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Flight of the Heron read-along: Part V chapters 3-4
But till my last moments my words are the same: there'll never be peace until Jamie comes hame...
The penultimate week of the read-along, and in these chapters we are still very Jacobite.
Next week we will, sadly, read Part V Chapter 5 and the Epilogue.
The penultimate week of the read-along, and in these chapters we are still very Jacobite.
Next week we will, sadly, read Part V Chapter 5 and the Epilogue.
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And then we got to the conversation with Angus, where he passes on Lachlan's vow to kill Keith, and my OHHHHHH NOOOOOOOOO went off with the force of sirens.
(Although not, apparently, for Ewen: The story of Lachlan’s vow had perturbed him, but now he saw it in a far less menacing light. I am reminded of him being similarly dismissive of the heron prophecy. Poor Angus is touched with Cassandra's curse, where Ewen is concerned.)
When Ewen is dragging his heels about leaving, I find it a bit surprising and very interesting that Aunt Margaret tries to guilt him away to France via how Keith would feel, if Ewen were to be captured. Not his wife, not the memory of his foster brothers -- her first attempt is to use Major Windham! Which raises the question of exactly how much he has told her about their meetings -- a fair bit, apparently (does she know about the prophecy?) But also makes me wonder how he spoke of Keith, that she thinks that Major Windham is the first and best emotional prybar to use against Ewen.
And then Ewen responds that Keith would understand...! I just. For as close as his bonds of clan and family are to Aunt Margaret and others, it's Keith who most understands exactly where Ewen is right now, emotionally. Keith understands what he's been through, and what haunts him, and what still needs to be set right. It's rather breathtaking that Ewen, who has such close bonds to his kin, is best understood in this moment by his purported enemy.
(Meanwhile, he tells Margaret she doesn't know all the things about why he's dragging his feet, and she's all pointedly like, "you could tell me?" and he goes all silently moody and misunderstood like a teenager. Ewen! Talk to your Aunt who is far wiser than you're giving her credit for!)
There's a mention in these chapters that Lochiel is wounded -- I discovered in other reading that he was shot through the ankles at Culloden, which just, ow. Ow, ow, ow, ow, ow. Given that, it's little wonder that Archie views bringing one to the other as a nonstarter! (Even putting aside that everyone's first duty is to get away to safety so they may make another attempt later! Ewen's lame; Lochiel's lame; he's not going to carry one across the Highlands to meet with the other!)
That whole scene with Archie is wonderful. There's such a strong sense of an older and more centered person dealing with a beloved-but-despaired-of young hothead. He's gentle and understanding and a wonderful confidante, but he's also absolutely implacable to Ewen's drama. (And perhaps a little fondly amused by it? "You do realize that the part of this that would grieve Lochiel is your not trusting him to trust you? And yes, I AM going to tell him you were tortured, you made me promise to tell it all, so you have no one to blame for my passing on that part of it but yourself.") Vg'f bayl n oevrs fprar, ohg vg'f fgebat rabhtu gung lbh pna frr jul Oebfgre gubhtug fur pbhyq unat zbfg bs nabgure abiry ba Rjra naq Nepuvr'f eryngvbafuvc. (Not sure if that counts as a spoiler or not, but with an abundance of caution...)
Fuck, next week is the last two chapters already? *keens*
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I love the bit where Aunt Margaret is all "You could tell me??? what is troubling you????" and Ewen's response is ABSOLUTELY that of a sulky teenager, for all that he's in his twenties. SHE WOULDN'T UNDERSTAND. NO ONE CAN UNDERSTAND. HE MUST NEVER SPEAK OF IT TO ANYONE. Oh Ewen, God bless.
I wonder how Archie would have pried it out of him if it weren't for that fortunate happenstance that led Ewen to accidentally betray a bit of the trouble, when he thinks Archie doesn't trust him enough to tell him Lochiel's whereabouts. Doubtless Archie would have got it out of him eventually. (And yes, definitely Archie is a little fondly amused. I have the impression that, although Ewen is not generally given to dramatics, when he DOES get dramatic about something it goes very deep.)
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That is a very good, and thoughtfully explained, point about Aunt Margaret first bringing up how Keith would feel about Ewen's stubbornness! Yes, it's immensely significant, as you say—in the implication of how much Ewen has felt the need to tell Margaret about Keith, in the fact that Keith is the first person she tries to use to persuade him, in his certainty that Keith would understand...
It's rather breathtaking that Ewen, who has such close bonds to his kin, is best understood in this moment by his purported enemy.
Yeah... I have nothing to add to this, but it is very correct and important. As has already been demonstrated, Keith and Ewen despite being on opposite sides have basically the same views on honour and so on, and a lot of respect for each other; but, more than that, Keith understands Ewen on an emotional level—better than any, apparently. Agh, this story is such a good use of the 'enemies to friends
to lovers' trope!Aww, Ewen the moody dramatic teenager :D
Fuck, next week is the last two chapters already? *keens*
*nods sadly*
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There's a wonderful moment in the ancient Scottish TV adaptation where Archie all but rolls his eyes as Ewen casts himself upon the bed. You get the impression that Archie has more or less had it and would like Ewen to grow up pronto. Archie has been risking his life, acting as courier, passing under the noses of the redcoats all this time and Ewen has been... staying at home dramatising?
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About 2/3 of the way down the page. It's no great shakes tbh - like early Doctor Who quality - but they filmed it on the actual locations, which is nice. Some nice Ewen/Keith moments too.
The later one, from 1976, seems to have been excised from this world. I don't remember much about it, though I didn't think it was all that bad at the time. Another adaptation is long overdue imo, but the fandom would then be overwhelmed with a/b/o and coffee-shop AUs and Outlander crossovers, and if that's elitist, well, call me a Bourbon king...
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I would desperately like to see a well-done adaptation, but I do fear the associated challenges with a large fandom. On the one hand, fan art. On the other hand, Discourse.
Speaking of Outlander, I do wonder if anyone else here has ever wondered how much Flight of the Heron influenced it — I'm not overly familiar with the series but I have noticed a few elements that seem very similar to aspects of FotH.