Outlander Book Club: Book 2, Chapter 36 breakdown

Foreshadowing in the Outlander chapter

There were two moments that stood out for me when it comes to foreshadowing. The first is William Grey. We know him best as Lord John Grey, and it’s this moment that leads to Jamie being saved after Culloden. LJG’s brother, Hal, is the one taking names and knows that Jamie is the one who saved his brother’s life.

As LJG is leaving Jamie, he makes it clear that a Grey always repays his debts. He will not forget that Jamie was the one to save him, and he owes Jamie a life. While Hal does eventually repay the family debt, LJG feels he needs to repay the debt himself, creating a friendship between the two.

The other element of foreshadowing is how Jamie doesn’t remember too much about the details of the battle. It’s the sounds and the smells. There are so many elements that are clear, but not as clear as you would likely expect from a man who had just been through the battle.

I think it foreshadows the bits and pieces of Jamie’s memory at Culloden. It’s clear that when he’s in the moment, he reacts well but his brain tries to prevent him from remembering the trauma.

Adapting the Dragonfly in Amber chapter

This is a chapter that is covered over two episodes. It is an important chapter for the introduction of Lord John Grey and for the Battle of Prestonpans, after all. However, there are some significant differences between the two.

The biggest is that Dougal and his men arrive during this section of the story on screen. They don’t arrive at all at this point in the books. They’re not even mentioned.

In the books, it’s easier to get to know other characters through Claire’s narration. On the show, there just wasn’t the time for that. Having characters we’ve already come to know and love is important, especially for those who haven’t read the books. So, bringing Dougal and his men into the story was essential to feel more connected to the story.

When it came to the battle and injuries, we also got more of a connection. There was that fear Rupert would be killed at the battle while tending to his injuries. In the end, it was Angus we said goodbye to in a shocking twist that involved him suffering from internal injuries all this time and Claire couldn’t do anything to help.

Instead of just feeling sorry for Jamie and Claire about losing someone they knew, we grieved for the loss of someone we’d come to love. Angus started off hostile, but he grew into one of the best characters in the earlier seasons of the series. It was heartbreaking to lose him in such a way, and that loss was felt all the way up to Culloden.

It connects to having Murtagh as the leader of the Regulators. Having him as part of that story from Outlander Season 5, meant many felt more connected to the Regulators’ cause instead of just watching in a detached manner.

We’d also had a buildup to this part in the show with the use of Lord Lovat. He isn’t included at this point in the story but comes up later. It made more sense from a TV point of view to switch the storyline around a little. The flow works better for the sake of storytelling in a TV format.

We also got to see more of the battle on the show. It was shown through the quiet walk in the night, seeing Dougal made a decision to kill Lieutenant Jeremy Foster, and watching parts of the physical battle play out. It put us in the moment, instead of detaching us.

I’ve said it previously, but the detachment from the action is part of the problem of first-person POV books. It’s why I’m not the biggest fan of them. We’re so limited by what the main character witnesses that we can miss a lot of high-action moments and have to be told what happened afterward. This is one of those moments TV shows are able to step outside of that limitation.

Overall, nothing important was missed that much from the book with the changes. They made a lot of sense from the TV point of view.

What did you get while reading Outlander Book 2, Chapter 36? Share your thoughts in the comments below.

Like Claire and Jamie on Facebook for the latest updates from the Outlander Book Club.