The second episode of Blood of My Blood shifts its focus away from the MacKenzies to Claire’s parents, and what a shift it is. S.W.A.K. (Sealed With a Kiss) takes us from the ravaged trenches of World War I to a chasm of centuries, where love and survival challenge the boundaries of time itself.
The War and a Letter That Changes Everything (1917)
We begin amid the deepest mud and chaos of the Battle of Passchendaele, Belgium, 1917. Lieutenant Henry Beauchamp (Jeremy Irvine) defies strict orders, risking his own life to drag a mortally wounded private to safety. As he comforts the dying man, the futility of the war weighs heavily on him. In raw despair, Henry pens an emotional, open letter addressed to anyone who will listen. He asks not for glory, but for meaning, why they fight, what purpose lies beyond the trenches.
That letter travels away from the front lines to London, landing in the windowless offices of the Censorship Department at the War Office. There, a young Julia Moriston comes across it and is stirred to respond. And so begins an exchange of letter, soul-baring, hopeful, healing, each signed “S.W.A.K.”—sealed with a kiss. Through ink and paper, Henry finds light, Julia finds purpose, and a tender bond is born.
Their letters reveal mutual dreams. Julia confesses her longing for Scotland’s misty hills; Henry admits he has never seen them but imagines visiting with her. As the correspondence deepens, so does their attachment. When Henry writes that he’s arranging leave and proposes meeting in London next month, their hope feels closer until bombs tear through Julia’s neighborhood, shattering her window and rattling her to the core.
Two weeks pass with no word. Julia’s anxiety blooms into fear. Has Henry fallen in the mud and blood of the front? But then he appears on the steps of her workplace, alive and safe; their reunion is electric and tender, and not long after, they marry. In the quiet of their apartment, amid whispered conversations and confessions, they contemplate marriage and parenthood. When Julia discovers she's pregnant, their fragile joy shifts, but Henry, wrestling with memories of war, is buoyed by Julia’s relentless comfort.
Through the Stones: A Leap into 1714
The tender interlude takes an uncanny turn when Julia awakens in a damp, strange place, the stones of Craigh na Dun. Her wedding ring remains, but the jewel is missing; time travel requires a missing gem, it seems. Believing Henry might be near, Julia traces “S.W.A.K.” and an arrow into the rock, a silent plea for rescue.
She flags down a passing wagon its occupants speak only Gaelic and see her as “Sassenach.” When she mentions Inverness using its Gaelic name, they invite her aboard. Suddenly, a third figure appears, camouflaged by shadow, and knocks her unconscious, shrouding her head in a sack.
Julia wakes at Castle Leathers and is introduced to Davina, whose kindness offers a brief respite. The cruel truth follows - she has been sold by her captors, the Connors, to Lord Lovat in payment of their debts. Lovat’s reputation precedes him - sleazy, controlling, dangerous and sure enough, he makes immediate, unwelcome advances toward her.
Henry’s Hunt through Highland Shadows
Meanwhile, Henry emerges on the other side of the stones, driven by Julia’s arrow-carved message. He searches along winding roads and stumbles into a tavern, Gaelic whispers mocking his “Sassenach” accent. As he drinks, Malcolm Grant steps in, asking after him. Henry notices a conversation between Malcolm, Arch Bug, and the clan’s bladier regarding cheating, falsified property deeds. Leaning in, Henry whispers his suspicions.
The bladier reacts violently, nearly pushing Henry into a well, throat slashed. Malcolm intervenes, intrigued. He takes Henry to meet his father, Isaac Grant, laird of Clan Grant. Here, Henry reveals that the bladier pocketed coins and fudged documents, proof enough for Isaac to exact justice. Impressed, the laird offers Henry the position of bladier, promising access across clan lands and resources to aid Henry’s search for Julia. Initially hesitant, Henry accepts, resolving to keep searching.
Julia’s Struggle at Castle Leathers
Julia, holding on to hope, adjusts to life in 1714, much colder and crueller than Claire ever imagined. Davina instructs her in domestic duties, disguising her humiliation as necessary training. Julia resists—but the threat of Lovat’s control looms large.
In Lovat’s office, Julia spies a map marking roads to Inverness. She quietly copies it onto parchment hidden in her dress. Lovat spots her, suspicious but Julia feigns innocence and exits, heart pounding.
That night, Julia makes a run for it, her desperation guiding her through dark corridors. Brian Fraser rides alongside her escape; he warns her of a coming storm that could freeze a runaway in her tracks. She presses on, but Lovat’s enforcer, Balloch, catches her. The punishment was twenty lashings, but in a moment of defiance and protection, Brian claims responsibility; he coaxed her to flee. In front of the clan, Balloch delivers the blows to Brian, not Julia. A blow for love, and a blow for power.
A Betrothal and Letters Across Time
Meanwhile, Henry, working as bladier, rides with Ned Gowan to confront the MacKenzie problem - Dougal’s attack on Grant lands. Isaac demands revenge, but Ned suggests a more peaceful solution: a betrothal between Ellen MacKenzie and Malcolm Grant to ally the clans. He hints that Henry has at least been asking after a certain woman, “particular tastes,” he calls them, nudging Henry to make the proposal. Though reluctant, Henry agrees, hoping that such alliances may bring him one step closer to Julia.
Back at Castle Leathers, Julia finds a letter slot in her quarters and pours her heart into a missive for Henry, longing for their daughter Claire and for Henry himself. Simultaneously, Henry writes his own letter back, promising never to stop searching, promising that no matter the century, he will find her.
They each seal their letters with a kiss, each hope-bound envelope a bridge between worlds and hearts. In this strange new era, their separate paths carry the same ache but the same vow: love endures and they will cross time to find each other.
