Brianna learned that Stephen Bonnet is alive by overhearing Lord John Grey talking to Jamie in the Outlander Season 5 premiere. How did it happen in The Fiery Cross?
In the Outlander Season 5 premiere, Brianna overheard a conversation between Jamie and Lord John Grey. This is how she learned that Bonnet is still alive. How did it all play out in “The Fiery Cross?”
It didn’t play out the same way. Lord John Grey wasn’t at the wedding, which took place at The Gathering in the novel. Instead, Brianna learned the truth about Bonnet when she read through one of the dispatches from Lord John to Jamie. She didn’t hear about Bonnet being alive, but she found out some of the things Bonnet had done, including blinding a man.
To be honest, Brianna already knew that Bonnet was alive. The entire jail scene played out differently in “Drums of Autumn.” Bonnet helped Brianna get an unconscious Lord John Grey out of the jail before the explosion. So she never had that safety net of believing Bonnet was dead.
Bonnet isn’t shown all that much (if at all, but I may be blending two books in one right now in my head) in “The Fiery Cross.” He’s mentioned through dispatches, which is how we and Bree learn what Bonnet has done after escaping.
These were things we were shown on the TV show instead of just being told. Storytelling on the TV needs to play out a little differently to a novel, and this change was certainly one that made sense. In a way, we feel as Brianna does. There’s that feeling that Bonnet is right there, even though he’s not.
We get to hear more of Brianna’s internal thoughts throughout “The Fiery Cross.” Again, this isn’t something that can happen in a TV show as well. Brianna’s thoughts need a way of playing out physically, which the show managed by showing Bree’s fear when Jemmy crawled to another room in the house.
Brianna has a long journey to recover. She’s a survivor and a fighter, but there is still a part of her that plays on her mind. For so long, she thought she was free from Bonnet, that he was dead. Now she finds out that her worst nightmare, her biggest fear is still out there somewhere. Wouldn’t that play on your mind, too?
Outlander Season 5 airs Sundays on STARZ. Get “The Fiery Cross” with two-day free shipping with a 30-day free trial of Amazon Prime.