Maybe this makes me a bit of an outlier, but one of my favorite parts of watching Starz’s new series Outlander: Blood of My Blood, is seeing the younger versions of my favorite Outlander Season 1 characters. I’m specifically talking about one Ned Gowan. When we first met the Edinburgh-based solicitor in Outlander Season 1, he was a nice old man played by Bill Paterson who quickly befriended Claire (Caitriona Balfe).

In Outlander: Blood of My Blood, however, Ned’s a young man, played by Industry standout Conor MacNeill. Nevertheless, he’s still the same smart, friendly, lovely Ned Gowan. Case in point? His two closest buddies in Blood of My Blood appear to be the Jamie’s fiery mother Ellen (Harriet Slater) and Claire’s own time-traveling father Henry (Jeremy Irvine).

We’re not even halfway through the first season of Outlander: Blood of My Blood, and Ned and Henry’s friendship seems to be one of the sweetest beacons of light in this dramatic saga. The two men are able to confide in each other about not only business, but heartache. According to Blood of My Blood star Jeremy Irvine, this bond extends off-screen as well.

“Conor’s great, for a start,” Irvine told DECIDER during the official Outlander: Blood of My Blood junket. “He’s this ball of energy on set, which is good fun.”

Irvine went on to explain why Ned’s friendship means so much to Henry, who is now not only lost in the 18th century, but also desperately searching for his missing, pregnant wife Julia (Hermione Corfield).

“He’s in a world where he doesn’t have any friends and he’s got this huge secret which he can’t tell anyone, not even Ned, really,” Irvine said. “But Ned’s the only one that he can sort of have these little intimate moments with. And yeah, they build this sort of beautiful connection.”

“Who knows? In another timeline, maybe that would turn into a romantic thing, but…yeah,” he said, giggling.

Of course, Henry Beauchamp isn’t the only time-traveler making friends in 1714 Scotland. In Outlander: Blood of My Blood Episode 4, we get to see Julia’s friendship deepen with Jamie’s father Brian (Jamie Roy). She accompanies him to Castle Leoch and serves as a “bridge,” or messenger, between him and Ellen.

Hermione Corfield told DECIDER she’s also hoping for a friendship to blossom between the two spirited mothers of Jamie and Claire.

“I hope so. I’m gunning for that as well,” Corfield said. “And I think Julia recognizes something in Ellen that she sees in herself. It’s that they’re women that have their head screwed on, but they also follow their heart in such a way.”

Outlander: Blood of My Blood might hook you with its romance, but its honestly these friendships that keep us coming back for more.