Outlander: Blood of my Blood season 1 episode 3 ending explained: What is Julia going to do about the baby?

The quest to find the new laird of Clan MacKenzie continues in Outlander: Blood of my Blood season 1 episode 3, as the oath-taking ceremony nears. Colum and Dougal continue to build new alliances that will help them in their goals, to the detriment of their sister Ellen's future. However, what they don't know is that someone else is courting favors in hopes of becoming the new laird.

Meanwhile, the overarching story of Outlander: Blood of my Blood sees Julia Beauchamp at Castle Leathers hiding a huge secret. Realizing that she's running out of time in keeping her pregnancy under wraps, she decides to ensure the future of her unborn baby. Julia's plan includes a desperate move with Lord Lovat, aka Simon Fraser, Brian Fraser's father.

On the other hand, Henry is still looking for Julia, Brian is losing hope of being with the woman he loves, and Ellen is making a huge decision about her future and the future of Clan MacKenzie.

Disclaimer: This article contains major spoilers for Outlander: Blood of my Blood season 1 episode 3. Reader's discretion is advised.

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Outlander: Blood of my Blood season 1 episode 3: What is Julia planning to do about the baby?

Outlander: Blood of my Blood season 1 episode 3 sees Julia Beauchamp, now a maidservant at Castle Leathers, make a choice to ensure that her unborn baby is going to live. A flashback scene in the Outlander: Blood of my Blood season 1 premiere confirms that Julia is with child, a daughter, as Henry has revealed.

Julia makes an impossible decision (Image via Starz)

But now that she's a maidservant at Castle Leathers, she lives a prisoner's life. While she tries to find a way to escape, she always fails to leave the estate, and being in an unfamiliar place in an equally unknown timeline, she reckons that staying at Castle Leathers would be a more favorable option.

However, she has to face a challenge. She is pregnant, and while she can keep the baby a secret for a couple of months, Julia is going to start showing soon. Davina Porter, the head maidservant whom Claire discovers to be Brian Fraser's mother, is also starting to suspect that Julia is with child. It forces Julia to make an impossible decision.

There are only two things she can do that will ensure her safety. She can get rid of the baby, and Lord Lovat will never have to know anything better, but that's not an option for Julia. She hopes to give her baby a future and a chance for Claire to see her sibling in the future. So, she takes inspiration from Davina and Brian's story to ensure that her unborn baby lives - to make the baby part of the Fraser family.

At the end of Outlander: Blood of my Blood season 1 episode 3, Julia enters Lord Lovat's chambers at night. Although the episode ends just as she takes off her garments in front of Lord Lovat, Julia's plan is clear as day. With Lord Lovat's interest in her, Julia is planning to sleep with him so she can pass her baby off as Lord Lovat's in the future. It means the baby will live.

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Who becomes the new laird of Clan MacKenzie in Outlander: Blood of my Blood season 1 episode 3?

Colum and Dougal (Image via Starz)

The quest to find the new laird for Clan MacKenzie has been a running theme since the beginning of the series. The search comes to a head in Outlander: Blood of my Blood season 1 episode 3, as Colum and Dougal fight for the position. Colum is courting the Grants for support, and it's the reason he has arranged for Ellen to marry Malcolm Grant.

Meanwhile, Dougal has asked for support from another party, even going so far as to promise Ellen's hand in marriage to MacRannoch. The brothers' rivalry is dividing Clan MacKenzie, and neither of them even realizes it. Ellen, on the other hand, is even more aware of the divide that is happening, so she hatches a master plan with the help of Ned Gowan, the clan's trusty advisor.

At the end of Outlander: Blood of my Blood season 1 episode 3, Ellen's plan becomes a success. In a twist that not many saw coming, Colum becomes the new laird for Clan MacKenzie, but in a way, Dougal is also taking the leadership position. Their official designation is that Colum is the peacetime laird and Dougal is the war chieftain.

It's the best of both worlds for Clan MacKenzie to have two leaders who have sworn their loyalty to each other and who possess different qualities. It also unites the clan, and it may be enough for Ellen to accept the fate that her brothers have written for her.

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Outlander: Blood of my Blood season 1 episode 3: Why do Colum and Dougal decide to share chieftain duties for Clan MacKenzie?

James MacKinney in Outlander: Blood of my Blood season 1 episode 3 (Image via Starz)

Colum and Dougal's rivalry to become the new laird has been a major plot in the Clan MacKenzie's story. However, one person in Outlander: Blood of my Blood season 1 episode 3 threatens to take everything from them. What they don't know is that while they focus on besting each other, there's another person working in the background to swoop in and take the leaked position.

James MacKinney is also lobbying to become laird of the clan, and Ellen learns that he has been courting the Grants to get their support. If he becomes the new laird, it will leave both Colum and Dougal, and the rest of the MacKenzies, without any power. It would have taken everything from them, which is a good thing that they agreed to share power at the end.

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Is Ellen MacKenzie going to marry Malcolm Grant?

A still from the show (Image via Instagram/@outlander_starz)

During the oath-taking ceremony in Outlander: Blood of my Blood season 1 episode 3, Ellen MacKenzie leans towards accepting her betrothal to Malcolm Grant. She has previously said that she doesn't have a choice now that Colum has given her word to the Grants. Going back on it would cause a major rift, and it's a price she has somewhat resigned herself to accept for the betterment of the clan.

At the ceremony, Ellen wears Malcolm Grant's gift for her, and during their conversation, she also admits to him that she doesn't see any better match than the two of them. However, if Ellen decides to go against the marriage, she has to find a way to do it without jeopardizing the entire Clan MacKenzie.

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Catch Outlander: Blood of my Blood season 1 episode 3, along with the show's previous episodes, streaming on Starz.