Claire and Jamie are separated in Outlander Book 6, Chapter 90
It was only a matter of time before Richard Brown would figure out a way to handle his mess in Outlander Book 6, Chapter 90. The first step was to split Claire and Jamie up.
When Tom agreed to Jamie coming with Claire, it was clear nobody else was happy about that. Well, nobody from Brown’s men was happy. This caused a bigger problem. So, Richard Brown had to figure out what to do, especially when it came to multiple sheriffs no longer working due to the Revolutionary War.
Richard Brown figures out what to do during this chapter. Claire and Jamie are separated once more in the story, and Claire ends up heading to New Bern to face trial. Will it be a fair one? What do you think?
The chapter was used for the TV series. There was no way around it. However, only part of the chapter has been used so far. It’s not clear if all of it will be, but I’ll share my thoughts on the matter in the adaptation section.
This chapter is more about plot development than foreshadowing. I’ll get to my thoughts on all that in the foreshadowing section.
Let’s dive into A Breath of Snow and Ashes Chapter 90.
Just the Outlander chapter
We start with Claire noting how Richard Brown has gone. It’s clear that Richard is trying to figure out what to do with Claire and Jamie. He needs to find someone who will try her for murder.
Sadly, Richard wasn’t just figuring out where to do a trial. He has helped to make it easier to handle Claire. He has figured out a way to split Claire and Jamie up, and that all happens early in the chapter. Tom promises Claire that they won’t kill Jamie, but he’s not going to get Jamie back. His focus is on Claire right now.
It turns out that Claire is being taken to New Bern. That’s the only place Brown has found someone to try Claire, and we catch up with her in the prison. There’s a forger in there with her, and they are kept away from the main prison. Claire notes that it was likely a storeroom for the sheriff at first.
The group of women in the cell get along relatively well. I do like to see that they take Claire in rather than attacking her. Even the governor’s wife is nice to Claire, although she doesn’t know anything about Jamie’s location. Her husband might, but he won’t tell her any details. So, Claire has to go the night without knowing anything.
She does step in to save a life, though. A slave gives birth, but it’s a breach birth. Claire helps to get the baby out, but the baby is quickly declared dead. Claire refuses to let that be the case and she manages to breathe some life into the baby. It doesn’t fully make up for Malva’s baby dying, but it’s at least one life saved.
However, Claire learns that the slave is now going to be killed after finally giving birth to a living baby. It turns out the slave had killed her other babies, and she was to be hanged as soon as she gave birth for the crime.
Foreshadowing in the Outlander chapter
The chapter doesn’t offer that much in the way of foreshadowing. It’s more a matter of plot development. Claire needs to save this life because she will be needed for the next birth in the story. She needs to be somewhere easier for Jamie to potentially get to her. Or at least for Tom Christie to help if he wants to.
There’s no need for a lot of foreshadowing at this point. The story needs to remain focused on the drama to keep the intensity high. We need to fear that something bad is going to happen to Claire.
Adapting A Breath of Snow and Ashes chapter
The chapter was partly adapted for the TV series. We got to see Jamie taken away from Claire. Of course, Brown was going to split the two up as soon as he had a chance. We also see Tom Christie stay with Claire and offer her maintenance in the jail knowing that Claire is in trouble.
Claire is taken to Wilmington instead of New Bern in the series. I’m not sure why that is except that it could be linked to already having the Wilmington set. This could suggest that we’re not going to see much of New Bern, but that doesn’t really make a lot of sense. We need to see Fergus and Marsali’s next storyline play out. It is a curious choice.
The part that hasn’t been used yet is everything in the jail. We’re left with Claire fearing for her life, but we should see some of this chapter play out. After all, we need to see that not everyone is against Claire, and maybe some people don’t even believe that she’s a murderess. I expect to see some of this chapter and the following chapters play out in Outlander Season 7.
What did you spot while reading A Breath of Snow and Ashes Chapter 90? Let us know in the comments below.
Like Claire and Jamie on Facebook for the latest from the Outlander Book Club and much more.