Outlander Book Club: The Fiery Cross Chapter 71 breakdown

Foreshadowing in the Outlander chapter

There isn’t all that much foreshadowing in the chapter. This is about allowing Brianna a chance to grow as a wife. She needs to be there for Roger, and sometimes, that just means holding his hand.

However, I think there’s a tiny bit of foreshadowing at the end. In the next chapter, Claire thinks about how Roger seems to have lost his fighting spirit for his life. However, this chapter suggests that he does get it back. When Brianna gets angry with him, he laughs. He’s not offended by her anger. Instead, it pulls some of his fighting spirit back out.

Adapting The Fiery Cross chapter

The chapter wasn’t used in Outlander Season 5. We jumped from Alamance straight to Roger’s recovery.

This is purely due to time available. A TV show only has a few hours to work with. That means some smaller moments need to be cut out if they don’t offer too much in the way of plot development.

While this chapter was important for showing Brianna as a loving wife, it wasn’t a necessary chapter. There were other ways to show that on the TV series, as well as bringing a sense of understanding for the audience. We had that moment between Bree and Claire as they discussed Roger’s lack of fighting spirit. Bree brought up the Vietnam War while Claire brought up shell shock.

Watching the recovery process could have been hard for viewers. It would have also meant a lot of extra makeup, which would have been more costly. Jumping straight to Roger recovering at home allowed the cost to be put elsewhere, and that would have been important with the Battle of Alamance.

What did you spot while reading The Fiery Cross Chapter 71? Let us know in the comments below.

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