Outlander: Blood of my Blood's Conor MacNeill teases significance of Ned not specifying gender of...

&34;You should read something into that,&34; quips MacNeill. Outlander: Blood of my Blood's Conor MacNeill teases significance of Ned not specifying gender of l

"You should read something into that," quips MacNeill.

Outlander: Blood of my Blood's Conor MacNeill teases significance of Ned not specifying gender of lost love

"You should read something into that," quips MacNeill.

By Maureen Lee Lenker

Maureen Lee Lenker

Maureen Lee Lenker is a senior writer at ** with over nine years of experience. An award-winning journalist, she's written for Turner Classic Movies, *Ms. Magazine*, *The Hollywood Reporter*, and more.

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on September 25, 2025 4:34 p.m. ET

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**This article contains spoilers about season 1, episode 5 of *Outlander: Blood of my Blood, *"Needfire."**

Ned Gowan (Conor MacNeill) is a master of secrets.

Bladier to the Grant clan and eventual lawyer to various Highland parties (including one Jamie Fraser), Ned Gowan knows the importance of discretion and keeping things close to the vest. But in a more unguarded moment in episode 5 of *Outlander: Blood of my Blood, *he may have revealed a key part of his identity.

While both at Beltane with their respective clans, Ned and Henry Beauchamp (Jeremy Irvine) have a heart to heart about lost love. Ned tells Henry that he met the love of his life in Edinburgh years past, but that they had to part and Ned started anew. Ultimately that parting saved Ned's life.

Harriet Slater and Conor MacNeill on 'Outlander: Blood of my Blood'.

Sanne Gault/Starz

Henry asks Ned if he's ever loved again, which Ned pointedly does not answer.

It's a seemingly average, if also intimate, conversation about love, except for one key detail — Ned never refers to his lover's gender. He doesn't use the word "she" when discussing the story, though Henry assumes that Ned is talking about a woman.

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When we ask creator and showrunner Matthew B. Roberts about whether we should read anything into the omission, he smiles and simply says, "Maybe," before adding, "You pay attention."

MacNeill, however, is a bit more forthcoming in reflecting on what it might mean for Ned. "You should read what you want to read into it," he teases. "You should read something into that. It also brings a really interesting dynamic to Henry and Ned too. As to Ned's feelings for Henry potentially, I don't know."

Sadhbh Malin, Harriet Slater, and Conor MacNeill on 'Outlander: Blood of my Blood'.

Sanne Gault/Starz

As for Ned's lack of response to Henry's question about loving again, MacNeill thinks it speaks volumes. "It's an answer in itself," he says. "Moving to the Highlands and living with this family in particular, reputation is everything. He has not been with anyone else since then. He lives a very solitary life and commits himself to the MacKenzies completely."

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*Outlander: Blood of my Blood *airs new episodes on Fridays at 8 p.m. ET/PT on Starz. Episodes are also available the same day on the Starz app.

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