Lord John Grey knows that he will need help while in Havana to get to Benedicta and Olivia. He arranges for that help in Besieged Section 2.
This section does a great job in catching us up on the events of A Plague of Zombies. We only need to know the basics to understand who Azeel and Rodrigo are to John, and why he is so kind and feels like he has a debt to them. However, it’s a lot, and it does encourage the rereading (or reading) of the novella.
Breaking down Besieged Section 2
The section starts off with Lord John Grey learning a little more about Havana from General Stanley. Once again, Diana Gabaldon shows the research that she has put into the time period. There are a few real names from history included, and there’s a lot of talk about the fortresses.
Lord John Grey knows that he probably won’t need all of the information, but some of it could turn out to be useful. So, he listens and makes mental notes of what he’ll need. However, he also realizes that he will need some help with the situation.
Azeel is one of those he can turn to, and John ask here to fetch her husband Rodrigo. They are both from A Plague of Zombies, and John catches us up by explaining the zombie plot to Stanley. He doesn’t go into all the details about how the zombies were created. He does explain a little more about how zombies are often left for dead, and that means they don’t survive.
The good news is that Rodrigo is on the road to recovery. In the last year, Rodrigo has gained his Spanish-speaking abilities back and a little of his English. He hopes that some of that will come with more time, but for now, Azeel is able to translate for John.
John intends to take both of them to Charlestown with him, where he can then give them the choice of remaining in his employ or staying and finding employ elsewhere. For now, he would like them to come to Havana with him. Rodrigo can go to places John can’t, and it would be helpful to find out where Benedicta and Olivia are and to get them out of the country.
Azeel and Rodrigo both agree to go with John. It may be dangerous, but there is a mutual feeling of respect between them all. This is likely because of how kind-hearted John is. That type of attitude gets you a long way!
Could this section be used in an adaptation?
There would certainly be a need for this section if the story was adapted for a TV series. It re-introduces us to Azeel and Rodrigo. We would need them considering they can go places John can’t. Plus, there’s the benefit of the Spanish language speaker in the area.
We probably won’t need the full reminder of the backstory, though. While this doesn’t take up a lot of time, assuming that A Plague of Zombies was adapted first, we wouldn’t need a big reminder of things that happened. This could be done as a “previously on” type reminder at the start of the episode.
Let us know what you spotted in this chapter via Facebook and Twitter