We start to see some powers within Jem and Mandy in Outlander Book 7, Chapter 21
We head back to the 1980s. Roger is away, but we get some time with Bree and the children in Outlander Book 7, Chapter 21.
The chapter starts with Bree thinking about some of the things that have happened with the children. It’s clear that they like to get up to mischief. However, the chapter soon turns to a look at the abilities of the children.
Throughout the books, we’ve seen that people have more than time-traveling abilities. Jamie has the ability to see things through dreams, and now it turns out that Jem and Mandy may have abilities of their own.
Roger eventually returns with information about the date on the obituary. It’s changed, which leads to Roger thinking about what this means. How can something set in stone change? Is this something God has offered them?
There is a little bit of foreshadowing in this chapter, and I’ll get to that in the foreshadowing section. I’m not sure we’ll get to see this chapter play out in the series, and I’ll explain why in the adaptation section.
Let’s dive into An Echo in the Bone Chapter 21.
Just the Outlander chapter
The chapter starts with Roger being away. The noises in the house go silent, and Bree starts to wonder what this means. What have the children gotten up to? All parents will understand what it’s like for sounds to go suddenly silent.
The last time this happened, Bree’s alarm clock was disassembled at the bottom of the bathtub. Neither Jem nor Mandy admit to doing it. It was the “piskies.”
This is where we learn that Jem and Mandy may have some sort of ability. Jem is certain that Jamie is buried somewhere at Lallybroch, and he talks about Claire in the present tense. Is he somehow connected to the people of the past? Are there ghosts in Lallybroch? I do love this connection to various abilities. They’re not all just time-travelers.
When Roger returns, he shares that the date of the obituary has returned. This brings up a lot of questions. Did Brianna and Roger going back actually change things? Roger isn’t sure how that was possible. Surely a fixed event can’t be changed. He starts to question whether God offers people the chance of salvation, but they need to be willing to listen.
Roger also thinks about one night that Claire was collecting plants. She had to do it at a particular time, and Roger realizes that it wasn’t because she was superstitious. She just knew when plants released certain medicinal properties and wanted to get them at the right time.
This was when Roger learned what had possibly happened to his father. She shared that Jerry’s plane was in Northumbria when it crahsed, and there are plenty of standing stones are there. One of Frank’s letters had that information, and she believes that Jerry had managed to survive the crash. The plane hadn’t burned, but the pilot what nowhere to be seen. Is it possible that Jerry went through some stones?
This is certainly a big question about destiny and time. Roger has found a job as an assistant choirmaster, but does it mean anything at this point? Does time mean anything?
Foreshadowing in the Outlander chapter
There is a little bit of foreshadowing in this chapter. When it comes to the bits about Jem and Mandy, it’s certainly foreshadowing that there is more to their abilities. They are able to do more than time travel, and I get the sense that some of this is from the Fraser line and not just the Beauchamp line or MacKenzie line.
The MacKenzie’s aren’t safe because of this. If Bree thinks she’s the only person who realizes there’s something different about Jem and Mandy, she’s wrong.
Meanwhile, there’s foreshadowing in Roger thinking about how time means nothing and learning about his father. There is going to be a lot more when it comes to later chapters. We’ll get to see Jerry and find out what actually happened to him
Adapting An Echo in the Bone chapter
I don’t think a lot of this chapter is going to be used in the TV series. I simply don’t think there will be the time, and it’s not like the show has included a lot of the other abilities of the characters. While Jamie has mentioned his dreams in passing before, the show hasn’t really focused on it.
The part that could be included is the bits about Jerry. We know that he ends up being a major player in Roger’s life, changing outcomes because of his ability to time travel. It all depends on how much of the jumping through time we’ll see the characters do. That does eventually happen, but is there enough time for something like that?
When it comes to Bree and Roger’s story, the bits that involve Rob Cameron and the time jumping are the most important. We’ll need whatever is most important for those parts.
What did you spot while reading An Echo in the Bone Chapter 21? Let us know in the comments below.
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