While Jamie knows how to fight, he hasn’t been part of an army before. Virgins section 4 gives us a look at how inexperienced he is, and I love it.
We meet Jamie after his time with the mercenaries. That gives him the experience he needs to be able to be a great soldier and leader. However, in Virgins we get to see him as a new soldier, and he has a lot to learn, as this section tells us.
Breaking down Virgins section 4
Jamie is trying to focus on staying upright as he marches alongside the wagon. He’s just sucking up all the pain that he’s in, because that’s all that he can do. However, there’s a shout from the driver and the wagon is attacked.
We get a bunch of people shouting all sorts of different things, with Jamie and Ian shouting their clan war cry. There’s a fight that breaks out, and we learn that it looks like the driver is a victim of the melee. Someone tries to get one of the rugs out of the wagon, and I think this is the first sign that these aren’t just any rugs.
However, Jamie has been injured in the attack. Due to the way he already feels and this attack, he ends up collapsing and losing consciousness. At least some of the attackers also end up collapsing.
Could this section be used in a TV series adaptation?
We would need to see this section as it offers the first bit of action in the story. At the same time, it gives us a look at how inexperienced Jamie is as a fighter. Sure, he has trained as the heir to Lallybroch, but he hasn’t been part of an army. The group of mercenaries are much more trained than him, and he is also fighting heavily injured.
Getting to see how Jamie and Ian fight together is also important. The two don’t have experience doing this, and we’d need to see how the two grow in this as the season progresses. This is all about showing another side of Jamie, so yes, we’d need this section of Virgins in an adaptation.
Let us know what you spotted in this chapter via Facebook and Twitter