In the final episode of Outlander: Blood of My Blood season 1, Henry successfully freed Julia and their infant son, William, from Castle Leathers. They made a great escape to Craigh na Dun, where they hoped to finally return to the 20th century to be reunited with their daughter, Claire. The trouble was that they didn't know for certain whether William could travel through the stones. It would be a significant risk, but under close pursuit from Arch Bug, Henry took the gamble and placed Julia's hand on the stone for her.
This is, naturally, where this first season of the Outlander spinoff left things, and so we waited a year to discover where this couple landed. We obviously knew they couldn't have been successfully reunited with Claire, since in Outlander she grew up without her parents. It was theorized that Henry and Julia must end up in a different time entirely—perhaps further in the future, or to their daughter's adulthood later in the 18th century. It would certainly have been interesting, but Outlander: Blood of My Blood quickly revealed that wasn't the case.
The first moments of Outlander: Blood of My Blood season 2 reveal that Henry placing Julia's hand on the stone came to absolutely nothing. For some reason, Craigh na Dun didn't pull Claire's mother through time. However, this isn't to say no traveling happened at all. As Arch Bug arrived to subdue Henry, he stabbed a dagger through his chest and smashed his head against the stone. Injured and exhausted, Henry leaned a hand against the stone himself and disappeared. He traveled back to the 20th century without his wife.
Why Julia Couldn't Pass Through The Stones
It's always been clear in Outlander that the standing stones work in mysterious ways. One day, Henry and Julia's granddaughter, Brianna, will spend some time studying the magical phenomenon that pulls certain people through time, and she comes to understand the process fairly well. The Beauchamps, however, have no idea what they are doing. Julia doesn't know why she was able to travel through the stones to begin with, and when she and her husband attempt to do so again, they have made no preparations to ensure success. They couldn't have, because they simply don't know.
There was notably no buzzing before Henry put Julia's hand on the stone. It wasn't until Henry himself came close after being injured that the tell-tale sound began. The reason for this is that, in that moment, Henry had possession of a gemstone. These tend to work as a sort of currency for the stones in the on-screen Outlander franchise. The dagger Mr. Bug used to stab Henry was adorned with a small gem on the handle, and it was this that would have allowed him to travel through. Because Julia didn't have a gemstone herself, she had no chance of doing the same.
Of course, there may be more to this. Perhaps the stones didn't accept Julia because she was holding William, whom we don't yet know has the time-travel gene. There's still much to the mystery.
Henry's Treatment In Outlander: Blood Of My Blood Explained
When Henry accidentally tumbles through the stones, he lands in the year 1924. This is precisely where the Beauchamps intended to travel. It's October when Henry lands, about the time that little Claire would turn six. However, the very disoriented Henry can't yet find his way back to his daughter. As it turns out, after appearing near Craigh na Dun, Henry was be found injured and seemingly out of his mind.
Throughout Outlander: Blood of My Blood season 2, episode 1, Henry is at a psychiatric hospital in Inverness. He tells the staff there that his name is Henry Grant, keeping the name he used while in service as a Bladier. This means they couldn't identify him as a missing person, and instead considered him an otherwise unidentified veteran with severe shell shock. A rather eager practitioner sees this as an opportunity to exercise a very specific type of treatment—electroshock therapy.
Today, this is known as electroconvulsive therapy, and is used under anesthesia to treat severe mental health conditions (via National Library of Medicine). Back during World War I, however, electroshock therapy was extremely coercive, painful, and traumatic. The idea at the time was that soldiers with what we now call Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder could be shocked back into shape and returned to the front lines. In Outlander: Blood of My Blood season 2, the treatment is being used on Henry to force him to cope with his PTSD and put aside the delusion about traveling through time.
How Outlander: Blood Of My Blood Season 2 Explains Why Henry Never Returns To Claire
The doctor in Outlander: Blood of My Blood season 2 essentially wants to shock the pain and trauma out of Henry's mind. He tells him to think about the war during the treatment, but Henry's mind goes to Claire instead. Interestingly, this means that, instead of battle, it is Claire that is wiped from Henry's mind. It's for this reason that he stays, docile, at the hospital. He has completely forgotten that Claire exists and therefore has no reason to tell anyone his true identity or to make efforts to get back to his daughter, as Julia would want him to.
Can Baby William Travel Through The Stones?
A big question posed by the end of Outlander: Blood of My Blood season 1 is whether little William Beauchamp can time travel. Because both Julia and Henry passed through the stones, the assumption is that William would also be able to. However, these magical structures work in mysterious ways. There is really no way to know for certain until William touches the stones himself under the correct circumstances. Since that hasn't happened yet, there is still no clear answer.
When the time comes, this will surely be a key detail for the overarching on-screen Outlander franchise. Claire has no idea that she has a younger brother, and we currently have no idea what happens to this character. If he must forever remain in the past, then we can assume that Julia herself never leaves the 18th century either. This means that, unless some tragedy befalls them, members of Claire's family were still likely in Inverness when she arrived there in 1743. If William can travel, however, he could literally be in any time or place by the events of Outlander. Only time will tell.
Release Date
September 18, 2026
Episodes
10
English (US) ·