Outlander Book Club: The Fiery Cross Chapter 78 breakdown

Foreshadowing in the Outlander chapter

The chapter foreshadows a couple of things. The first is Jemmy’s ability to time travel. That “hot” comment is about the gemstone. I wonder if more of the “hot” comments are linked to other items that allow people to steer while traveling.

Now I may be getting show and book mixed up in my head here. I can’t remember if there are comments about heat coming from the gemstones. Nobody has ever mentioned it, but then Jemmy is the first child of two travelers and that might make his ability stronger. I do think this chapter foreshadows some of the trouble that Bree and Roger will have with Jemmy and the stones.

I think there’s also the foreshadowing that Jemmy is Roger’s son. He has two time-traveling parents, and Bonnet is not a time traveler.

Then there are the discussions about what women can do in the time period. Brianna clearly doesn’t just want to be a wife and mother. She wants to find something useful to do, something that gives her more purpose. I think this is just the start of Bree finding a way to become an engineer at the time.

The chapter does have a small bit about Lizzie’s upcoming wedding. There is a comment about whether she loves her betrothed, but we know that’s not the case. There are two certain twins Lizzie is far more interested in.

Adapting The Fiery Cross chapter

The Fiery Cross Chapter 78 wasn’t used all that much in the series. We did get the moment between Brianna and Claire talking about how long Claire knew she wanted to be a doctor. The discussion wasn’t as in-depth as the book, skipping over the comments about Marsali. After all, Marsali had another place in the Colonies in the series.

This is focused on Brianna finding a place. Claire understands why Bree is asking, and she knows that Brianna will find a place. It’s a small foreshadow of Brianna being the one that figures out how to get the penicillin into Jamie with the snake fang.

The “hot” part with the gem was also included but in a more direct way. Instead of the sapphire, Jemmy and Young Ian are playing with the opal. It allowed the show to give Young Ian more of a role in part of a book that didn’t include him, and it was more direct to the overall story. It gave Bree and Roger the confirmation they needed that Jemmy could travel through the stones.

What did you spot while reading The Fiery Cross Chapter 78? Let us know in the comments below.

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