Outlander Book Club: Drums of Autumn Chapter 38 breakdown
Foreshadowing in the Outlander chapter
It’s clear this chapter is to push the plot forward for Roger. We’ll soon get the chance to see the type of guy Bonnet is on the ship through Roger’s eyes, although we already know the type of guy he is from the encounter with Claire and Jamie.
However, there is a little bit of foreshadowing in the chapter. The main part is about the ring. Roger recognizes it as a wedding band, but that’s it. Brianna will come to recognize that wedding band and in a different way. She’ll realize the direct connection she has with that ring.
Morag mentions the name Jem when talking about her baby. While Roger thinks nothing of it during the chapter, it’s clear that it’s important. It’s getting us ready for this ancestral connection.
Adapting the Drums of Autumn chapter
There was no way of avoiding the Outlander chapter in the series. After all, the smallpox leads to Roger helping Morag, which leads to his life put on the line.
The show did change the smallpox a little bit. It wasn’t a baby thrown overboard. Instead, Bonnet pushed a young overboard. She was the one with the smallpox. We watched the mother then jump to her death to be with her daughter. I do have to wonder why this change was made.
Part of me thinks it was to avoid the anger of the viewers as they saw a baby thrown overboard. Another part of me thinks it was to distinguish the rashes better. After all, why would Bonnet just let Morag’s baby stay when there was a chance the rash was a smallpox one?
The show had to reduce the chapter sizes considerably. We couldn’t have the thoughts of Roger feeling the fever of the doomed baby and then feeling the warmth but not the feverish temperature of Morag’s baby. Having it as child and baby would have been easier.
It’s not like the change affected too much. The point was to get to Roger agreeing to help Morag and Jeremiah to hide.
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