Ryan O'Rourke is a Senior News Writer at Collider with a specific interest in all things adult animation, video game adaptations, and the work of Mike Flanagan. He is also an experienced baseball writer with over six years of articles between multiple outlets, most notably FanSided's CubbiesCrib. Whether it's taking in a baseball game, a new season of Futurama or Castlevania: Nocturne, or playing the latest From Software title, he is always finding ways to show his fandom. When it comes to gaming and anything that takes inspiration from it, he is deeply opinionated on what's going on. Outside of entertainment, he's a graduate of Eureka College with a Bachelor's in Communication where he honed his craft as a writer. Between The IV Leader at Illinois Valley Community College and The Pegasus at Eureka, he spent the majority of his college career publishing articles on everything from politics to campus happenings and, of course, entertainment for the student body. Those principles he learned covering the 2020 election, Palestine, and so much more are brought here to Collider, where he has gleefully written on everything from the SAG-AFTRA and WGA strikes to Nathan Lane baby-birding sewer boys.
The end of Outlander marked the end of an era for Starz. Few shows have had the privilege of spanning over 12 years and eight seasons, yet the adaptation of Diana Gabaldon's historical fantasy romance novels managed just that, remaining a critically acclaimed and widely beloved fixture of the network since its debut in 2014. Yet, all good things must pass. Jamie (Sam Heughan) and Claire's (Caitríona Balfe) sweeping love story across the Scottish Highlands and revolutionary-era America came to a bittersweet end back in May, covering the entirety of Gabaldon's series, at least until the tenth and final book debuts. While that final shot will be a source of speculation for years to come, it's far from the last word on this world.
In less than one month, on September 18, Jamie and Claire's parents will continue their own stories throughout time in Season 2 of the prequel spin-off series, Outlander: Blood of My Blood. Season 1 introduced viewers to two tales of love separated by time and circumstances, yet equal in their passion and tireless will to fight for their respective futures. Along the way, their connection was revealed to run much deeper than just their respective offspring, showing how their paths intersected and influenced each other. Season 2 now has the lovers separated once more with the beginning of the Jacobite Rising. The Frasers and MacKenzies find themselves on opposite sides of the battle, while the Beauchamps are trapped in different eras with hope of reuniting running low.
Starz has now shared the official trailer, and it promises plenty of fireworks. The outbreak of war sees a desperate Brian (Jamie Roy) and Ellen (Harriet Slater) forced to fight their own battles rather than be together as they desire. For the former, that means returning to Castle Leathers and pledging to take to the battlefield beside Lord Lovat (Tony Curran) while the latter orchestrates a plan that will keep the MacKenzies safe from the Crown's wrath, regardless of how the uprising plays out. Until then, the battle will be bloody and explosive, forcing all to choose sides and take up arms in their own way. Julia Beauchamp (Hermione Corfield), meanwhile, is devastated to find that their plan went wrong and Henry (Jeremy Irvine) was sent back through the stones without her and baby Claire, forcing her to return to Castle Leathers. Worse, the welcome Henry received on the other side is anything but warm, as he's seemingly sent to a mental asylum to treat his "delusions." It's a painful separation that will have the couple fighting their own battle back to each other.
COLLIDER
Collider · Quiz
Collider Exclusive · Universe Personality QuizWhich Iconic Universe Do You Belong in the Most?Star Wars · Lord of the Rings · Harry Potter · Game of Thrones · Star Trek
Five legendary universes. Five completely different visions of what the world could be — or already was. One of them is the world your instincts, your values, and your particular way of existing were built for. Eight questions will tell you which one.
🚀Star Wars
💍Lord of the Rings
🧙Harry Potter
👑Game of Thrones
🖖Star Trek
QUESTION 1 / 8PURPOSE
01
What gives your life its deepest sense of meaning?Every universe is built around a different answer to this question.
QUESTION 2 / 8WORLD
02
Which kind of world do you most want to inhabit?The environment shapes who you become. Choose carefully.
QUESTION 3 / 8CONFLICT
03
How do you prefer your conflicts resolved?The shape of a world's conflicts tells you everything about its soul.
QUESTION 4 / 8COMPANIONS
04
Who do you want beside you when things get difficult?Your ideal companions reveal the world you were made for.
QUESTION 5 / 8POWER
05
What is your relationship with power?How you seek, wield, or resist power is the map of who you are.
