Outlander Book Club: The Fiery Cross Chapter 85 breakdown

Roger returns home and Brianna notices a shift in Outlander Book 5, Chapter 85

We have another chapter split between two characters. The first part is from Brianna’s point of view, while the second half of Outlander Book 5, Chapter 85 jumps back to Claire and Jamie.

The first part is important. Roger has returned home, but he’s different. Brianna notices that there’s a shift in the tension between them. It isn’t there, and Bree is going to take advantage of this for as long as she can. She won’t shy away from his injury to his neck.

Back in the backcountry, we’re with Claire and Jamie after the fire. With everything that happened to the horses, it’s not a surprise that the topic moves onto getting older and death. We get to learn a little more about Ellen MacKenzie and how much Jamie misses her.

The chapter wasn’t used for the series. We did get Roger returning to Brianna, but the events at the cabin weren’t the exact same. That’s because Roger’s journey to this point wasn’t the same on the show as it was in the book. I’ll get to my thoughts on that in the adaptation section.

As for foreshadowing, there is a little. I mostly see it in Bree and Roger’s section. It’s clear that Roger went through something that we didn’t quite get to see happen in the books.

Let’s dive into The Fiery Cross Chapter 85.