Tom Christie comes to save Claire in Outlander Book 6, Chapter 97
We finally find out why Tom helped Claire in Outlander Book 6, Chapter 97. It’s also time to see what he is willing to do to make sure she’s safe.
There have been a lot of questions about Tom up to this point in the story. He is trouble, but he is also complicated. It was hard not to scratch your head in confusion about why he was helping Claire and Jamie considering it was his daughter who had been murdered.
Well, everything comes out in this chapter. Jamie had already guess that Tom was in love with Claire, and now we get the confirmation. We also find out more about Malva’s birth and paternity, something that had been hinted at earlier in the book. Jamie was right to question the math.
This chapter hasn’t yet been used in the series, but I fully expect it to be. I’ll get to my thoughts on the matter in the adaptation section.
There’s not too much in the way of foreshadowing, though. This chapter simply wraps up the storyline. The only foreshadowing is that the real murderer is still out there, but who is it?
Let’s dive into A Breath of Snow and Ashes Chapter 97.
Just the Outlander chapter
The chapter starts with Claire waiting for Jamie to return to the ship that morning. When she sees a boat, she realizes that it’s not Jamie. It’s Tom. Initially, all our hearts sink, but it turns out that Tom is there for a good reason.
This is when we find out a lot about Tom’s past. Claire’s hair has always reminded him of his wife’s hair. It made him conflicted when it came to Claire. While he does love her, he struggles with the likeness to his wife. It turns out that the whole reason he knows Claire wasn’t a witch is because he knew his wife was one.
Also, Malva wasn’t his biological daughter. Malva was born while Tom was in Ardsmuir. He also found out that his wife was hanged for being a witch while he was in prison. Who was the father? Tom’s brother. When Tom’s brother dies, Tom ends up taking Malva in. This is while Tom is in the Colonies as an indentured servant. Fortunately, the owner of the contract arranges for Malva and Allan to be brought to Tom.
Tom also remarries. However, his master and his wife both end up dying of Yellow Fever. With that, Tom ends up a free man and he finds a group of fisherfolk looking for a new home. Hearing about Fraser’s Ridge, he takes them there.
We also find out how Tom and Claire ended up sick. This was Malva’s fault. Tom found some of the Sin Eater’s bones and other body parts in her basket, and Malva tells him that she used what Claire taught her to try to kill them both. She wanted to make it look like the sickness at the Ridge took them. Malva wanted Jamie, and she would do what it took to get him. One thing Tom knows is that Claire didn’t kill Malva, and he doesn’t want to see her executed for something she didn’t do.
So, despite knowing he didn’t do it, he decides to tell the governor that he killed Malva. This will mean Claire gets to walk away free.
It’s hard not to feel something for Tom in this chapter. He’s had a life of pain and heartbreak. Jamie and Claire’s own pain and heartbreak don’t take away from that, even though Tom isn’t as “good” as Jamie. In the end, he does something good for Claire, even if he didn’t actually kill Malva. Nor does he know who did or who the real father of the baby is. There are still mysteries to be solved.
Foreshadowing in the Outlander chapter
The foreshadowing here, I guess, is in that there are still mysteries. Tom doesn’t have all the answers, but he has some. It’s enough to help close one door of this storyline, but it’s clear that when Jamie and Claire get home, there are still going to be some questions to ask.
Other than that, the main point of this chapter is to wrap things up for Tom and Claire.
Adapting A Breath of Snow and Ashes chapter
I fully expect this chapter to be used in Outlander Season 7. There’s no way it can be skipped considering how Tom’s storyline up to this point in Outlander Season 6 has followed the books. We may not see it all play out on the ship exactly the way the book has told it, but I do think we eventually will see it happen.
We need to. There are a lot of questions surrounding Malva, still. We need to find out that Tom figured out who made him and Claire sick. We need to understand why he’s protecting Claire right now. We certainly need to see Claire freed from the current situation. There’s simply no way around any of the main plot points.
What did you spot while reading A Breath of Snow and Ashes Chapter 97? Let us know in the comments below.
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