Outlander Book Club: Voyager Chapter 38 breakdown
Foreshadowing in the Outlander chapter
Foreshadowing…is there any? I do spot a little throughout this chapter.
The first is when Jenny talks about seeing Claire. Jamie has mentioned having visions of Claire before, although that was when he was dying. It would have been easy to assume that he was just hallucinating something, but it’s clear that there is something supernatural about the Frasers, even though they can’t time travel.
This comes up with Brianna at some point, too. Jamie sees Brianna, and Brianna even sees him. This section hints toward that happening and hints toward something bigger to this ability.
Then there’s Fergus’s part, where he wants to marry. It’s clear this is going to come up again. However, it’s more than just marriage. We get the hint that he views printing as respectable and he’d geared himself up to do that. It’s no wonder he opens his own printshop in a later book.
Finally, it’s all about the gold, the journey to France, and taking Young Ian. This isn’t really foreshadowing and more about setting up the plot. We’re about to get into the voyage part of Voyager.
Adapting the Voyager chapter
There were certainly sections of this chapter adapted, but not all of it. Outlander Season 3, Episode 8 didn’t include Laoghaire’s brother. Instead, Ned Gowan showed up on his own. We didn’t get the full details, but just the important parts, including the fact that Laoghaire shot Jamie when guns are outlawed.
Why would this have changed? Part of it would have been cost and casting. Adding Hobart would have meant finding another actor for just one small part. That brings an extra cost. Ned would have already been needed, so it made sense just to cut it to the one character.
The other part would have been timing. There was no need for the buildup to Hobart arriving and then the dinner after without Hobart being part of it. The show could just get into the bigamy claim.
I do wish the show had kept one thing in. I don’t remember Jamie only promising to provide for Laoghaire until she remarried. That was important, as it gave him a way to get out of providing for her. While Jamie is honorable, he is also smart.
Fergus’s conversation with Claire was cut out, likely due to time. However, Jenny’s was kept in. It was shorter, but the important part was there: the mention of seeing Claire’s ghost. This relationship is still strained on the show just like in the book, and that needed to be shown for future storylines.
The final part of the chapter was kept. Jamie knew the only way to get money for Laoghaire would be to get the gold, and Young Ian needed to swim out to get it. This was an essential part of the story, so there was no way the show could leave it out!
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