Outlander Book Club: Book 1, Chapter 2 breakdown

Connections to the Outlander TV series

Finally, we’re focused on the show. This chapter has been used for the show but in a different order or through a different way.

During the story, Claire and Frank take a trip to Loch Ness. That doesn’t happen on the show. Instead, they take a trip around some of the places that will become important in the show. It makes more sense to keep everything contained to the places that become important later on the show, helping to create the picture of the past and the present day and how things change.

The talk of adoption doesn’t happen in the show that I can remember. It’s not until Claire is back that Frank has to consider this. Frank does have these thoughts, but in the end he changes his mind. He can raise a child that isn’t his own, and he does form an important bond with Brianna. It shows his growth from the start to this point.

Claire also takes the time to think of her Uncle Lamb. She tells us that he died in the Blitz, thinking about it because Roger’s mother died in the Blitz, too. Lamb’s death isn’t something mentioned in the show and the first time I watched the show, I wondered what had happened to him. I just ended up assuming that he’d died of natural causes, but Claire gives us the full story in the books. It’s not overly important for the show, but I have an inquisitive mind.

And then, of course, there’s the trip through the stones. One of Claire’s visits to the stones isn’t included in the show. This is mostly because a character is cut out of the story. However, Claire and Frank do watch the dance and then Claire returns to look at the flowers—I love that in the book it’s Frank who suggests that she goes back up.

The books and the show offer the stone and the time-traveling element slightly different. When it comes to the book, we can just follow everything Claire experiences. She explains the buzzing, the screams of people, the sounds of battle. On the show, we get the buzzing and some of the sounds, but we’re watching Claire go through the stones instead of experiencing it with her.

This is simply due to the way stories have to be told differently through book and show. However, the show still sends the chills as we experience Claire’s trip to the past.

What stood out for you during Outlander Book 1, Chapter 2? Share your thoughts in the comments below.

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