Every Branch of the ‘Outlander: Blood of My Blood’ Family Tree, Explained

‘Outlander: Blood of My Blood‘ is a love story about how the parents of Jamie and Claire came together, and it has a lot of relatives to keep track of. Between rival lairds, feuding brothers and a time travel twist, the Outlander family tree has never been more crowded. Anyone jumping in from the main series may feel like they need a whiteboard.

Luckily, the ‘Outlander: Blood of My Blood’ family tree breaks down into a few clear groups. One way to follow it is to split the tree into Jamie’s MacKenzie side, Jamie’s Fraser side and Claire’s Beauchamp family. Here is how everybody connects.

Jamie’s Parents Ellen MacKenzie and Brian Fraser Anchor the Highland Story

Harriet Slater plays Ellen MacKenzie and Jamie Roy plays Brian Fraser, the parents of Jamie in eighteenth century Scotland. Their romance is one of the two beating hearts of the prequel. It is also the reason the Fraser and MacKenzie names end up tangled together in the original series.

Ellen is the headstrong and sharp witted daughter of the late Laird Red Jacob. Her father promised her before he died that she would never have to marry for anything except love. That promise sets up the whole courtship.

The path to the altar is anything but simple. Ellen and Brian come from rival clans, which complicates their budding relationship from the start. Brian takes a fancy to Ellen, and the pair elope and marry. Fans of the main series already know where that leads, but the journey looks far bumpier on screen.

Claire’s Parents Julia Moriston and Henry Beauchamp Bring in World War I

The second half of the family tree jumps to a very different setting. Hermione Corfield plays Julia Moriston and Jeremy Irvine plays Henry Beauchamp, the parents of Claire during World War I. That split timeline gives the show its two distinct flavors.

Julia is an independent woman who works at a postal censorship office during the war. She is married to Henry and eventually becomes the mother of Claire from the mainline show. Henry, meanwhile, is the man who will become Claire’s father.

The time travel element is where things get interesting. The prequel follows their relationship during World War I and their experiences involving time travel, and it places Claire’s parents into the same eighteenth century world as Jamie’s. The upcoming season is set to explore why Henry and Julia end up traveling back in time. That connection is the prequel’s biggest hook for longtime fans.

How the MacKenzie and Fraser Families Shape the Family Tree

Jamie’s ancestry is where the branches multiply. Red Jacob MacKenzie is Ellen’s father and Jamie’s maternal grandfather, while Simon Fraser, Lord Lovat, is Brian’s father and Jamie’s paternal grandfather. Tony Curran plays Simon Fraser. Two grandfathers, two clans and plenty of old grudges.

The MacKenzie siblings are a big part of the drama. Colum and Dougal MacKenzie are Ellen’s brothers, which makes both men Jamie’s maternal uncles, and Jocasta MacKenzie is Ellen’s sister and therefore his maternal aunt. Because Red Jacob named no heir, his two sons Dougal and Colum are locked in a battle for succession. That fight puts extra pressure on Ellen right when she is grieving.

The show leans into that rivalry. Harriet Slater compared the MacKenzie dynamic to ‘Succession,’ noting that Ellen was very much the favorite child and that jealousy runs through the family. Colum and Dougal, played by Séamus McLean Ross and Sam Retford, are also not fans of the Frasers. Long before Jamie was born, his future uncles were already making things difficult.

Murtagh, Davina and the Other Relatives Filling Out the Family Tree

Not everyone on the tree is a direct ancestor. Rory Alexander plays Murtagh Fitzgibbons Fraser, a cousin to Brian and future godfather to Jamie. Murtagh belongs to Brian’s extended family and is not part of Jamie’s direct ancestral line. Still, his bond with the family runs deep.

Murtagh often masks his feelings with humor, including the fact that he is secretly in love with Ellen. Fans of the original series will recognize the character, and seeing his younger years adds a fresh layer of emotion to what comes later. In the original series he is played by Duncan Lacroix.

Brian’s side of the tree carries its own heavy history. Davina is the head housekeeper at Castle Leathers and Brian’s mother, through an illegitimate and nonconsensual encounter with Lord Lovat. Simon has still accepted Brian as his heir, despite his being illegitimate. That backstory helps explain the tension hanging over the Fraser household.

Even the casting has its own family resemblance. Jamie Roy had auditioned for a small part in the main series, but the team found him so similar to Sam Heughan that they saved him for the prequel role. The prequel was renewed for a second season ahead of its series premiere. With so many relatives still to explore, do you think Ellen’s promise of marrying for love will hold up against the pull of clan loyalty in the seasons ahead?