Outlander Book Club: Voyager Chapter 23 breakdown

Foreshadowing in the Outlander chapter

There isn’t too much in the way of foreshadowing in this Voyager chapter. It’s too short to add a lot in, but it does prepare us for the start of the next chapter.

We get to hear Claire’s thoughts about the journey through the stones. She tells us how painful it was, something that she feared during Outlander Book 3, Chapter 23.

Another small element of foreshadowing is that Bree and Roger will end up in the past. Brianna makes it clear to Claire that both she and Roger can hear the stones. They have the time-traveling gene. It’s not clear when or why at this point that Bree will time travel, but it’s foreshadowing that she eventually will, and Roger will follow her.

Adapting the Voyager chapter

The TV show opted not to spend more time at Craigh na Dun. I think there were a couple of main reasons for this.

The first would be the time needed to film it and show it on the screen. There were more important elements to cover, and we’d already seen Claire go through the stones twice. It’s something that could be left up to the imagination instead.

The second reason would likely be cost. The production adds the stones in instead of using stones that are already there. If there wasn’t time to add the scenes in, if they ended up on the cutting room floor, it would have been a huge waste of money.

So, it was best to just have the transition with the puddles, a transition that was very similar to Claire reaching for Frank’s and then Jamie’s hand during the Outlander Season 2 premiere. For some reason, the use of transitions like this confuses some fans, but it’s a TV trick done a lot to cut out something that isn’t necessarily needed to tell the story.

The conversation between Claire and Brianna was still needed though. Instead of doing it at the stones, it happens in Claire’s house in Boston.

Why would production change it? Well, a couple of reasons, again. The first is that the storyline was set in 1968 Boston on the TV show instead of 1968 Inverness. I’ve touched on why that is in a couple of chapter breakdowns now.

The second reason would be to manage lighting, sound, and the weather. There was no guarantee the weather would be right for filming everything at the stones (and we have the cost of the stones to add in there). By filming in the house, everything could be done in the studio. The costs would have been lower, and it would have been easier to avoid spoilers leaking while filming. It was a win-win for the TV show.

Overall, the big, important moments were still there. Having the moments in the book was essential to give us more of Claire’s thoughts (and books get away with this a lot more). In the TV show, especially one with 13 episodes to tell the tale, chapters need to be condensed. The less important moments need to be cut out, and honestly, I have absolutely no problem with the way this chapter was adapted. It made sense from a TV perspective.

What did you notice when reading Voyager Chapter 23? Share your thoughts in the comments below.

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