Outlander Book Club: A Breath of Snow and Ashes Chapter 22 breakdown

Foreshadowing in the Outlander chapter

The chapter foreshadows a few things for Malva. The first is more plot development. Her interest in Claire’s surgery makes it clear that she’s going to become an assistant to Claire.

The rest of the foreshadowing is in things to come. It’s clear that Tom talks a lot about Claire based on comments Malva says in this chapter. This isn’t just because Tom doesn’t trust Claire. He’s building up feelings for her.

We also get a comment about pregnancy. We know that Malva is pregnant later on and that the baby is her brother’s. This is likely to play on her mind during this chapter, and it certainly foreshadows the trouble that Malva is about to cause.

Adapting A Breath of Snow and Ashes chapter

We haven’t seen this chapter used yet, but that’s because the Christies haven’t shown up just yet. We do know they’re coming, and that means this chapter is likely to be used in Outlander Season 6.

Will we get this chapter exactly as written? I think we’ll get something close. The only way to feel any sympathy for Malva is to get to know her away from her brother and father. We need to see the bond form between Malva and Claire, and that means we need the assistant storyline.

Isn’t Marsali Claire’s assistant on the show? I have a feeling that Marsali’s pregnancy, finding out Henri-Christian is a dwarf, and her actions at the end of Outlander Season 5 are going to combine to see Marsali choose to step away from being Claire’s assistant, and that will open up the opportunity for Malva to step in.

What did you spot while reading A Breath of Snow and Ashes Chapter 22? Let us know in the comments below.

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