Outlander Book Club: Drums of Autumn Chapter 51 breakdown

Foreshadowing in the Outlander chapter

The foreshadowing here is Roger delaying his trip back to Brianna. He finds the stone circle, and while he doesn’t hear any sound from it, it’s clear that the circle is going to come back at some point.

We’re left wondering if Roger will step through the stones, but it’s foreshadowing for the decision at the end of the book. Claire and Jamie leave Roger at the stones, where he, again, has to decide whether he’s going back through to his own time or if he’ll stay for Brianna.

I do think the thought about how the men don’t need to keep a close eye on Roger is also foreshadowing. It’s clear he’s not getting out of this so easily.

Adapting the Drums of Autumn chapter

Let’s talk the decision to add another prisoner with Roger. He’s alone in the book, a method of storytelling that allows a lot of internal thoughts come out to the reader. This chapter is from Roger’s point of view, so we get everything that he’s thinking.

That isn’t the case with TV. The medium is different, and the internal thoughts need to be spoken at times. The best way to do that is to have another character there.

By having another prisoner, Roger was able to share what happened to him—at least, what he thinks happened to him. And he makes that promise to get back to Brianna. Spoken aloud, it bears a lot more meaning.

Another change was Roger tying knots for every day he’s traveling instead of losing track. I think this was just to show the smarts Roger has on the show because people would question why he wouldn’t think of something like this. In the books it was different because time had already passed before Roger woke up from being knocked out.

Roger doesn’t fall into the bush. Instead, he hears the stones before he sees them. Again, it’s a TV method of storytelling. We’re shown and not told something. We learn as Roger learns, and the buzzing is the way to show us what he’s found before putting the stones on screen. We’re still left with the same question: Will Roger go through to his own time?

What did you spot while reading Drums of Autumn Chapter 51? Let us know in the comments below.

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