Aahana Swrup
The Jacobite uprising has finally taken more of a center stage in ‘Outlander: Blood of My Blood’ season 2. In episode 4, clans MacKenzie and Fraser march out to a battle against the redcoats under Dougal and Lovat’s joint leadership. On the other hand, Colum, Ned, and the women of Leoch are left behind in the castle, eagerly awaiting the outcome of the campaign. However, what should have been an uneventful time ends up being anything but that when MacKinney attacks the castle with ulterior motives of his own. Yet, even when he manages to subjugate Colum, the leader of the clan, Leoch remains out of his reach with Ellen still in the wind. Thus, the eldest MacKenzie heir must find a way to retain her own freedom as the last surviving hope of the clan against the opportunist mutineer. SPOILERS AHEAD.
MacKinney’s Arrival Pushes Ellen to Take the Reins
When Dougal leaves on his Jacobite campaign, it nearly empties out Castle Leoch as most men follow him into battle. This leaves a skeletal crew and Colum behind to mostly lie in wait. Initially, this paves the way for family drama between the MacKenzies, who have all gathered on the same dining table. Naturally, the growing hostility against Ellen from all fronts compels her to leave the meal earlier. In doing so, she manages to miss the entrance of a villain into the palace halls. MacKinney has long been eyeing the throne of clan MacKenzie, certain that he would be Red Jacob’s successor. Nonetheless, the latter’s unexpected death has left his son, Colum, in the role. MacKinney believes that he is the rightful heir of the lairdship and thus wants to take Leoch from its current owner.
Nonetheless, the traitor has made one pivotal mistake. When clan MacKenzie made the decision to fight for the Jacobite cause, they made themselves vulnerable to the possibility of defeat. Thus, to secure themselves from losing their lands in such a possibility, Ellen had pitched the idea of having the deeds to the land in her name. Since she is a woman, she won’t be implicated in the uprising even if the Crown emerges victorious. Unexpectedly, this now protects Leoch from MacKinney’s greedy hands. Even though he has the other MacKenzie women as his prisoners, Ellen isn’t present among the same crowd. Once she realizes the castle is being infiltrated, she uses her extensive knowledge of the property to spy on Colum and MacKinney. As such, she realizes the importance of her own safety. Nonetheless, instead of hiding away and waiting for rescue, she decides to take her fate into her own hands.
Ellen Mobilizes the MacKenzie Women to Pick Off McKinney’s Men One by One
As a kid, Ellen used to consistently lose against her brothers in their game of hide-and-seek. After witnessing her frustration with this unfavorable outcome, Red Jacob decided to intervene to teach her an important life lesson. The reason his daughter would always get caught was that she was hiding in all the places one would expect a young girl to hide. She would play by the rules, avoiding climbing or hiding in any risky places since it wasn’t proper for a woman. Red encouraged Ellen to remain unpredictable and break free of the restrictions society would enforce upon her because of her gender. Now, with Leoch under MacKinney’s attack, the eldest daughter remembers the same lessons and devises her plan. First, she intercepts the men taking the other MacKenzie women to be locked up.
Ellen kills their escorts and frees her sisters so that they can mobilize and find their strength in numbers. Even though some of them, most notably Maura, are skeptical of her plans, they agree to throw in their lot with her. Under her guidance, they target MacKinney’s patrolling men. They play the part of a victim and a damsel to lure them into dark corners, where Ellen awaits to stab them and slit their throats. Her scheme works splendidly because no one is expecting the MacKenzies to fight back, since none of the men are around. Yet, resistance isn’t as easy and even leads to the death of one of the MacKenzies: Janet. Although the others mourn her death, they also take pride in the role she had played in helping them kill all of MacKinney’s men, leaving only the clan leader and his son to be taken down.
Ellen Puts an Arrow Through MacKinney and Learns of Lovat’s Devious Plan
After Janet’s death, Maura grows frustrated and decides to leave the MacKenzies to participate in a dialogue with MacKinney. Initially, Ellen and the others believe she has betrayed them in search of the protection that the maiden Grant’s name can bestow upon her. However, in the hall, Colum and Ned witness as she stands up to the mutineer and demands his surrender using her family’s name as a threat instead of a shield. Nonetheless, it doesn’t help her much in the moment. Therefore, when Ellen finally makes her move and notches her arrow against MacKinney, she doesn’t seem hesitant in the slightest about letting Maura, who has been taken hostage, become collateral damage. Fortunately, it doesn’t come to that.
Instead, a moment of surprise allows Colum to stab the villain in the neck, which allows Maura to escape from the line of fire. Then, Ellen lets her arrow fly and find its target in McKinney. On the downside, his son, Robert, manages to escape once it becomes clear that his father has perished. Even so, the battle isn’t over just yet. During his time with the other leader, Colum learned that Lovat had sold his loyalty to the Crown. As such, he plans on leading Dougal and the rest of the MacKenzie clan into a lethal trap under the guise of an alliance. This is why MacKinney only brought so few men with him to this mutiny. For Ellen, this also becomes a call for concern over Brian’s safety since she doesn’t believe her lover to be privy to his father’s schemes. As such, in an attempt to reveal Lovat’s treachery, she and Grace set out on a mission to warn Dougal and the others.
Read More: Outlander: Blood of My Blood Season 2 Episode 2 Recap: The Veil of Time
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