Outlander Book Club: Drums of Autumn Chapter 6 breakdown

Foreshadowing in the Outlander chapter

There is certainly some plot making within this chapter. You just know certain comments made are going to show up. John Quincy Myers’s hernia is going to be a bigger part later in the story. After all, he doesn’t sound all that worried about a woman cutting into him to fix a medical problem.

I do think John’s attitude foreshadows a lot. He’s not a man like all the rest in the area. This is someone who adapts for a situation. He takes everything in his stride, and it’s certainly going to come up later in the story.

Another element of foreshadowing is the mention of Governor Tryon. You don’t need to know the rest of the story to know that this man will come up again. Not only is he a real figure from history, but Diana Gabaldon doesn’t just add characters like his in for the sake of it.

Adapting the Drums of Autumn chapter

Okay, the adaptation. The ending to this chapter was used in the Outlander Season 4 premiere. Claire and Jamie went to dinner to sell off one of their gemstones. It made some of their money available to them to use later.

Another bit that was used was the decision to head to Jocasta, although in the series, I’m sure Jamie knows that Hector has died. I can’t remember the full details now without getting the book and show confused with each other.

The bit that wasn’t included was the way that John Quincy Myers was introduced. Instead of coming to Claire with his hernia, Young Ian went to him for help when he and Rollo were sprayed on by the skunk. It means another particular storyline involving JQM doesn’t come up.

I do feel like this was a hint that JQM’s story would be adapted completely. He would become a friend that the Frasers could call on in a time of need, and I do so hope that he’s in Outlander Season 6.

The hernia operation does still come up. Instead of being on JQM, it’s on one of Tryon’s men at the theater and is used as part of a diversion for Jamie to get a message to Murtagh. I did like the way the show handled it because it offered something bigger for me: Claire and Jamie working together again, which hadn’t been seen too much in the last couple of seasons.

Of course, the show had to deal with adding a medical emergency into the River Run storyline. Let’s not go there, aye? There are elements of it that I didn’t mind at first, but the more I watch it, the more I have come to hate it.

What did you spot while reading Drums of Autumn Chapter 6? Let us know in the comments below.

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