Outlander: Blood of My Blood stars unpack surprise season 2 premiere twist – but know some fans may be disappointed

*Warning: This article contains spoilers for Outlander: Blood of My Blood season 2 episode 1.*

The last time we saw Henry (Jeremy Irvine) and Julia (Hermione Corfield), the pair – along with baby William – were at the stones and ready to travel back to the their 1920s time period.

But knowing that there was a big chance that William wouldn't be able to travel alongside them, they vowed that only one of them would try in that moment.

While Julia wanted it to be Henry, he handed William back to her and placed her hand on the stone, willing his wife and newborn son to possibly go back without him.

Whether it worked or not was left until season 2, with the first episode very quickly answering our burning questions about the fate of this love story. However, it certainly wasn't a happy ending (or beginning, if you will) as the pair were separated once again, with Henry managing to go back to 1924 but Julia left in the 18th century.

It's a heartbreaking note to kick off the new season, but how did the show's stars anticipate that fans would react to the twist?

Chatting exclusively to Radio Times, Irvine laughed: "Hopefully, by not going, ‘Oh no, not again!’"

Corfield also joked: "I think the fact when you speak to people they say they want Henry and Julia to be together and you know, maybe we do too now! We'd like them to go on a holiday. You know we'd like them to laugh at night."

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Irvine continued: "But I think that the way it was done… the whole side of Henry's story anyway, I didn't see that coming. It gives us as actors lots of obstacles to try and overcome as the character. That's really what you want as an actor. You want things in the way.

"It's not going to be very interesting if they just settle down and have this lovely, happy life together straight away. So we need a bit more, a bit more before we can get to that."

As we see, Julia is left to think on her feet once again and come up with a cover story for her departure, whilst Henry meets a more harrowing end as he wakes up in an asylum.

Whilst some fans may be saddened that Julia and Henry were so close to getting their deserved reunion in their own time period, it's all part of Outlander's charm and certainly wouldn't make for as gripping a storyline. As for what the future holds for the pair, we'll just have to continue tuning in to see whether they'll find their way back to each other.

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Outlander: Blood of My Blood season 2 will be available to watch on MGM+ from Saturday 19 September. Season 1 is available to stream on MGM+.

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Authors

Morgan Cormack is a Drama Writer for Radio Times, covering everything drama-related on TV and streaming. She previously worked at Stylist as an Entertainment Writer. Alongside her past work in content marketing and as a freelancer, she possesses a BA in English Literature.