The Confusion Of Life

I was really looking forward to seeing this iconic moment on screen - and also interested to see how the moment would be adapted for the TV series:

“Sassenach, ye havena been a day late in your courses, in all the time since ye first took me to your bed. Ye havena bled now in forty-six days.”

“You bastard!” I said, outraged. “You counted! In the middle of a bloody war, you counted!”

“Didn’t you?”

“No!” I hadn’t; I had been much too afraid to acknowledge the possibility of the thing I had hoped and prayed for so long, come now so horribly too late.

What was so interesting to me is that we got part of this verbatim - Claire says, “In the middle of this bloody war, you kept track!”

But - in a subtle, but tremendous shift from the source material - Jamie doesn’t ask Claire, “Didn’t you?”

Rather, he asks - “How long have you known?”

Because he *knows* Claire would have counted. He *knows* she is in tune with her body, after Faith - just as she is in tune with his body.

I never quite believed that Claire wasn’t keeping track - I always saw it as further evidence that she is an unreliable narrator. So it’s interesting that the series decided to take a different - more realistic? - view of the situation.

And on top of this - Jamie *knows* that she knows. He also knows why she hasn’t told him - because it’s such happy news, at such a terrible time. They’ve both been keeping this wonderful, precious secret from each other - and in the middle of the preparations for Culloden, he even smiles at her.

Celebrating their joy.

Finding a small moment of peace to connect - to celebrate.

And in yet *another* subtle, but tremendous shift from the source material - Claire admits she knows she is pregnant - even though it’s “Not long” that she’s known.

Because she knows that he knows. She knows that he would keep track - she knows he is more attuned to her body than she is.

These subtle changes immeasurably strengthen the portrayal of Jamie and Claire’s marriage in the series. Because it shows just how well they know each other - and the lengths they will go to ensure that the other is happy.

Because they (and we) both know - they are one body, one spirit. They know, and love, each other more than their own lives.

And, to quote one of Roger MacKenzie’s more colorful remarks to Brianna in Drums of Autumn:

A wildfire creates a smoke cloud behind the peaks of the Kootenay Range in Canada, 2012

I don’t think I’ve done any promotional posting before, but hey, I figured it wouldn’t do any harm, really.  See, the thing is, I’m a mod for this one rp forum and I was really hoping to get some people to be interested in it.

It’s in Dutch, but I’m writing this in English, just in case an English reader sees it, thinks of their Dutch friends and maybe gives them a nudge. Who knows. That, and I don’t want too much Dutch on my blog. 

So, this forum. http://horsehome.actieforum.com/ It’s type of RP forum, in which everything takes place in the same environment, the fictional city of HorseHome and it’s surroundings. Every board is a location and can be visited by the characters. When you make an account, your username is your characters name and your signature and avatar will be of his/her faceclaim. These faceclaims are realistic, but are not limited to pictures. Realistic drawings and/or 3D models are also allowed. We’re pretty relaxed like that. A few examples of the characters that inhabit this forum;