We’re back! Outlander: Blood of My Blood Season 1 Episode 5 ‘Needfire’ is a turning point in the story. Brian and Ellen make a decision they can’t turn back from, while their love begins to have its first consequences, and Julia discovers something disturbing about her unborn child. Ready?
Here we go!
Handfast on Outlander: Blood of My Blood Season 1 Episode 5 ‘Needfire’
Brian and Ellen have us falling more and more in love! And Outlander: Blood of My Blood Season 1 Episode 5 ‘Needfire’ is proof of why. Their connection and intimacy…it’s pure magic. And we love them. From their first meeting at the dance to their moments alone together…there’s something about them that keeps us staring and makes our hearts race. We’re glue, baby!
We have several scenes to choose from because each one is special. The ball and the coronation gave us chills in the best sense of the word. Something forbidden is happening before everyone’s eyes. A moment when gazes burned only for those who knew how to understand. The handfast moment moved us because of the way Brian shows such respect to Ellen.
Brian doesn’t just want a romp with her; he wants her as his wife. Showing how much they belong together. When they said those words… Jamie and Claire were on our minds, we swore. It was beautiful. And the moment of the two of them together for the first time was wonderful and emotional.
However, what was most special to us about Outlander: Blood of My Blood Season 1 Episode 5 ‘Needfire’ were the small moments. The way Brian touches Ellen, the way they look at each other, how Brian never takes his gaze off her while he undresses her… those moments are so intimate… almost more so than the act itself.
And if there’s one thing we love above all else, it’s that this is the choice Ellen made. As she acknowledges in Outlander: Blood of My Blood Season 1 Episode 5 ‘Needfire,’ her entire life was designed for her. Especially since her father died, she’s been marked by how she should behave, who she should marry, and the way she should be. But Brian and that moment are her choice.
No matter what happens from now on, no matter if she walks down the aisle to marry Malcolm Grant, her true choice is Brian. Her true wedding will always be the handfast they just shared. Brian will be her only husband, her only man. Always, even if circumstances separate them. And that brings tears to our eyes. The only thing that mars our happiness is Murtagh finding out the hard way that Brian and Ellen are together… and he doesn’t deserve that.
MORE: What Outlander: Blood of My Blood Season 1 Episode 4 Teaches Us About Julia and Henry
Alcohol to Drown the Sorrows
Speaking of Murtagh, he feels truly betrayed in Outlander: Blood of My Blood Season 1 Episode 5 ‘Needfire.’ Ellen is the woman he’s in love with, and Brian… he’s his brother. They’ve always been together, watching each other’s backs in every adventure. There’s no one Murtagh trusts more than him. And Brian betrayed him. The truth is, Brian should have told Murtagh what had happened with Ellen from the beginning.
Murtagh never hid his feelings for Ellen. It’s not Brian’s fault that he fell in love with the same woman as Murtagh, but it is certainly Brian’s fault that he wasn’t honest with him. Brian had many opportunities, including in this episode, to do so, but he chose to hide what was happening from Murtagh. And that couldn’t go well. That’s truly the betrayal; that’s what hurt Murtagh the most. His brother overheard him hatching plan after plan to win Ellen over, and all the while, he was with her behind his back.
We don’t think Murtagh will forgive Brian so easily. And it’s going to hurt us to see them fight… but Brian owes him an apology and an explanation. However, despite Brian’s betrayal in Outlander: Blood of My Blood Season 1 Episode 5 ‘Needfire,’ it didn’t escape our notice that Murtagh didn’t repay him in kind. He could have exposed Brian and Ellen in front of everyone to get even, but he didn’t. He got drunk and got into a ridiculous fight, yes, but he didn’t rat them out.
And he didn’t because, despite his pain, Murtagh saw them. Beyond the kiss. He saw them look at each other and touch each other. For anyone else, it wasn’t anything special. But Murtagh knows better. He knows Brian better than anyone and realizes that what he feels for Ellen isn’t something fleeting or unimportant. He loves her. Truly loves her. He looks at her as if she were his everything and touches her as if he doesn’t want to let her go. And she looks at him the same way. They’re in love.
Brian may have betrayed him and now wants nothing more than to beat the hell out of him, but beneath all that pain and anger, Murtagh loves him enough not to be the one to take his happiness away. Not him, not Ellen. After all, loving someone means wanting them to be happy, even if it’s not with you. And Murtagh knows he doesn’t stand a chance with Ellen. He’s lost her. That said, Murtagh’s drunkenness has its own consequences.
MORE: Outlander: Blood of My Blood Season 1, Episode 4 Review: ‘A Soldier’s Heart’
Feeling Seen for the First Time in Outlander: Blood of My Blood Season 1 Episode 5 ‘Needfire’
Before we analyze the consequences of Murtagh’s drunkenness in Outlander: Blood of My Blood Season 1 Episode 5 ‘Needfire,’ we need to talk about Jocasta. While Colum and Dougal envy Ellen for the love their father showed her, Jocasta’s motives are different. Jocasta envies her because everyone sees her, while she remains invisible.
Ellen is the most beautiful, the most brilliant, the most delicate, the most intelligent, the best strategist—in short, the perfect woman. While Jocasta is…Jocasta. No one notices Jocasta if Ellen is there because Jocasta isn’t as beautiful or as brilliant as her. It’s always been that way, with her father…and with men. Jocasta always lived in Ellen’s shadow. And she was always aware of it.
Jocasta’s father married her off to a random old man, while his precious Ellen was allowed to remain single, vowing that he would never allow her to marry for any reason other than her own choosing. And the only man Jocasta truly wants, the only man she loves… is fascinated with Ellen. For Murtagh, there is only Ellen, not her. As always. In Jocasta’s eyes, Ellen has always taken away what she wanted without even having to ask.
