&34;It was a huge shock to everyone,&34; says actress Harriet Slater. Outlander: Blood of My Blood star reveals season finale's horrifying death was a major scr

"It was a huge shock to everyone," says actress Harriet Slater.

Outlander: Blood of My Blood star reveals season finale's horrifying death was a major script change

"It was a huge shock to everyone," says actress Harriet Slater.

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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October 10, 2025 9:30 p.m. ET

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Jamie Roy. Credit:

- Prequel series *Outlander: Blood of My Blood *brought its first season to a close on Friday.

- The season 1 finale brought plenty of surprises, including a major and unexpected death.

- The finale also left both pairs of the show's central lovers in the midst of cliffhangers.

**This article contains spoilers about the *Outlander: Blood of My Blood *season 1 finale, titled* *"Something Borrowed."**

On *Outlander, *love is always dangerous.

The season 1 finale of prequel series *Outlander: Blood of My Blood *hammers that home with the surprising death of Malcolm Grant (Jhon Lumsden), the betrothed of Ellen MacKenzie (Harriet Slater), at the hands of her true love, Brian Fraser (Jamie Roy).

Of course, Ellen and Brian are star-crossed lovers in the ultimate sense, so what would their romance be without a little murder in the heat of the moment? (Tybalt anyone?). After Ellen learns from Brian himself that Colum (Seamus McLean Ross) broke his word and tried to have Brian killed, she concocts a plan to run away with Brian.

Jhon Lumsden as Malcolm Grant in 'Outlander Blood of my Blood'.

Sanne Gault/Starz

Everything is going smoothly until they're interrupted on their exit from Castle Leoch by Malcolm Grant, the man Ellen is promised to marry. Malcolm is understandably furious (and his uncle has only recently advised him that revenge is the best way to mend a broken heart). He calls Ellen a "jezebel" and tells the couple he won't let them pass as long as there's breath in his body.

Jamie Roy and Sadhbh Malin in 'Outlander: Blood of my Blood'.

He then attacks Brian with a dagger, and while fighting him off in self-defense, Brian stabs Malcolm in the gut and kills him, leaving his bloody body in the corridor as he and Ellen escape into the night. But that wasn't always meant to be Malcolm's fate.

"I was at a pub one night about four pints deep," Roy tells ** with a laugh. "And Michael Wilson, our producer, called me and he was like, 'Okay, I'm going to tell you what happens in the finale. You ready?' You are going to kill Malcolm Grant.' And I was like, 'Woah.'"

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Slater clarifies that the plot point came later in production. "We'd already done the read-through and that death wasn't in the read-through," she explains. "Then, there was a rewrite and suddenly Malcolm died. It was a huge shock to everyone, especially coming from Brian, who's the most gentle, loving guy."

Roy reiterates that Brian had no intention of killing Malcolm and it's only his desperation in the moment that leads to this tragic turn of events. "Ellen tries to talk him down and that doesn't work," Roy adds. "Malcolm draws his knife, so Brian intervenes. But he gives him several opportunities to back down. Ultimately, Malcolm doesn't, because he just talked to his uncle who's told him to get revenge — and it leads in his demise."

Sally Messham and Harriet Slater in 'Outlander: Blood of my Blood'.

Now, not only are Brian and Ellen in a forbidden romance, but he's killed the new laird of Clan Grant, a fact which will have major repercussions for the couple going forward. "They would've always run away," reflects Slater. "But it meant that they really did have to run away and leave everything behind, which we know Brian and Ellen do. It made sense of that."

Not to mention the fact that Malcolm seemed pretty determined, both in that moment and throughout the season. "If they hadn't have killed Malcolm, he would've gone after them," Slater adds. "His love for Ellen was so strong and so pure, he wouldn't have given up. He would've looked for her. He had to die in a really sad way in order for them to truly be free and be together, unfortunately. But they gave him a couple of chances."

Harriet Slater (or is it?) in 'Outlander: Blood of my Blood'.

**In spite of this turn of events, Slater does believe that Ellen would've gone through with her marriage to Malcolm, if only her brother had kept his word. "Brian comes into the bedroom and it's revealed what Colum's done, and she says, 'Colum broke his word, and that frees me of mine,'" Slater says. "It's like, 'I can be with you now, which is all I want' She never wanted to marry Malcolm, but she would've done it because she truly believed there was no way out, and she wouldn't have risked Brian dying."

"There is almost a relief in that," she continues. "Colum's done this thing, which I can never forgive, and I'll give him one last chance to admit it and make amends and he doesn't. So, she's like, 'That's it. I'll leave everything behind and start my new life.'"

Jamie Roy and Rory Alexander in 'Outlander: Blood of my Blood'.

Indeed, Colum's lies and his refusal to admit his treachery, despite Ellen's attempts to nudge him into again, are likely to create a permanent rift between the previously close siblings. "She would've still run away with Brian, but it would've maybe left the door open for Ellen and Colum to have some sort of relationship in the future," Slater reflects. "But the fact that he lies gives her the strength to leave. Although she would've always left, it would've been slightly harder. The fact that he didn't admit it makes it easier to shut that door forever."

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One thing that Ellen isn't leaving behind forever is her wedding pearls. The pearls, which Jamie (Sam Heughan) gives to Claire (Caitriona Balfe) on *Outlander, *who then later gives them to Brianna (Sophie Skelton), hold a lot of significance in this world. That fact didn't escape Slater, who was extremely anxious about filming the scenes that give the pearls their origin story.

"There's one shot where she takes it out the bag and then holds it up and we see it, and we had to do it a few times," she explains. "They needed it to be just right because these pearls mean so much. But it's really interesting that actually the pearls mean nothing to Ellen because she gets gifted them by this guy who doesn't mean anything to her. It's another gift amongst an array of gifts, which she wishes she didn't have because she doesn't want this wedding to go ahead. So, it's interesting that the pearls go on to mean so much in the future, but when they're first given, Ellen doesn't want them because she doesn't want any of this. But I was slightly nervous for that shot. I knew how important it was to get it just right."

Harriet Slater in 'Outlander: Blood of my Blood'.

Once Brian and Ellen run away together, it's them (and Murtagh) against the world. Murtagh leaves the couple alone to consummate their elopement. But things change the next morning when all of the clans light burning crosses in a call to action to join the Jacobite rebellion — a call that Brian must answer or face being labeled a traitor.

"It's definitely going to cause some rifts in several relationships," teases Roy of this twist.

But Slater knows that, if nothing else, Brian and Ellen will get through it together. "The way we see them at the end of season 1, they're stronger than ever," she says. "They've overcome so much together, and they do love each other. As Ellen says, 'I'm your wife and we are one.' So, whatever struggles they face next, they'll do it as a team."**

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