Outlander Book Club: Voyager Chapter 44 breakdown

Foreshadowing in the Outlander chapter

There’s one big bit of foreshadowing in the chapter, and that happens when Jamie jumps in the water for Mr. Willoughby. Jamie mentions to Claire that he fears losing his leg and thinks it will be worse than death.

Jamie has mentioned this fear before. It was when he had the infection in his leg after Culloden. And I’m sure there’s been another mention of it in the first book, although I can’t place it now.

Either way, it all comes back to foreshadowing the snake bite. There will come a point where Jamie’s fear almost comes true. He has to make a choice between his leg and his life.

During the chapter, Claire also mentions that she hopes neither happens. That there will never be a choice. It’s foreshadowing that the choice will have to be made at some point.

Adapting the Voyager chapter

This chapter wasn’t used in Outlander Season 3, Episode 9. I will admit that it does seem odd. Instead of opting for the shark hunting and Mr. Willoughby jumping into the water, the show created its own storyline.

Had the show just been the show with no book content to work with, I don’t think there would have been such a problem with the Jonah story. The big problem is that there’s so much content to use in the source material on the voyage across the seas that it seems odd for the show to create its own story.

My only thought is that there isn’t enough in the books to make one dramatic moment. A TV show works well with a dramatic moment in each episode. There’s something to build up to with a climax at the end. Of course, then there’s the overall story for this part of the story of Claire and Jamie saving Young Ian.

The book is made up of a lot of quieter moments. The dramatic moments don’t have enough to content for one episode.

What did you spot while reading Voyager Chapter 44? Let us know in the comments below.

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