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The Fiery Cross Reread: The Gathering
Nov. 4th, 2019 08:52 am![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
joFinally finished with the The Gathering section of the book on Saturday. Of the 1330 pages, the gathering takes up about 230 -- and lets not forget that's just in The Fiery Cross (TFC). It actually starts in Drums of Autumn (DofA).
So after ploughing through that, I found myself wondering what bits of what happens during the gathering are plot critical, and what bits are filler. Obviously, most of it is filler. But there are some things that are noteworthy:
1. Introduction of new characters
There are loads of people mentioned who end up as Jamie's tenants on the Ridge, but we don't really need to get into them at all. There are three other characters, however, who are a bit more important. The first two are Mr. and Mrs. Bug. The other is Lizzie's father Joseph Wymess. Now, Mr. Wymess's reunion with his daughter actually happens in DofA, not TFC. Of the three, the Bugs are more plot-critical than is Mr. Wymess. Granted, I don't remember every detail of every plot point going forward, but off the top of my head, I don't remember any major plot points that involve Mr. Wymess. So if they were to not introduce a new minor character into the show, my money would be on Wymess. However, they've already cast the actor (in season 3), so we may well see him back. But the Bugs are major minor characters, if you know what I mean, so they can't really leave them out, unless they plan to do away with that entire sub-plot.
2. Events
Lots of stuff happens during the gathering, but most of it isn't important if you're looking at the main plot of the books. But of the various things that do happen, I would highlight the following:
a) the calling of the clans (which actually happens at the end of DofA);
b) Jamie being ordered to muster up a militia
c) the weddings
Only the last two are really plot-critical. Of course, the weddings plot line is already different because we don't have a Duncan Innes on the series. Jocasta did become romantically involved with Murtagh in season 4, but I can't see how they'd plan to hold a high profile, very public wedding between Jocasta and wanted outlaw. Anyway, Jocasta's wedding never happens due to the priest being arrested, so they can easily just omit that entire subplot in the show. They can't omit Roger and Bree's wedding, however, so that will happen. Since they don't have to deal with the issue of Jocasta's wedding, they can also skip the whole bit with the priest being arrested as well.
Jamie was ordered at the end of season 4 to hunt down Murtagh, but in TFC, he gets more specific orders -- to muster a militia and join other such militias as a show of force vs the Regulators. This will have to happen, obviously, because it becomes one of the major plots of the novel.
The calling of the clans is totally not plot critical, BUT... it's quite dramatic and would work well on TV, plus it shows Jamie's growing acceptance of Roger. It would also sort of close a circle -- we had a calling of the clans in Season 4, at the gathering Bree and Roger go to, and Roger ends up at the fire alone because of the spat he has with Bree. Doing a new calling of the clans with Roger now part of a big family would be nice. It would probably be possible to work this into an episode (I'm assuming no more than one episode will deal with the gathering) -- maybe even have the wedding earlier in the day, and then the calling of the clans as the ending of the gathering? *shrugs*
Anyway, those are my thoughts on that.
Only one other note... the French that appears now and then in the novel is REALLY bad. I mean, really, really bad. I am not sure if it's deliberate because sometimes it's Marsali, not a native speaker, using it with Germain, so she wouldn't be using perfect French, but other times, I'm not sure? In some cases, the wording is actually OK, but there are grammar and other mistakes such as, the use of "chéri" when it should be the feminine "chérie" because it's Fergus talking to Marsali. Makes no difference spoken, but to the reader, it's wrong. It's really distracting, either way. I guess if you're not fluent, you wouldn't notice, but if you are, it's quite unacceptable. I find it hard to believe that Diana couldn't find someone with better French skills to proof that stuff, or her editor couldn't find someone?
So after ploughing through that, I found myself wondering what bits of what happens during the gathering are plot critical, and what bits are filler. Obviously, most of it is filler. But there are some things that are noteworthy:
1. Introduction of new characters
There are loads of people mentioned who end up as Jamie's tenants on the Ridge, but we don't really need to get into them at all. There are three other characters, however, who are a bit more important. The first two are Mr. and Mrs. Bug. The other is Lizzie's father Joseph Wymess. Now, Mr. Wymess's reunion with his daughter actually happens in DofA, not TFC. Of the three, the Bugs are more plot-critical than is Mr. Wymess. Granted, I don't remember every detail of every plot point going forward, but off the top of my head, I don't remember any major plot points that involve Mr. Wymess. So if they were to not introduce a new minor character into the show, my money would be on Wymess. However, they've already cast the actor (in season 3), so we may well see him back. But the Bugs are major minor characters, if you know what I mean, so they can't really leave them out, unless they plan to do away with that entire sub-plot.
2. Events
Lots of stuff happens during the gathering, but most of it isn't important if you're looking at the main plot of the books. But of the various things that do happen, I would highlight the following:
a) the calling of the clans (which actually happens at the end of DofA);
b) Jamie being ordered to muster up a militia
c) the weddings
Only the last two are really plot-critical. Of course, the weddings plot line is already different because we don't have a Duncan Innes on the series. Jocasta did become romantically involved with Murtagh in season 4, but I can't see how they'd plan to hold a high profile, very public wedding between Jocasta and wanted outlaw. Anyway, Jocasta's wedding never happens due to the priest being arrested, so they can easily just omit that entire subplot in the show. They can't omit Roger and Bree's wedding, however, so that will happen. Since they don't have to deal with the issue of Jocasta's wedding, they can also skip the whole bit with the priest being arrested as well.
Jamie was ordered at the end of season 4 to hunt down Murtagh, but in TFC, he gets more specific orders -- to muster a militia and join other such militias as a show of force vs the Regulators. This will have to happen, obviously, because it becomes one of the major plots of the novel.
The calling of the clans is totally not plot critical, BUT... it's quite dramatic and would work well on TV, plus it shows Jamie's growing acceptance of Roger. It would also sort of close a circle -- we had a calling of the clans in Season 4, at the gathering Bree and Roger go to, and Roger ends up at the fire alone because of the spat he has with Bree. Doing a new calling of the clans with Roger now part of a big family would be nice. It would probably be possible to work this into an episode (I'm assuming no more than one episode will deal with the gathering) -- maybe even have the wedding earlier in the day, and then the calling of the clans as the ending of the gathering? *shrugs*
Anyway, those are my thoughts on that.
Only one other note... the French that appears now and then in the novel is REALLY bad. I mean, really, really bad. I am not sure if it's deliberate because sometimes it's Marsali, not a native speaker, using it with Germain, so she wouldn't be using perfect French, but other times, I'm not sure? In some cases, the wording is actually OK, but there are grammar and other mistakes such as, the use of "chéri" when it should be the feminine "chérie" because it's Fergus talking to Marsali. Makes no difference spoken, but to the reader, it's wrong. It's really distracting, either way. I guess if you're not fluent, you wouldn't notice, but if you are, it's quite unacceptable. I find it hard to believe that Diana couldn't find someone with better French skills to proof that stuff, or her editor couldn't find someone?
