Outlander Book Club: Voyager Chapter 20 breakdown

Foreshadowing in the Outlander chapter

There’s no doubt that this chapter was filled of foreshadowing. The obvious part is the set of bones.

We know now that the bones belong to Geillis. Joe was right that it was a white woman. We also know Claire is the one who kills Geillis.

I’m curious about Claire’s abilities at this point. Is it because her future self has a connection to these bones? Is this why she’s drawn to them and able to figure out the woman was murdered without seeing everything? Or is it because Geillis was a fellow time traveler? Would Claire have figured things out even if she had nothing to do with Geillis’s death?

My other theory is that it’s linked to Claire’s powers that she’s still to come into. And this gets us back to foreshadowing. There’s a chance that this part of the book foreshadows Drums of Autumn when Nayawene tells Claire that Claire will come into her full powers when her hair turns white.

Another element of foreshadowing (I told you there’s a lot) is Joe’s son and his wish to connect to his African roots. He changes his name, and one of those names is Ishmael. Get ready for a connection to the bones, to Geillis. One of Geillis’s slaves is called Ishmael, and most slaves took the surnames of their owners. There are theories that Ishmael is an ancestor of Joe Abernathy.

Adapting the Voyager chapter

This chapter was used on the show, but it was split into different parts. Instead of Joe already knowing Brianna isn’t Frank’s daughter, Claire tells him the truth. For some, it will be a disappointing change. Didn’t we love how Joe had no judgment? However, I thought the change made sense.

We didn’t get to know Joe as well on the show as in the book. We didn’t hear of Claire’s fondness for him, of that friendship that developed. So, the show needed to give us more time with Joe to see that a little better. It wouldn’t make sense for him to just assume Bree wasn’t Frank’s daughter, but there is a hint that he did think about it. He tells Claire that things make a lot more sense now.

He still doesn’t judge Claire. We keep that best part of his character.

Claire later looks at the bones. Most of this plays out the same, except that the archeology guy doesn’t stick around. There’s no conversation about whether he’ll get a second opinion. That wasn’t an important part of the story. It was all about Claire’s connection to the bones, her reaction to seeing them.

And then, there’s the moment Claire asks if she’s sexually attractive. It’s this moment that she decides to go back to the past.

The chapter was mixed in with the final bits of research (and Roger visiting with news), Claire making her dress, and the discussions with Brianna about leaving her behind. Breaking up the sections with Joe did help to add a good flow for show-first fans.

What did you see when reading Voyager Chapter 20? Share your thoughts in the comments below.

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