Outlander Book Club: Dragonfly in Amber Chapter 2 breakdown

Using the Outlander Book 2 chapter in the TV show

Some of this chapter was used on the Outlander series, but slightly differently. Roger doesn’t learn about Claire returning through the stones alone. He does find the clippings with Reverend Wakefield’s things, but it’s with Brianna. She learns about Claire’s “affair” at the same time.

This was certainly due to time. After all, we had one episode to cover this since the Outlander Season 2 premiere was done differently. The chapter itself was an hour-long chapter, so it’s clear that not all of it could have been used. And Brianna hasn’t even found out the truth at this point.

The episode also had a lot of other content to cover, including figuring out who Geillis was in her own time, Bree learning the truth about Jamie and the stones, and Claire saying her goodbye to Jamie at the Fraser headstone.

It’s no wonder that a lot of the chapter had to be adapted and condensed.

I also don’t remember all the research Roger did in the TV series. Again, this would have been linked to time. There would have been no need to focus on him driving to Lallybroch (and muse why the circular tower is called the North-Facing Tower) or his solo trip to Fort William. It made sense just for him and Bree to head off together and get to know each other.

Not only did the writers condense things well, but there was a chance to see Bree and Roger together. We got to see if they’d work as a couple, and a hint of things to come in future seasons.

Overall, for me, it worked. As a show-first fan, I didn’t feel like anything was rushed or missing. But that doesn’t mean I don’t appreciate reading more of Roger’s thoughts in the books.

What did you notice when reading Outlander Book 2, Chapter 2? What are your thoughts of Dragonfly in Amber so far? Share your thoughts in the comments below.

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