Brianna and Roger are forced to separate in Outlander Book 7, Chapter 90
With Jem in Rob Cameron’s hands, Roger and Brianna need to separate to find him. Roger heads through the stones with Buck in Outlander Book 7, Chapter 90.
There are so many parallels in this story to Claire and Jamie’s. The Frasers are routinely separated, and at one point, we saw Jamie get Claire to safety through the stones. Now, Roger is leaving Bree behind, but it’s not to be safe. Roger is putting himself in danger to find Jem, while Bree remains safe in her own time with Amanda.
Buck is going with Roger through the stones. I do think at one point the MacKenzies tells Buck a little too much, but they need to trust him with some information. I think there is a little bit of foreshadowing in this part of the chapter when it comes to Buck’s future actions.
I’m sure we’ll see this part of the story used in the TV series. We already know Buck is coming back into it, although not played by Graham McTavish this time. I’ll get to my thoughts on all this in the adaptation section.
Let’s dive into An Echo in the Bone Chapter 90.
Just the Outlander chapter
The last we left Bree and Roger, they found out that Rob had taken Jem. Roger is sure that Rob is taking Jem through the stones, but he can’t just jump through them. He needs to be prepared, and that’s what the first part of this chapter is about.
Bree cuts a brooch in half so that Roger and Buck have their own stones to travel with. She worries that the stones won’t be big enough, but I think this is more about Bree being worried in general. They still don’t know all the details of time travel, and they have to hope that Roger can find their son.
Bree also gives Roger a Swiss Army Knife for the steel. What’s so important about steel? I think this is more about it being a metal that doesn’t rust and is easy to sterilize should it be needed. That was my first thought, anyway.
Buck wants to know why Rob would take Jem. The MacKenzies need to trust him with this information, even though he’s proven himself to look out for only himself in the past. They tell him that Jem knows where the hidden gold is, and that Rob has taken the letter that says everything about it. They should have stopped here, but they explain that Hector Cameron took the gold across to the Colonies.
There are thoughts about how Rob could be connected to the Camerons. He is a Cameron after all. Is it possible that he’s a descendant of Hector Cameron in some way? Jocasta doesn’t have any living children, but is it possible that one did survive without anyone knowing? Is it possible Hector had family and Rob believes that as the descendant of Hector and not Jocasta that he deserves it?
Bree drives Roger and Buck to the bottom of Craigh na Dun. There is a heartfelt and emotional goodbye. This could be the last time Roger and Bree see each other. With that, Roger and Buck go through the stones and Bree carefully drives back home, realizing she is all that Mandy has left right now.
Foreshadowing in the Outlander chapter
There are a couple of bits of foreshadowing in this chapter. The first is how Mandy is so calm. In the previous chapter, she was erratic that Jem had been taken. Now she’s calm. It’s clear that Mandy has some abilities. Is it that she knows everything will turn out just the way everyone hopes?
Another bit of foreshadowing is in all the mentions of Geillis Duncan. Roger and Bree wonder if Rob and Geillis are in all this together. We know the two men are heading to the past, where they are possibly going to run into Geillis. Okay, we know they will. Is this mention of Geillis foreshadowing of what’s to come?
What’s interesting is that there’s little discussion about where Rob got his time travel abilities from. There’s this focus on Hector Cameron and how Rob could be a descendant, but they just assume that Rob has taken Jem through the stones and can travel. Is there some foreshadowing in this chapter that this isn’t what happened after all?
Adapting An Echo in the Bone chapter
I’m sure to see this chapter adapted in Outlander Season 7 in some way. It’s just too big for Bree and Roger’s storyline not to be included. And we know that much of the Buck and Roger storyline from the eighth book is in Outlander Season 7 based on the casting announcement.
It makes sense to combine the two books for this one storyline. Without it, Roger and Bree wouldn’t be in the seventh season much. It is on the slower side, especially as much of it is reading the letters. It makes more sense to have action for the two of them, even if it means pulling from another book.
What did you spot while reading An Echo in the Bone Chapter 90? Let us know in the comments below.
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