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What happens to Malcolm Grant in Outlander after Blood of My Blood appearance?
Blood of My Blood fans are curious about the character
WARNING: This article contains spoilers from Outlander: Blood of My Blood and the Outlander novels by Diana Gabaldon
Outlander: Blood of My Blood has now premiered its first two episodes on both sides of the Atlantic with a positive response from the fandom.
The show serves as a prequel to the phenomenally successful historical romance drama Outlander, with episode three hitting screens next week.
The first two episodes saw Dougal MacKenzie (played by Sam Retford) getting into a bloody fight with Malcolm Grant (Jhon Lumsden) and his men after he wrongly thought they'd abducted and compromised his sister Ellen MacKenzie (Harriet Slater).
Ellen was last seen wandering the grounds of Castle Leoch with Grant, before the two parted ways and she went off for a clandestine meeting with Brian Fraser (Jamie Roy).
It was clear Malcolm was romantically interested in Ellen and planned to propose to her, before realising she'd lied to him and had other plans.
Dougal's rash actions led to animosity between the Mackenzies and Grants, with Colum MacKenzie (Seamus McLean Ross) trying to appease the rival clan by proposing a union between Ellen and Malcolm.
Even though the Grants' advisor Henry Beauchamp (Jeremy Irvine) seemed uncertain about the match, his MacKenzie counterpart Ned Gowan (Conor MacNeill) advised him it would be better than spilling blood.
Colum's decision flew in the face of his late father Red Jacob's (Peter Mullan) promise to Ellen that she would never be forced to marry.
Many fans are already curious to know about Malcolm's fate in the Outlander books as they try and look ahead for spoilers - here's what we know so far.
What happens to Malcolm Grant in Outlander?
In the Outlander books by Diana Gabaldon, Malcolm is the chieftain of Clan Grant and a rejected suitor of Ellen.
He wanted an arranged marriage with Ellen but after she turned him down, he was no longer an ally to Clan MacKenzie.
Like TV series Blood of My Blood, Dougal and Colum wanted to marry off Ellen to Malcolm, against the wishes of the deceased Red Jacob.
The Grants and Mackenzies knew each other prior to idea of the arranged marriage, but Ellen had other plans.
According to the Outlander fandom page, during the 1716 Gathering at Castle Leoch, Ellen said something so offensive to Malcolm that he dramatically left the event without saying a word to the hosts.
Ellen, too, left Castle Leoch and eloped with Brian and hid from her brothers.
In order to secure their union, Ellen and Brian only came out of hiding when she was visibly pregnant with their baby and they would have to marry or face social stigma.
Although this is the trajectory of the story as outlined in the Outlander novels, Blood of My Blood might only use this as a rough guide.
The trailer for Blood of My Blood also features a shot of Malcolm and Ellen participating in some sort of ceremony, which may or may not be their wedding.
If this is the case, then it means the show is taking a different route to the source material.
Given Blood of My Blood isn't an adaptation of any novels, the writers may choose to take a different direction and keep this storyline running for a while.
Blood of My Blood has already been renewed for season two and work is taking place on the forthcoming out, suggesting the plot will have been stretched to maintain the thread of narrative tension.
Outlander season 8 will air on Starz and MGM+ via Prime Video in early 2026
