In the latest episode of Outlander: Blood of My Blood Season 2, titled “Small Mercies,” the Starz prequel series delivers one of its most harrowing and pivotal installments yet. Dougal MacKenzie, played with ferocious intensity by Sam Retford, finds himself captured and tortured under the command of Captain Lord Gerard Grey (Digby Edgley). The episode doesn’t shy away from the brutality, but it also plants a seed for one of the most iconic villains in the Outlander universe.
Retford recently sat down with Collider to break down the episode’s biggest moments, from the grueling torture sequences to the introduction of a young Black Jack Randall—a character who will go on to torment Sam Heughan’s Jamie Fraser in the original series. And yes, Retford has a playful apology for his future co-star.
Dougal’s Torture: A Test of Endurance
The episode opens with Dougal chained and beaten, his arms suspended above his head in a cold, damp cell. Retford admits the physical toll was real, but the production team made it as safe as possible. “They created these amazing magnetic shackles,” he explains, “but as I was hanging off them when Dougal was losing consciousness, the shackles would break, so they had to actually screw me into them.” Between takes, he often stayed in the contraption, which meant long stretches of hanging in a Scottish castle—shirtless, in October, no less. “It was all good fun,” he laughs. “We’re unbelievably well looked after by the crew.”
The torture scenes are unflinching, but they also serve a deeper purpose: they reveal Dougal’s stubborn resilience. Retford loves playing a character who doesn’t conform to societal expectations. “There’s nothing better than throwing a volatile person into a situation that they have no control in,” he says. “Dougal doesn’t have to fit within the bounds of what’s societally acceptable in terms of reactions. So, what that creates is a beautiful cocktail of freedom, chaos, and a very fun playing field as an actor.”
The Black Jack Randall Reveal
Midway through the episode, a young soldier steps forward with a poker in hand, and the audience immediately senses something is off. That soldier is none other than Black Jack Randall, the sadistic English officer who will later become Jamie Fraser’s nemesis. Retford was thrilled to be part of that origin moment. “It was so cool. He played it really well. He made it so that we knew something was wrong when he had that poker,” he says. “And then, they reveal who it is, and we get the reveal that we end up letting him loose at the end. Sorry, future Sam Heughan, what you had to endure because Dougal decided this one time to be a nice person and listen to Brian.”
That decision—to spare Randall’s life at Brian Fraser’s urging—sets the stage for decades of pain. Retford’s apology to Heughan is tongue-in-cheek, but it underscores the weight of the moment. “It’s such an iconic character,” he adds. “Tobias Menzies is just an absolutely wonderful human. To be able to be a part of that origin story is amazing.”
Maura: The Light in Dougal’s Chaos
Amid the darkness, Dougal’s relationship with Maura (Bobby Rainsbury) remains a beacon of lightness. Earlier this season, the couple shared a playful, fruit-strewn sex scene that was a rare moment of comedy in the series. Retford recalls the chaos behind the scenes: “We laughed during that because I tore my jacket in half when I lifted her up in the corridor. The material of the jacket just ripped completely in two. That was so bad.”
For Retford, Maura is essential to Dougal’s evolution. “You think that maybe Maura is someone to add an essence of stoicism to that chaos, but actually, we start seeing, in Season 2, her ability to just redirect that chaos,” he says. “Within war, speaking in terms of a real sense, there is always light within grief, and I think that Maura is that light, for sure.”
As Blood of My Blood continues to weave its intricate web of connections to the original series, Retford’s performance as the volatile Dougal remains a standout. With the Black Jack Randall reveal now in play, fans can only wonder what chaos lies ahead. For more on the Outlander universe, check out our coverage of Sam Heughan’s upcoming thriller and the latest from Middle-earth.
