We head back to Lallybroch in the 1980s in Outlander Book 7, Chapter 5
Roger starts his guide for time travelers in Outlander Book 7, Chapter 5. There’s also a mystery surrounding the French gold still.
The chapter starts with Roger’s guide. He’s thinking about what to put in the guide to make sure it’s easy for all time travelers in the future. This leads to a question about blood and everything he’s learned from Geillis. How much of that is true?
After that, there are questions about the post scriptum that Jamie left on a letter. It’s about the French gold, involves a Spaniard, and Jemmy is the one who will know where it is. This is clearly a much bigger story, but for now is being glossed over. Something that is clear is this is foreshadowing something that will happen both in Jamie and Claire’s future and in Roger and Brianna’s future.
With Jamie and Claire previously discussing their options for getting letters to Bree and Roger, this is certainly a chapter to pay attention to.
Will it be used in the TV series? I certainly hope so, and I’ll get to my thoughts on that in the adaptation section.
Let’s dive into An Echo in the Bone Chapter 5.
Just the Outlander chapter
The chapter starts with Roger putting together a guide for time travelers. He wants to make the passage safer for others, and I love that about him. He knows there will be some questionable people traveling through time, but he has a heart for those who are time traveling for good.
This does bring up some questions about the rules of time travel. Is it possible to be in the same time period as yourself? Roger has worked out that probably isn’t the case, and he uses Claire and Bree’s knowledge that the same matter can’t exist together as reasoning for this.
Then there’s the bit about blood. Is a sacrifice necessary like Geillis believed? Roger and everyone have managed to pass through the stones without it. Maybe that isn’t something to put in the guide.
After that, the topic goes onto the letter. Jamie wrote a note that the gold is being held in trust by the Camerons for an Italian Gentleman. It’s not clear what this actually means, but Jamie notes that Jemmy will understand. He will know the hiding spot where the Spaniard guards. There was a mention of this in the previous chapter, but that was easy to overlook. Who is this Spaniard?
At the end of the chapter, there’s a storm. Roger and Bree use the chance to get in some lovemaking before they agree that they’re not going to bring anything up to Jemmy just yet.
Foreshadowing in the Outlander chapter
There is certainly some foreshadowing in this chapter. It’s all about the gold. Jamie and Claire are going to do something in their time that leads to the gold being in a particular place. I am curious if it’s still supposed to be there. The first time I read this chapter, I thought “what do the other letters say?”
However, it’s clear that Jemmy’s knowledge is going to get him in some trouble. Others will want that gold, even if Roger and Bree are hundreds of years in the future. This whole chapter foreshadows the danger Jemmy is going to find himself in.
Adapting An Echo in the Bone chapter
I do think we’ll see some of this chapter developed in Outlander Season 7. That’s especially the case if the series is going to follow the danger Jemmy lands in. We need the gold as the reason for that trouble, so without the knowledge that Jemmy knows where it is, the writers can’t really do that storyline justice.
Of course, there are other ways around the kidnapping of Jemmy. However, I want to see it all connect to the gold, especially with Jocasta mentioning it in Outlander Season 6.
I would also love to see Roger working on a time traveler’s guide while in the 1980s. That makes so much sense for his character.
What did you spot while reading An Echo in the Bone Chapter 5? Let us know in the comments below.
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