Outlander Book Club: Lord John and the Brotherhood of the Blade Chapter 26 breakdown

Lord John Grey needs some advice in Lord John and the Brotherhood of the Blade Chapter 26. He decides to see Stephan von Namtzen for that advice.

It turns out that von Namtzen and Weber were close. Namtzen knew Weber from Weber being a boy, and that meant that he took it upon himself to handle the situation with Weber being outed as gay. Now John needs to figure out what to do about Percy.

Things are much worse for Percy than they would have been for Weber. It could also cause some political issues.

Breaking down Lord John and the Brotherhood of the Blade Chapter 26

The chapter starts with us learning that people in the regiment are gossiping. They don’t do it to Lord John’s face, but he knows. He can’t take it anymore, so he goes to see Stephan von Namtzen.

We get caught up on Namtzen and his life with Princess Louisa, who is away because she’s pregnant. Namtzen goes into what he did to deal with the Weber situation. He didn’t want the family to be disgraced, so he has Weber and his men head out in a skirmish. Weber was never supposed to come back alive, but he did. As Weber realized what it meant, he faced Namtzen with some fear, and Namtzen shot him.

John later wants to ask for advice on what he should do about Percy. Weber being involved with an English officer complicates matters. For the Prussians, there isn’t anything specifically against sodomites. There is a story of King Frederich of Prussia being gay. His lover ended up being executed for treason for deserting the Army and never because he was gay. Namtzen had to kill Weber though, otherwise someone else in the regiment would have done and it would have been dishonorable for the family.

However, the English will hang gay men. We’ve seen that happen already. Percy is in some trouble with being caught, and John needs to figure out what to do. It doesn’t help that the situation also causes some issues politically.

John doesn’t really get the advice that he wants. Instead, there is an element of closure for these two men. John kisses Namtzen’s stump, and then decides to tell Namtzen that he loves him like a brother. It eases some of the tension, and it also allows John to walk away without being devastated that there’s another man in his life that he can’t have. At least he has Namtzen as a friend and confidante.

Could this chapter be used in a TV adaptation?

I would like to see this chapter used, but I’m not sure that it would be. It’s a small part to bring back a guest star. If the writers couldn’t get back whoever they brought in as Stephan von Namtzen if Lord John and the Private Matter and Lord John and the Succubus were adapted, then it wouldn’t make sense to include this whole chapter.

We can find out about what happened to Weber in another way, such as through a letter. It’s not like John gets the advice that he needs when it comes to handling Percy after the big reveal. So, this chapter isn't all that necessary.

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