When Outlander: Blood of My Blood returned on the 2026 TV schedule for Season 2, Henry traveling back to his time was a major point of concern. Now that he’s back in the time Julia’s stuck in, that worry has been unfortunately reaffirmed, because he couldn’t remember Claire. So, with that all in mind, I’m really anxious about the other ways time travel and his time in the future may have impacted his memory. So, I asked Jeremy Irvine, who plays Henry, and executive producer Maril Davis about it.

Now, Henry’s memory and his PTSD have always been an issue he’s had to face on this show. However, it became even worse when he was separated from Julia, time traveled through the rocks, and ended up being forced into electroshock therapy. During that time, he forgot about Claire and wasn’t able to get back to her. So, now that he’s reunited with Julia, I was curious if this memory loss would continue to be a problem. Here’s what Jeremy Irvine had to say about it:

I think he always has to question if his mind is playing tricks on him, or if the things that are happening are real. So yeah, I think especially with Julia, he’s, you know, saying that he’s going to find himself again, but I think finding that incredibly difficult.

Well, that comment certainly does not make me feel better. However, after Episode 4 of the Outlander prequel, it felt like Henry’s awareness of his memory loss and his and Julia’s proactive mentality about his healing would help them work against this problem.

It’s important to remember how overwhelming this is for him, though. Time travel didn’t cause his memory lapses or his questioning of reality. It’s something he’s been dealing with since Season 1 – I think we all remember the time he was told Julia died and then he slept with a woman because he thought it was his wife. However, his trip to his present certainly made all this worse. I mean, he forgot his daughter.

On that note, EP Maril Davis told me that Henry’s memory will continue to be something he battles as Season 2 unfolds:

I think we’ll see that as the season unfolds, and that’s actually one of the key parts of the season is what Henry’s going to lose. And certainly in Episode 1 you see him starting to lose a lot of his memories of things that are really important to him, and what can possibly restore those memories?

Well, we learned in Episode 4 that Julia can help restore his memories. And according to Davis, the love they share is the primary thing that can help him heal. Teasing how that will play into the rest of Season 2, the executive producer told me:

He’ll find out that love is the only thing that will restore that. So that’s his progression this season, and it is [so] torturous. You know, and I think Jeremy does such an amazing job. Certainly, in Episode 1, it’s this tour de force of this man who has come back for the sole purpose and is slowly forgetting what his purpose is here, which is just heartbreaking.

Realizing Henry wouldn’t reunite with Claire after he traveled back to his time truly was “heartbreaking,” and now that he’s back in the past, that feeling has persisted. Clearly, his trip through time really messed with him, and I’m worried about the long-lasting effects of it, especially now that he and Julia are separated…again.

So, I’ll be waiting with bated breath to see what happens next and how Henry’s memory is impacted by the time travel he experienced at the top of the season.