Outlander: Blood of My Blood Season 2 Episode 6, titled “Small Mercies,” delivered a reveal that changes how viewers see one of the original show’s most brutal scenes. Brian Fraser (Jamie Roy) came face to face with a 14-year-old Black Jack Randall at Fort William and chose to spare his life. That decision, made out of basic decency, unknowingly protected the man who would later flog, torture, and assault Brian’s son, Jamie Fraser (Sam Heughan), at the very same fort.
The episode aired on Starz on October 23, 2026, and sits at the halfway point of a 10-episode season that runs through November 20, 2026. For longtime fans, the hour landed as one of the prequel’s most painful entries yet.
Trigger warning: This article discusses torture, flogging, and pregnancy loss.
Brian Fraser’s Mercy at Fort William
The rescue mission at the center of “Small Mercies” follows Brian Fraser and Murtagh Fitzgibbons Fraser (Rory Alexander) as they attempt to free Dougal MacKenzie (Sam Retford) from British custody. Dougal has been tortured for information at Fort William, the same location where Jamie was later flogged in the original Outlander series.
After pulling Dougal from a flooding cell, the group encounters a young redcoat. Dougal, who has just endured torture at the boy’s hands, wants to kill him. Brian stops him.
“He’s only a boy,” Brian says, refusing to hand over the dagger.
That boy is Jonathan “Black Jack” Randall, played as a teenager by Finley Glasgow. The character is later played as an adult by Tobias Menzies in the original series, where he becomes the franchise’s most hated villain. The episode shows Randall already displaying cruel tendencies, including torturing Dougal with a piece of coal.
The title “Small Mercies” carries heavy irony. Brian’s mercy to a child soldier directly preserves the man who will one day destroy his son’s life.
How the Episode Connects to Jamie’s Flogging
Original Outlander viewers will remember Jamie’s flogging at Fort William in Season 1. Flashbacks in the twelfth episode showed Jamie receiving one hundred lashes at Randall’s orders, leaving permanent scars on his back. The punishment came after Jamie stood up to Randall to protect his sister.
The prequel adds a new layer to that trauma. Brian spared Randall without knowing who he would become. Years later, Brian would witness Jamie’s second flogging at the same fort. Believing his son had died from the torture, Brian collapsed on the spot. He was taken home to Lallybroch, where he later died from a stroke, never learning that Jamie had survived.
That chain of events gives Jamie’s flogging a deeper sadness. The man who ordered it was saved by Jamie’s own father.
Sam Retford Apologizes to Sam Heughan
Sam Retford, who plays Dougal, spoke about the weight of the reveal in interviews after the episode aired. He joked about apologizing to Sam Heughan for what Dougal’s choice to listen to Brian ultimately cost Jamie.
“Sorry, future Sam Heughan, what you had to endure because Dougal decided this one time to be a nice person and listen to Brian”.
Retford also told TV Insider that Dougal would have handled things differently if he had his way.
“If only Brian had given me his dirk, we could have!”.
Director Azhur Saleem explained the approach to introducing a younger Randall. Speaking with TV Line, Saleem said the goal was to show a darkness forming in the boy before he fully understands it himself.
“We played it… where there’s something kind of growing inside him, but even he doesn’t yet understand what it is. He’s finding himself, in a dark way”.
Ellen’s Loss and Lovat’s Poison
The Fort William storyline runs parallel to another tragedy in the episode. Ellen MacKenzie (Harriet Slater) is brought to Castle Leathers by Lord Lovat (Tony Curran), who claims he is protecting her. During a dinner, the seer Maisri (Katharine O’Donnelly) serves spiced wine that has been poisoned. Lovat arranged it because he believes a prophecy requires his line to end with a single heir. He wants Ellen to be unable to bear another child.
Ellen begins to lose blood at the table. Julia Beauchamp (Hermione Corfield) suffers the same symptoms and confronts Lovat. Ellen is taken back to Castle Leoch, where the household cares for her. The episode makes clear that her pregnancy has ended.
The loss adds another layer of grief to the Fraser family story, even before Jamie is born.
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Where to Watch Blood of My Blood Season 2
Outlander: Blood of My Blood Season 2 premiered on September 18, 2026, with new episodes arriving weekly on Fridays on Starz.
- United States: Starz cable channel and the Starz app.
- United Kingdom: MGM+ via Prime Video Channels, with episodes arriving on Saturdays.
- Canada: Starz through Crave.
- Australia: Stan.
- India: No confirmed Starz or MGM+ launch for Season 2 at the time of writing.
The season stars Jamie Roy as Brian Fraser, Harriet Slater as Ellen MacKenzie, Jeremy Irvine as Henry Beauchamp, Hermione Corfield as Julia Beauchamp, Sam Retford as Dougal MacKenzie, and Rory Alexander as Murtagh Fitzgibbons Fraser.
For more detailed recaps and behind-the-scenes coverage of the Outlander universe, keep reading VvipTimes.
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