Outlander Book Club: Drums of Autumn Chapter 40 breakdown

Foreshadowing in the Outlander chapter

There is a bit of foreshadowing in this chapter. It all comes from Lizzie’s mistake. We get the hint that she believes Roger has raped Brianna. It’s only a matter of time before this all comes up, and we should be ready for the fallout that happens.

I think there’s also foreshadowing that Roger and Brianna will eventually head back through the stones. It doesn’t happen in the way that it does in the show. There are still some years to go, and it required Brianna and Roger to have a second child. However, they do eventually head back to the 20th century.

Roger also has his own journey through the stones due to his son, Jemmy. There are plenty of hints that Bree and Roger time traveling hasn’t come to an end just yet.

Adapting the Drums of Autumn chapter

It’s not surprising that this chapter was used for Outlander Season 4. It had to be used. And one thing we got was Lizzie watching Bree and Roger arguing. We saw what Lizzie saw. And if you only considered what Lizzie saw, it’s no wonder she thought Roger was Brianna’s rapist.

There were a few elements changed from the chapter. For example, the long discussion of getting back through the stones wasn’t included. Roger slipped up by mentioning the smudged date on the obituary.

You see, in the show, there needed to be a reason for Brianna to rush through the stones. It didn’t make a lot of sense when Bree knew that 1776 was the date of Claire and Jamie’s deaths. Why rush through? The show added that sense of urgency by knowing it was 1770-something. The last number had been smudged.

Roger mentioned it and Brianna immediately knew that he’s seen the obituary. That started the argument.

Another big change was that Roger didn’t say he was getting a gem to help them travel back to the 20th century. He never told Brianna to wait for him, so of course, she headed for Jamie when Roger didn’t stick around in Wilmington. She was sure that Roger had left her on the show.

It is a complaint of some readers that this was skipped. I didn’t really care that it had been changed because the argument between Roger and Brianna felt organic. And, to be honest, Roger would have been the last thing on Bree’s mind after everything that happened with Bonnet. She just wanted her parents (more like her mom) by that point.

What did you spot while reading Drums of Autumn Chapter 40? Let us know in the comments below.

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