We get to see more of Lord John Grey’s growing connection to Percy in Lord John and the Brotherhood of the Blade Chapter 21. It certainly adds more to why the two seeing each other again in later Outlander books was so important.
The chapter itself is a quiet one, focused on the intimacy of the two men. This is a chance for John to share something intimate with Percy, showing their connection.
I do admit that John’s feelings and openness with Percy still seem a little quick. I think it definitely gives us a look at how John can be ruled by his emotions at times.
Breaking down Lord John and the Brotherhood of the Blade Chapter 21
John and Percy are getting ready for their regiment to head to Germany. This is going to be Percy’s first time on the battlefield, and he is worried. What if he ends up being a coward? What if something happens to him? More importantly, he worries about letting John down, and I think we see just how the feelings are mutual between the two men.
This is a chance for John to tell Percy about the one time he was left embarrassed. It was the time that Jamie Fraser and his wife were able to trick him. We getthat reminder that Jamie and John weren’t always friends. Jamie left a lasting impression on John, though.
Percy points out that John always wants to save people. He views it as honor. I do wonder if there’s a bit of a savior complex going on, though. It makes sense with the way John’s father died. He couldn’t save his father, so now he wants to save others.
The chapter ends with a discussion of Rome. John promises to take Percy there for some peace, although all John seems to vividly remember is the seagulls. I do love how we see that John just wants peace. He wants to be able to live his life.
Could this chapter be used in a TV series adaptation?
It’s hard to say if this chapter would be used if there was a Lord John Grey series. I do think it needs to be. We need to see how John and Percy’s relationship develops. That means we need to see these quieter moments, and I do think that there would be enough time.
It’s all about time with TV show adaptations. Some of this would depend on the type of adaptation we’d get. Some of the Lord John stories could be an episode or two, while others would need to be around six episodes. Maybe that’s why there hasn’t been a lot of talk about a spin-off series since the books and short stories differ so much.
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