Outlander Book Club: Drums of Autumn Chapter 17 breakdown

Outlander Season 4 -- Courtesy of Aimee Spinks/STARZ Media Center
Outlander Season 4 -- Courtesy of Aimee Spinks/STARZ Media Center
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Outlander
Outlander Season 4 — Courtesy of Aimee Spinks/STARZ Media Center

Foreshadowing in the Outlander chapter

I think this is the chapter that foreshadows Roger and Brianna wanting different things. While they do want each other, they want each other in different ways. It’s clear that Bree wants something physical with Roger, but it’s very rare that she opens up to him emotionally. She keeps a lot hidden as she tries to work out her own feelings.

Roger wonders whether Bree will say yes when he proposes. We know what happens now. He has a right to be concerned, and it’s going to take a world of events to happen for things to work out the way he’d like.

Adapting the Drums of Autumn chapter

As you know, this chapter wasn’t used in the TV series. However, the chapter does take place at Christmas and we do get to see Roger and Brianna have a Christmas together. It’s just in Outlander Season 3 when Claire leaves through the stones.

The main part that is used is Roger handing the keys to the Manse over to Fiona. That part of the story remains the same because Fiona is still important to Roger’s story at this point.

And this is where things went wrong with the couple for me. We only just get to see them together and they’re arguing again. The show followed so much for Claire and Jamie’s story, seeing the buildup of their relationship throughout the first season. I wish we could have got more of that for Brianna and Roger.

Instead, it sometimes feels like this relationship was forced on us. I know a lot of people want more Claire and Jamie, but it’s not right to focus on them and sacrifice another couple—a couple that is important in the rest of the story. Season 5 has made up for it a little, but I still wish there was more time with them earlier on.

What did you spot while reading Drums of Autumn Chapter 17? Let us know in the comments below.

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