Lord Lovat has spent much of Outlander: Blood of My Blood Season 2 trying to reclaim the power and status he believes he deserves. And after episode 8, he’s starting to get the hang of it. We sit down to talk with Tony Curran about what drives Lovat, his hunger for power, and whether there is anything he regrets about what happened with his son. Ready?
Here we go!
Lovat Has Never Been Good at Putting Anyone Before Himself
Lovat has repeatedly justified his actions by invoking his family, their name, and the future he wants for his descendants. But when we asked Curran whether he genuinely believes he is doing all this for his family or whether it is ultimately about his own power and ambition, the actor made it clear that “it’s all about Lovat.”
As Curran explained, Lovat is “a very ambitious man” who wants to recover the position he once had. His surroundings are a reminder of how far he believes he has fallen, with the actor describing where he lives as “a bit decrepit,” with “paint falling off the walls” and deteriorating brickwork. That decline only makes his desire to climb back to the top more urgent.
“I think the man has a very large ego. And he’s insatiable with his lascivious, his passions for life, for women, for power,” Curran continued. That combination explains quite a lot about the choices Lovat has made throughout the season. His ambitions may be dressed up as a mission to restore his family’s standing, but his appetite for power is personal.
Being honoured by the king and receiving a silver medal for taking Inverness for the crown gave him exactly the kind of recognition he wanted. As Curran put it, “that was a great way to begin [climb back to the top].” For Lovat, the recognition is another step towards reclaiming the status he believes should be his.
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Brian May Have Surprised His Father, But He Didn’t Change Him
Brian’s confrontation with his father could have been the moment that finally made Lovat question what he had done. After all, Brian came close to killing him, and the consequences of Lovat’s actions have put his relationship with his son beyond repair. But when we asked whether any part of Lovat feels bad about how things ended up with Brian, Curran’s answer was unequivocal: “No, he doesn’t feel bad at all.”
That doesn’t mean Lovat wasn’t surprised by what happened. Curran believes he was shocked that Brian would come at him with a blade and nearly kill him. There may even be a strange degree of admiration in his reaction. “I think in some ways he’s slightly, his admiration for him as well, like ‘oh my God, he actually, he had the balls to come at me and be a man and take vengeance for his wife’.”
Still, that doesn’t erase how close Lovat came to dying. As Curran pointed out, “he was this close to dying if it wasn’t for Julia and Davina coming in.” Brian’s actions may have impressed his father in some twisted way, but they also showed Lovat just how far the consequences of his decisions could reach.
If there is anything Lovat might regret, Curran suggests it is not what he did, but the fact that Brian and Julia discovered the truth. He believes Lovat may wish they had never found out that he poisoned the wine. Had Julia not told Ellen, and had the truth not reached Brian, the events might have been dismissed as an unfortunate miscarriage after what appeared to be a pleasant meal with Lovat.
Curran explained that Lovat would have preferred the whole thing to remain “very sotto voce.” Nobody should have known what happened or how it happened. But Julia confronted him, and he eventually admitted what he had done. The actor also makes clear that Lovat’s justification remains tied to “the family. It was about Fraser legacy for William to become king.”
That ambition is revealing because Brian himself blurts out the plan. Lovat’s actions have been driven by his belief that his family’s legacy must be secured, even if doing so means hurting the people closest to him. And Curran doesn’t think that belief is going anywhere.
“I don’t think he regrets what he did because he believes in the prophecy, that has been allegedly foretold,” he explained. That prophecy gives Lovat another reason to convince himself that his actions are justified. As long as he believes the future he wants is destined to happen, there is very little reason for him to question the damage he has caused along the way.
And that’s what makes Lovat such a dangerous presence in Outlander: Blood of My Blood. Brian has finally seen what his father is capable of, but Lovat still sees himself as a man pursuing a greater purpose. Even when confronted with the possibility of losing his son, he isn’t ready to abandon the future he has planned.
Outlander: Blood of My Blood Season 2 airs on Fridays at 8:00 PM ET only on STARZ and at midnight in STARZ App.
