Young Ian starts to open up to Brianna in Outlander Book 6, Chapter 69
It’s time to learn about Young Ian’s time with the Mohawk in Outlander Book 6, Chapter 69. He takes Brianna out on a journey to learn the story.
This chapter only sees him start to open up. He’s chosen Brianna to turn to, and I do think this an important decision. He wants someone who can keep a secret and someone who will understand about being in a different place to where they thought they would be.
There is some humor in the chapter, as Brianna is drenched from saving Rollo from beavers at one point. We also get to hear a bit about how Bree feels while being in the past, and when she feels most at ease.
This chapter does include a little bit of foreshadowing. I’ll get to my thoughts on that in the foreshadowing section.
It sadly wasn’t used in the series, though. The show’s writers changed the way Ian’s story was told and who he told the story too. To be honest, I like both ways of telling this story, and I’ll get to why in the adaptation section of the post.
Let’s dive into A Breath of Snow and Ashes Chapter 69.
Just the Outlander chapter
Young Ian and Brianna are heading out on a walk. This isn’t just a short walk, though. Ian is taking Bree on a journey for a few days, which she doesn’t initially realize. She wouldn’t have left had she known how long she would be away.
While on the walk, there is an incident with Rollo in the river. Beavers attack him, and Brianna has to swim out to save him. Ian does find it funny, but he also makes sure Bree is warmed up and dried. Rollo has no shame in anything that happened; not really.
This does open up the opportunity for Young Ian to talk to Brianna about serious matters. When he was with the Mohawk, he felt like something wasn’t quite right. Even now, he gets that feeling. When he would wake up, he wouldn’t immediately know where he was and still doesn’t at times.
Bree notes that she feels like this at times, too. The only times she feels at peace is when alone in the woods or when with Roger. She and Roger can talk about the time before—or ahead.
It’s clear that Ian wants to open up a little about Emily. He notes that he always knew where he was when they were married. However, he’s not quite ready to tell the full story just yet. He does think back to a time when telling stories, though. The Mohawk loved to hear the story of the green-eyed woman. In other words, they liked the story of the witch Geillis. Emily also makes it clear that Ian needs to drink to tell stories. He is a better storyteller when drunk.
I love how it’s Bree who Ian turns to for this. I don’t think it’s just that he trusts Bree to keep his secrets. She understands what it’s like to be out of place, and to have that one person who helps make the world make more sense. They also have a connection from before Ian went off with the Mohawk, which plays a role now.
Foreshadowing in the Outlander chapter
There is a little bit of foreshadowing in this chapter. It’s clear that we’re going to get to know more about Young Ian’s time with the Mohawk. This is more about plot development, though. Well, character development to be more exact.
The foreshadowing itself is in Bree and Roger talking about their own time. That’s when things make sense for Bree, when she feels like she belongs. There is going to be an opportunity for them to go back to their own time, but that doesn’t mean they’ll stay. Maybe the past is where they belong.
Adapting A Breath of Snow and Ashes chapter
The TV show changed the person Ian told the story to. Instead of Bree, he talks to Jamie about it. I do love both ways of doing it, but for the TV show, having Young Ian turn to Jamie made a lot more sense. We’ve seen the two of them connect more over the seasons, so it makes sense that he would trust Jamie with this.
Plus, it all comes up because of the person who Emily chooses instead. Kaheroton is visiting the Cherokee when Ian and Jamie go to deliver the weapons.
I would have loved to see Bree and Ian discuss making sense of where they are and who they are, but I think that ship has sailed for Bree. She and Roger tried to go back through the stones and were thinking of “home.” Home brought them back to their own time, which indicates that this is her place now.
As long as Ian’s story was told, I was always going to be happy. We needed it for the character development.
What did you spot while reading A Breath of Snow and Ashes Chapter 69? Let us know in the comments below.
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