There are questions about the murderer in Outlander Book 6, Chapter 85
When there’s a murder in a place filled with gossip, there are always going to be accusations. That’s what happens in Outlander Book 6, Chapter 85.
We start with thoughts from various members of the family thinking about who could have killed Malva, but Claire’s thoughts are on the people of the Ridge. It’s clear that many individuals blame Claire and Jamie. They do seem to have the biggest motive for murder. However, there are divides happening along the Ridge.
The chapter then moves on to some good news. Joseph Wemyss wants to get married, and he wants to make things right with Monika Berrisch. Well, it just turns out that Monika is also still interested.
This chapter hasn’t been used in the TV series, and there’s no reason to use it at all. I’ll get to my thoughts on this in the adaptation section.
It does foreshadow things to come, though. I’ll certainly break down my thoughts on that in the foreshadowing section.
Let’s dive into A Breath of Snow and Ashes Chapter 85.
Just the Outlander chapter
The chapter starts with Claire thinking about who could have murdered Malva. There are a few suspects, and it’s clear that everyone has their own thoughts and theories. Amy McCallum and Lizzie have picked Claire and Jamie’s side, just like the rest of the family. However, there are plenty of people on the Ridge who believe Claire or Jamie had something to do with it.
The chapter moves on, though. Joseph wants to be happy, and he was happy with the opportunity to marry Monika. That was messed up when Manfred McGillvary ended the engagement with Lizzie, but Joseph wants to see if she’ll be interested in marriage again.
It turns out Monika is. She didn’t want to break off the engagement, but it was her sister who ended that. Now, her sister has thrown her out because the family no longer has money. Monika walked from Halifax to Fraser’s Ridge to see if she could make things right with Joseph. She’s happy to hear that Joseph still wants to marry her.
When Monika sees baby Rodney, she takes him and cuddles him. This is clearly a woman who is looking forward to being part of a loving family again. It offers us a little bit of happiness when there’s a lot of darkness still to come.
Foreshadowing in the Outlander chapter
The foreshadowing in this chapter is focused on what’s to come in the case of Malva’s murder. It’s clear that the people of the Ridge blame Claire and Jamie. Right now, they’re being kept under control, but it’s only a matter of time before there’s more trouble.
It won’t be long before this all comes to a head. Claire will be arrested, and Jamie will go with her. Is there any hope for the Frasers? Will they see their home again?
If they weren’t the main characters of the story, there would be more fear about something happening to them. Right now, it’s more of a case of “how will they get out of this one?” more than “will they get out of this one?”
Adapting A Breath of Snow and Ashes chapter
The chapter wasn’t used for the series. While there was the talk of who killed Malva, this chapter specifically wasn’t included. We didn’t see Lizzie and Amy really take sides, but we do know that Lizzie did choose Claire and Jamie. There was just a lot more going on with the Beardsley twins.
We didn’t get to see the Joseph/Monika storyline play out at all. While Lizzie’s father was introduced back in Outlander Season 4, he didn’t come back into the series in the colonies. With the amount of time available in a book compared to show, not bringing Joseph back into the story wasn’t that surprising.
To be honest, it was surprising that Joseph did manage to get back. Something like that wouldn’t have been common. Having him show up in the series would have required an explanation for the show-only fans, and that would have taken time. This entire storyline would have ended up taking time that simply wasn’t available for the rest of the story.
What did you spot while reading A Breath of Snow and Ashes Chapter 85? Let us know in the comments below.
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