Lord John Grey can only talk to Jamie Fraser about what’s on his mind. Which is where we find him in Lord John and the Brotherhood of the Blade Chapter 32.
This chapter may be somewhat surprising to some. Jamie can act a little out of character, especially compared to the Jamie that we know in the Outlander books. However, we have to remember that most of the Jamie/John interactions in the later books come well after this conversation.
This chapter is important in the friendship between John and Jamie. Let’s dive into it to understand.
Breaking down Lord John and the Brotherhood of the Blade Chapter 33
There is only one person John can speak to about everything that is going on in his mind. He needs to turn to Jamie Fraser, who he can be open and honest with.
John needs to figure out what to do about Percy. As he explains this to Jamie, Jamie is shocked to learn that Percy is so much younger. Jamie accuses John of grooming young boys. He goes into everything that be believes about homosexuality. Something that we have to remember is that Jamie is a Catholic. Homosexuality is a sin to him. While we know a Jamie who accepts John for who he is, Jamie needs to get to that point.
John is angry at the statements that Jamie makes. He ends up telling Jamie that if he were to take Jamie to his bed, he would make Jamie scream. Jamie understands what John means, and we know Jamie’s history. The fact that Jamie punches the boards by John’s head isn’t all that surprising to us.
For John, it’s that first realization that Jamie was raped once by a man. He doesn’t know who, but he knows that it happened.
There is a surprising and confusing moment at the end of the chapter. John rushes off and finds a wagon. He’s able to masturbate from there. Was he sexually aroused after everything he saw from Jamie considering he’s now worked out that Jamie was raped? This just seems so odd.
What I will say is that it further tells me that John getting caught by Brianna in Drums of Autumn wasn’t all that surprising. There have been comments from people about how John wouldn’t have been so casual about things, but we can see that he would. There are often times when his passion takes over.
Could this chapter be adapted into a TV series?
I’m in two minds about whether this chapter would be used if the Lord John Grey series was developed. The main reason for needing it is to see how John and Jamie’s friendship develops. We can see John’s understanding of Jamie’s actions, and we can see what Jamie really thinks of John.
I could see the end part being removed. This could lead to far too many questions, as the part in the books has done. While Diana Gabaldon has explained things in the past, the show couldn’t expect all fans to find her explanation. In this case, it’s best just to skip over that moment.
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