Brianna comes across Phaedre in Outlander Book 6, Chapter 107
We get to find out what Bonnet has planned for Brianna in Outlander Book 6, Chapter 107. Before anything can happen, though, there’s another story that has to be closed off.
Bree learns that she and Josh will be sold to the highest bidder. It concerns Bree, but she tries to take her mind off things. Part of that leads to her coming across Phaedre, who has been missing from River Run for a long time. Well, it turns out she was sold to Bonnet. We get all the gory details, including the truth about Ulysses and Jocasta.
Bree also thinks about time travel and why not all travelers are able to get through the stones. She has a theory that is linked to the laws of thermodynamics. I love the way Brianna thinks. We get to see that brain of hers working in this chapter, even if sometimes it feels like a pointless thought. Getting in the rules of time travel can be difficult.
The chapter itself wasn’t really used in the TV series. There was a part of it that was necessary, but most of it was avoided. I’ll get to why that worked and why I think that was in the adaptation section.
As for foreshadowing, I certainly think that it foreshadows a few things to come with the stones.
Let’s dive into A Breath of Snow and Ashes Chapter 107.
Just the Outlander chapter
This chapter makes it very clear that men are disgusting. Brianna and Josh are to be sold to the highest bidder. Bonnet doesn’t care who that is, although he has a few men lined up for the auction that’s to happen. The men are going to come and see who they are bidding on, and it’s clear that Bree will do what she can to protect herself. That even means kill.
During the chapter, she decides to get food in Bonnet’s house. They’re on Ocracoke by now, by the way, and that’s important for the Frasers and Roger. While in the house, Bree see Phaedre. It’s time to find out what happened to her.
Phaedre initially explains there was trouble and she had to get away from River Run. She doesn’t go into detail at first, but eventually explains that Ulysses caught Phaedre with Duncan. When Ulysses told her to stop the affair, Phaedre refused. He told Ulysses that he would tell Duncan of the affair Jocasta and Ulysses are having.
Oh yes, it turns out that Ulysses and Jocasta have had a 20-year-long affair. It’s no wonder Duncan’s inability to consummate the marriage didn’t really matter to Jocasta. She wasn’t in it for the bedroom activities at all. It does shock Brianna, though.
Phaedre crossed the wrong man, though. Ulysses arranged to have her sold. Eventually, she ended up in the hands of Stephen Bonnet. It’s not like she could have done anything to prevent it, and she couldn’t get word to Claire to say where she had gone.
Bree does ask about the gold. All the slaves at River Run knew about it, but there was a rumor that it was cursed. Phaedre doesn’t know who took the gold since it happened after she left, but she does think Ulysses has something to do with it.
When Bree is taken back to her room, she thinks about time travel. She realizes that it may be connected to the law of thermodynamics, and decides that if someone dies in the past, that means another traveler has to die in the future to balance it all out. It’s the only way she can work out why some people survive the journey through the stones and others don’t.
I will admit that the thoughts of time travel are a little odd in the placement of the story. Why would Bree start thinking about this? I could see Roger thinking about it since he’d just come across the stones, but not Bree. It’s also a weird theory that seems to hint at a lot of things to come.
Foreshadowing in the Outlander chapter
I think there is certainly some foreshadowing in this chapter. The mention of the gold makes it clear that’s still to come. Remember, there was someone who didn’t say anything when in the room with Jocasta meaning Jocasta would have recognized the voice. This chapter seems to suggest that the person was Ulysses.
However, that’s not the foreshadowing I’m thinking of. After all, that’s more of a bigger plot to come. The foreshadowing is in the thoughts about time travel.
It’s clear that there is going to be more time travel involved in the story. We know in An Echo in the Bone, Bree and Roger have to go back through. Then there’s a lot of time travel in Written in My Own Heart’s Blood. There are people who die out of their own time. I do think this foreshadows the danger that’s to come for Bree and Roger.
Adapting A Breath of Snow and Ashes chapter
The chapter wasn’t used in the TV series. There were bits of it, like mentioning what Bonnet would do with Bree and meeting with one of the men willing to buy her. However, the overall chapter wasn’t included.
Phaedre’s entire storyline has been missed out of the TV series. I think part of that is due to Natalie Simpson not being available. Rather than recasting, I think the writers figured a way to handle the storyline differently without changing too much. It’s clear the gold storyline is to come, but there are other ways to handle that without Phaedre or even Ulysses, who is no longer in the Outlander story.
I did miss it a little, mainly because I really like Phaedre. However, it wasn’t overly important for the storyline. We just needed to see Brianna and Bonnet’s storyline play out and feel the threat to Bree’s life and freedom.
What did you spot while reading A Breath of Snow and Ashes Chapter 107? Let us know in the comments below.
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