Outlander Book Club: The Fiery Cross Chapter 41 breakdown

Foreshadowing in the Outlander chapter

There isn’t too much in the way of foreshadowing within the chapter. What is here is all about the rum punch, although you wouldn’t know it at first. It’s only in the next chapter that it starts to come together when Brianna and Jamie find Betty, who has passed out after drinking some of the rum punch laced with laudanum.

Brianna notes that the rum punch was stirred with a hot poker, which is something Roger sees Ulysses holding. This is all going to come together eventually, but don’t expect it to be Ulysses who drugged Betty. There is a much bigger story to tell.

I think there’s also a bit of foreshadowing in Roger’s storyline in this chapter. Once again, he’s invited to sing. There’s been a lot of focus on Roger’s voice, and we know he eventually loses that for a short time. Even now, while he can talk, he can’t sing. He’s had to find another talent to use in the time.

Adapting The Fiery Cross chapter

The chapter wasn’t used in the TV series. Outlander Season 5 opted to keep Roger and Brianna on Fraser’s Ridge when Claire and Jamie went to the wedding, and I’m glad about that.

Having everyone at the wedding could have meant there was just too much going on. It would have meant including Betty’s story, probably, and there just wasn’t enough time for all of that storyline in the season.

Instead, the show gave Roger something useful to do. Up to this point in the season, Roger hadn’t really shown his ability to lead men. He hadn’t really shown himself as a person for the 18th century but in the book, he had made the decision to change to be someone for the time.

Staying at the Ridge and dealing with the locusts gave him that storyline to change and grow as a character. I would have loved for more with Brianna as well, but this moment for Roger was important.

What did you spot while reading The Fiery Cross Chapter 41? Let us know in the comments below.

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