen die?
Ellen dies in childbirth. She was pregnant with Jamie’s little brother, Robert, who arrived stillborn. In the aforementioned conversation with Claire, Jamie describes approaching the coffin and moving Ellen’s hair to reveal Robert’s body underneath. “I thought he wouldna liked to be smothered so,” he says. “I lifted it up to let him out. My wee brother, curled up in her arms, his head on her breast. And then I thought, he’d be happier if I left him snug under those locks of red.”
How many children do Ellen and Brian have?
In total, Ellen and Brian had four children, though two of them died. Ellen and Brian’s had their first son, William, shortly after marrying each other. In fact, in Outlander Season 4, Ellen’s sister, Jocasta (Maria Doyle Kennedy), explains that Ellen had been pregnant before they tied the knot. William contracted smallpox and only lived to 11 years old. The couple went on to bear a daughter, Jenny (Kristin Atherton), and two years later, Jamie came along.
Does Brian remarry?
Brian never found love again after Ellen died. He remained in Lallybroch, which he built for Ellen, with Clan MacKenzie, all the way until his death a few years before the events of Outlander.
How does Brian die?
After Jamie was imprisoned at Fort William for defending his property against the English, Brian went there to negotiate his son’s release with Captain Jack Randall (Tobias Menzies). During that time, Brian witnessed Randall flogging Jamie for a second time. Brain collapsed, and though he was brought home to Lallybroch, he died a few days later.
Outlander: Blood of My Blood, Season 2, TBA, Starz
