Outlander Book Club: Voyager Chapter 35 breakdown

Foreshadowing in the Outlander chapter

There’s no foreshadowing as such in this chapter. Instead, it’s all a buildup to the next part of the story. You see, we need Claire back with Jamie so Laoghaire can seek action against him. This then leads to Jamie needing to get the gold from silkies island, and that leads to Young Ian being taken.

Without this chapter playing out as it did, nothing else would happen in the story. So it’s buildup and not really foreshadowing.

That being said, I do think there is one element of foreshadowing in the chapter. Jenny doesn’t trust Claire. She’s the one that sent for Laoghaire, making it clear that she doesn’t want Claire in Jamie’s life anymore.

In future books, that bond is still strained. Jenny continues to blame Claire for things. She continues to hold grudges against Claire. And this chapter makes it clear all that will happen.

Adapting the Voyager chapter

Voyager Chapter 35 was partially used for the series during Outlander Season 3, Episode 8. We got that moment of Janet admitting that Jenny had sent for Laoghaire. Instead of Claire leaving, the two women talked. Claire told Jenny her story, about going to Boston and remarrying (in the books, Claire went to France but in the show, she went to America). Jenny could see there was some honesty in Claire’s story, but there was something Claire wasn’t telling her.

Jenny is a smart woman. And I’ve never blamed her for being angry at Claire. You see, Claire didn’t just hurt Jamie by being away for so long. Leaving without word hurt Jenny, Ian, and others. Nobody heard from her and all they could believe was that she’d died. They grieved her, so naturally, they were angry when she came back as if nothing had happened.

Since Claire didn’t leave, she was there to see Jamie get shot by Laoghaire. This was important for the show. When they get the cast back for episodes, they’ll want to utilize them in the best way. After all, they’re paying big bucks for them.

Then there’s the need to show and not tell. Having Young Ian tell Claire that Jamie was shot would have been a little bland for a TV show. We needed to see it all happen. Overall, the story was the same, but it wasn’t just Claire on her own for too much of it.

Claire not leaving also offered location benefits. There was no need for the show to put Claire on a horse and have her on the road. The producers didn’t need to find another location for the field. Everything could remain at Lallybroch, keeping costs and time down.

Overall, it worked. I didn’t feel anything was missing when watching the show first. In fact, reading the chapter now, I prefer the way the show handled it.

What did you spot while reading Voyager Chapter 35? Let us know in the comments below.

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