Outlander Book Club: Voyager Chapter 15 breakdown

Foreshadowing in the Outlander chapter

There is a little foreshadowing in the chapter. While the TV series changed it, we know that Jamie will be found in the paperwork for Helwater. Well, more like his parole.

Lady Dunsany offers the chance to free Jamie. It’s something we know he’ll eventually gain. That’s obvious from the reason Jamie stays now. He just wants to make sure his son is safe for the time being. While nobody knows that Willie is his son.

However, it means that Claire and Roger will be able to find him in the historical records. The parole will be documented. The question is whether they can find him afterward.

There’s also a little foreshadowing in Jamie’s friendship with Lord John Grey. We haven’t heard much of it in the recent chapters, but the mention of John’s stepfather says a lot. He is the one with influence in court. It all connects to Jamie going to Helwater and not the Colonies in the first place.

Adapting the Voyager chapter

While the chapter was used on Outlander Season 3, Episode 4, it wasn’t done in so much detail. Nor was it done with going to Ellesmere. Geneva returned to Helwater to give birth. Instead of the cook telling Jamie that Geneva is dead, Isobel tells him. She also knows that Jamie is the father and not Lord Ellesmere.

Why would the show change all this? Most of it would be due to time and cost. The set for Helwater had already been built. There was no need to add another set for Ellesmere. It was just easier financially and creatively to bring everyone to Helwater for the birth.

The change in the characters to tell the story and the removal of some characters would have been linked to casting. Why add two more extras with extremely small roles for an episode when you can use one character you’ve already introduced? It was more cost-effective to just have Isobel deliver some of the lines, and show that she and Gevena were somewhat close.

So, what about the change to where Lady Dunsany talked to Jamie? This would have, again, been due to cost and time. In the novel, Lady Dunsany goes to the stables alone to see Jamie. He thinks about when he climbed the trellis to see baby Willie. In the series, it’s done on a walk with baby Willie in the carriage. Both moments could take place in the exact same scene, cutting out the need for more sets and more screen time to tell a story.

The show still managed to give us all the important moments, including Jamie telling Willie how he’s small but braw.

What did you spot while reading Outlander Book 3, Chapter 15? Share your thoughts in the comments below.

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