Adapting the Dragonfly in Amber chapter for Outlander
Much of this chapter didn’t take place in the Outlander TV series, and I don’t blame the show writers for not including it. I don’t really feel like we needed the dream of Frank. There are mentions now and then of Frank, and Jamie mentions how he’s jealous of the man but doesn’t begrudge Claire mourning him. However, we don’t need this dream considering how little time there is in the TV series.
What is included is Claire meeting Alexander Randall. Of course, it’s under different circumstances. She meets Sandringham and Alex during the ball at Versaille, which is also when she learns that Black Jack Randall is still alive.
Meeting Alex is also alone, which means learning about Black Jack Randall adds more drama. Claire has to decide whether she should tell Jamie the truth or not. Does she let him live with the idea that Randall is dead or think about him and possibly fear him again? For the sake of the TV show, this definitely works.
When there’s more time in the books, slowly revealing information makes more sense. It would take a lot out of the book storyline. There’s a beauty in telling this longer story, offering us more between Claire and Jamie while also seeing Claire’s subconscious at work.
I’ll also say that I believe the change was due to casting. While Laurence Dobiesz does look like he could be related to Tobias Menzies, there aren’t enough similarities for him to be mistaken for Black Jack Randall. The books seemed to hint at more similarities between the siblings. Sometimes it’s hard to get viewers to just accept storylines, especially the non-book readers, so opting for a slight change made more sense.
What did you notice when reading Outlander Book 2, Chapter 10? Share in the comments below.
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