But in Outlander: Blood of My Blood Season 1, Episode 5 ‘Needfire,’ Jocasta felt she was done being in Ellen’s shadow. Murtagh was finally seeing her. And he was seeing her on that night where, for the first time, she was allowing herself to be free. The night when, for the first time, Jocasta allowed herself to stop being a Mackenzie and just be herself, living her desires, without consequences. So when Murtagh kisses her, she doesn’t hesitate to kiss him back and let herself go. It’s like a dream come true.
But that dream quickly turned into a nightmare in Outlander: Blood of My Blood Season 1 Episode 5 ‘Needfire’ when Murtagh mentions her name. “Ellen.” It’s like a bucket of cold water for Jocasta. For the first time, she had allowed herself to believe that Murtagh saw her, and that for once she wasn’t in Ellen’s shadow. But it was only a deception, an illusion. Murtagh only kissed her and was only touching her like that because he was imagining Ellen, wanting to be with her. Jocasta feels furious and humiliated, but most of all, she feels sad, as is normal.
As for Murtagh, he realized his mistake as soon as he made it, but it was too late. We don’t think Murtagh meant to hurt Jocasta. He truly cares for her and considers her a friend, but nothing more. It’s just that the pain and drunkenness clouded his judgment for a moment. He kissed Jocasta out of spite and without thinking about the consequences. Jocasta is always by his side, and Murtagh sees how she looks at him. He recognizes that look because he looks at Ellen the same way.
Is a moment in Outlander: Blood of My Blood Season 1 Episode 5 ‘Needfire’ when Murtagh feels unworthy and as if no one will love him, choose him; he just needs someone who will. And that’s Jocasta. So he doesn’t think about the consequences or the harm he’ll cause her. It’s not fair, but, half drunk, he can’t think about that; he just needs it. He needs her. He needs to feel chosen for once. But when he closed his eyes… he only saw Ellen, and her name escaped his lips.
What Murtagh does isn’t fair, but we think it’s understandable. However, no one is more sorry than he is because he knows that this moment of weakness, this mistake, could have cost him one of the people he cares about most.
MORE: Meet The Mackenzies & The Frasers in Outlander: Blood of My Blood Press Conference
Hope Is the Last Thing to Lose
On the other hand, Henry and Julia’s story picks up a bit in Outlander: Blood of My Blood Season 1 Episode 5 ‘Needfire,’ though it still moves too slowly for our liking. The truth is, a part of us felt betrayed when Brian left Julia standing there. Understandably, the thing about his supposed brother hit him hard, and with the fortune teller coming, they didn’t have many options, but he made a deal with Julia, and it’s not fair for him to leave her in that house, breaking his word, at the first setback that arises.
That said, we’re moved by Henry’s determination to find Julia. As he tells Ned, he has no other option. He can’t just forget her and move on. As for Julia, the fortune teller’s visit leaves her uneasy. She doesn’t believe in such things, but there’s no way that fortune teller knew about Claire, and she described her perfectly. So that leads her to question what she said about her unborn child.
Does that mean she and her little one will never return to Henry and Claire? What will she do now that she’s increasingly trapped in that house? It’s in moments of anxiety like these that she most needs to feel Henry by her side. That’s why she takes out her wedding ring, why she remembers her vows. It’s the only way to feel him close and pretend he’s holding her.
However, Julia is increasingly in danger. We knew we couldn’t completely trust Davina, and Outlander: Blood of My Blood Season 1 Episode 5 ‘Needfire,’ shows us why. She tells Lord Lovat the truth about Julia’s pregnancy. And we don’t understand why. Lord Lovat forces her to behave like a stranger with her own child and makes her serve him until she’s exhausted.
If Davina were just the housekeeper of that house, we might understand her loyalty, but as Brian’s mother, considering how Lord Lovat treats him and the distance he imposed on her from his own son, why would Davina be loyal to someone like that? Besides, she’s aware of Julia’s situation, and as a woman, shouldn’t she have some empathy? Luckily, Lord Lovat didn’t believe her, but the look on his face at the end makes us think that perhaps the doubt was planted in him.
MORE: Did Julia Make the Right Decision in Outlander: Blood of My Blood Episode 3?
Other Stuff in Outlander: Blood of My Blood Season 1 Episode 5 ‘Needfire’
- We’re glad Brian and Ellen are starting to share things about their lives and are giving them these moments.
- Now that they’re married through a handfasting, what will happen with Ellen and Malcolm’s wedding?
- Malcolm, you’re a good man, but Ellen Mackenzie belongs to no one, least of all to you. Realize that.
- The barbs between Jocasta and Ellen kept us glued to the screen like we were in a tennis match.
- I’m glad Jocasta decided to be free for once, even if it meant paying a price.
- I can’t wait for Murtagh to confront Brian… and apologize to Jocasta.
- Julia’s son is the future King of Scotland. Could that be true? What does it mean for Julia and Henry? This left us with so many questions.
- This episode was twist after twist! We loved it.
- Our only gripe is that Henry and Julia’s storyline is moving too slowly. They should have met by now.
- I hope Brian apologizes to Julia for leaving her behind, and they can talk about everything they have going on.
- We’re not surprised by the reason Lord Lovat lost his power. But we still don’t understand why he blames the Mackenzies.
- Now that Brian and Ellen have slept together, what will happen with that rumor Lord Lovat started? Ned swore to Henry that he had nothing to worry about…
Outlander: Blood of My Blood airs on Fridays on STARZ.
