Outlander Book Club: Voyager Chapter 1 breakdown

Foreshadowing in the Outlander chapter

There is a little bit of foreshadowing within the chapter. The first is Jamie mentioning that he’ll remember more about the battle later. It seems to be something he knows that happens. Over time, we do get flashes of the battle. It’s through the flashes that we learn just how Murtagh died at Culloden.

Another element of foreshadowing is the mention of William Grey. While Lord Melton has repaid the debt to the family, it’s clear that this isn’t the last we’ve heard of the Grey family. Something like this doesn’t just come up the once. Lord John Grey will have his own debt he’ll want to repay.

That’s about it for foreshadowing that I noticed from this chapter. It’s very much focused on the moment, giving us Jamie’s memories of the event; his story of survival.

Adapting the Voyager chapter

This is one of those chapters that was pretty much adapted word for word. It is an important chapter, and there really was no need to change a lot.

We did get a few extra flashbacks to moments in the battle, mostly as a chance to say goodbye. There’s a quick goodbye (and a last ‘Mark Me’) from Bonnie Prince Charlie, and we get to see the actual fight between Jamie and Black Jack Randall. Saying goodbye to characters is essential in a TV show, bringing closure to storylines. There would be no guarantee getting the actors back at a later point in the series to do it later due to schedules.

Another important goodbye written into the series was Rupert’s. In the novels, he was killed off at what Claire thought as the Battle of Falkirk. In the series, he took Willie’s place in seeing Jamie and Claire kill Dougal. This was partially needed due to the actor who played Willie no longer being available, but it also made more sense to do the show the way it was written.

We hadn’t gotten to know many of the men who fought with Jamie and the MacKenzies during the Jacobite rebellion part of Outlander Season 2. We needed to feel connected to the story in the barn, and we needed to say goodbye to Rupert. Having him be the one to save Jamie and then go to his death without anger brought closure to that storyline, something the books didn’t offer since Willie was never seen again after the moment at Culloden House.

What did you think while reading Outlander Book 3? What stands out from Voyager Chapter 1? Share in the comments below.

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