Outlander Book Club: Book 1, Chapter 25 breakdown

Adapting the chapter for the Outlander TV series

This is a chapter that was heavily used for Outlander Season 1, Episode 11 but changed substantially. For the first part, Laoghaire decides to give testimony at the trial. This all links back to the love potion that she asked Claire to make for her. It’s a change that has always had people scratching their heads, especially with Claire telling Jamie the truth when they knew Jamie and Laoghaire would eventually marry.

I can’t say why the change happened, except to make it clear that Laoghaire was responsible. We get a sense that’s the case in the book, but it’s never fully confirmed. Not really.

The entire witch trial also took place inside with a few changes to the evidence against the two women. For example, Father Bain’s testimony was entirely different, as he pretended to have fallen for Claire’s charms and a loss of his faith. It all still brings the same result; Father Bain is giving the damning testimony against Claire.

I do think keeping it all inside was due to logistics more than anything else. Filming outside in Scotland wouldn’t have been easy. Some elements needed to be outside, but if things could be moved inside, that would have been easier. The crew could control the light, the sound, and the weather. It would have been cheaper and would have meant the timing could have remained on track.

There was also the change to Geillis’s decision to take all the blame. Instead of telling Claire they need time, Ned Gowen tells the two women that one of them needs to take the fall for the other. The best option is for Geillis to take the fall. It’s the most realistic option of the two.

Geillis doesn’t want to. Everything she has done is for nothing. But in the end, she chooses to take the blame. She shows off her smallpox scar and tells Claire “1968.” It’s clear that she’s from that time—that’s when she traveled—hinting that we’ll get to meet her again.

When it came to telling Jamie the truth, there is one change that confused the hell out of me when watching. We don’t see Claire and Jamie at the rocks. We don’t get to see the decision that Claire makes. Instead, she returns to Jamie and tells him to wake up. It’s never made clear if she made the choice or found out she couldn’t pass through the stones. It took me reading the book to learn that, which is a fault within the show.

What did you notice when reading Outlander Book 1, Chapter 25? Share your thoughts in the comments below.

Like Claire and Jamie on Facebook for the latest Outlander Book Club breakdown and more.