QUESTION 6 / 8MORALITY
06
How does your universe treat good and evil?A world's moral architecture tells you more about it than any map.
QUESTION 7 / 8ROLE
07
What role would you naturally fall into?Every universe has archetypes. Which one fits you without trying?
QUESTION 8 / 8HOPE
08
What do you ultimately believe about the future?The answer to this is the clearest window into which universe already lives inside you.
Your Universe Has Been ChosenYou Belong In…
Your answers point to the iconic universe your values, your instincts, and your particular way of seeing the world were built for. This is where you would find your people — and your purpose.
A Galaxy Far, Far Away
Star Wars
You believe in the cause — in the idea that freedom is worth fighting for even when the odds are impossible and the empire is vast.
You are drawn to the moral clarity of a universe where hope itself is a form of resistance.
You'd find your people in the Rebellion — a ragtag coalition of true believers held together by conviction more than resources.
Star Wars is fundamentally a story about ordinary people choosing to matter in an extraordinary conflict — and that is exactly your kind of story.
The Force may or may not be with you. But the will to use it for something larger than yourself certainly is.
Middle-earth
Lord of the Rings
You understand, in the deepest part of yourself, that the journey matters as much as the destination — and that the world's beauty is worth protecting even at great cost.
Middle-earth is a world of ancient wonder, deep friendship, and a darkness that only retreats when enough small acts of courage accumulate.
You would thrive here because you value the fellowship more than the glory — the road more than the arrival.
Tolkien's universe rewards patience, loyalty, and the willingness to carry something heavy across a very long distance.
Those are not burdens to you. They are simply how you move through the world.
The Wizarding World
Harry Potter
You believe that love, loyalty, and doing what's right are not naive sentiments — they are the most powerful forces in any world, magical or otherwise.
The Wizarding World is a place of wonder hidden in plain sight, where learning is transformative and the bonds you form at school follow you into every battle.
You would flourish here because you take both the magic and the friendships seriously — and you understand that one without the other is incomplete.
Harry Potter's universe ultimately rewards those who choose to stand for something even when standing is terrifying.
That choice — made quietly, without guarantee — is something you understand completely.
Westeros · The Known World
Game of Thrones
You see the world clearly — its power structures, its hypocrisies, its brutal arithmetic — and you are not paralysed by that clarity. You use it.
Westeros is a world that rewards intelligence, adaptability, and the willingness to understand that every alliance is also a negotiation.
You would survive here — possibly thrive here — because you don't confuse the world as it is with the world as you'd like it to be.
Game of Thrones is a story about what happens when the idealists and the realists collide. You are sharp enough to know which one lasts longer.
Winter always comes. You are already prepared.
The United Federation of Planets
Star Trek
You believe the future is worth building — that curiosity, cooperation, and the expansion of understanding are not just ideals but the most practical path forward for any civilisation.
Star Trek is a universe where the questions matter as much as the answers, and where encountering something utterly alien is cause for wonder rather than fear.
You would belong here because you are fundamentally optimistic about what intelligence and decency can achieve — while being honest about how hard that achievement is.
The Federation is the universe's most ambitious thought experiment: what if we actually got better?
You don't just hope that's possible. You think it's the only thing worth working toward.
'Outlander: Blood of My Blood's Starry Team Returns to the Highlands for Season 2
In between the moments of drama, however, are bound to be plenty of romance and sparks flying against the majestic Scottish backdrop. Matthew B. Roberts is back at the helm as showrunner for Season 2 of Blood of My Blood, with original series helmer Ronald D. Moore joining him as an executive producer. The same supporting cast will return to the fold as well, including Séamus McLean Ross as Colum MacKenzie, Sam Retford as Dougal MacKenzie, Rory Alexander as Murtagh Fitzgibbons Fraser and Conor MacNeill as Ned Gowan. So far, they've been able to recapture the magic of the flagship series in the eyes of critics and audiences, earning a Certified Fresh 87% on Rotten Tomatoes with an 8/10 review from Collider's Carly Lane, who hailed it as "a steamy, emotional, addictively watchable prequelthat succeeds at everything fans have loved from the beginning: phenomenal casting and performances, twist-filled drama, and epic romances that defy the odds."
Outlander: Blood of My Blood Season 2 premieres on September 18 on Starz. Check out the trailer in the player above.
