Last week, we finally heard news about The Witcher’s second season after over a year of near radio silence. Due to launch on December 17, The Witcher season two will likely be a combination of stories from Sword of Destiny and Blood of Elves, the latter of which is the first novel in Andrzej Sapkowski’s iconic saga. If you enjoyed the inaugural season back in December 2019, you’re probably going to love season two even more, especially because it looks as if Netflix has nailed adapting the source material – let’s break down the recent WitcherCon trailer as a means of explaining that.
Although Geralt of Rivia is clearly the protagonist of CD Projekt Red’s games, Ciri is of pretty much equal importance in the books. Played by Freya Allan, Ciri’s role in season one was relatively minor, but that’s because it was based on The Last Wish and part of Sword of Destiny. These are the two short story collections that were published prior to Sapkowski’s main saga, both of which predominantly focus on Geralt.
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Due to how faithfully season one adapted these stories – combined with how prevalent Ciri has been in supplementary material for season two – it seems pretty reasonable to assume that Netflix is going to knock it out of the park come December. Also, I’m the biggest Witcher head in the world – if I had little faith in this project, I’d be the first person to write 500 articles about why, as evidenced by my immense confusion as to why two different actors have been cast as Eredin. Everything we’ve seen so far is conducive to replicating the same quality the literary saga is renowned for, so it looks as if the long and arduous wait for more Cavill content will have been worth it in just a few months’ time.
As you’ll know if you’ve seen the trailer – which you can check out below – Ciri appears to be moving into more of a starring role this time around. This is because, as established in the books, this is the point in time where Ciri finally goes to Kaer Morhen. While she’s technically not a witcher – she can’t undergo the Trial of the Grasses because there aren’t any surviving witchers who know how to brew the necessary concoctions – she undergoes rigorous training to improve her fitness and fighting ability. People who have played The Witcher 3 will have some idea of how talented Ciri becomes, but it’s important to remember that the games take place after the books and aren’t considered canon by Sapkowski himself. As a result, this will be a very different – but still very powerful – version of Ciri, who is only just coming to terms with the Elder Blood in her veins and what that means for her life.
It’s not all sword fighting and prophecies, though. Blood of Elves sees Ciri experience immense growth after having lost her parents, her grandmother, Mousesack, and just about everyone else she knows. The only person left is Geralt, her rightful adoptive father as per the Law of Surprise, which Ciri doesn’t actually know until she finally meets the witcher.
Traditionally a loner, adapting to parenthood isn’t necessarily easy for Geralt, nor is it something he is ever truly sure about. Conversely, the one thing he is sure of is that he needs to maintain an unwavering conviction to protect Ciri, and so his uncertainties about his own ability to be a good dad eventually help him become one. Blood of Elves sees the very early days of this long and gradual process – Geralt is pretty lucky that he has Vesemir and the other lads to help him.
You might not have noticed it in the trailer because her back was to the camera, but this is also where Ciri meets Triss, who is invited up to Kaer Morhen to help with her training. People who played the games will likely think of Yen as Ciri’s surrogate mam, but as depicted in the trailer, Yen is currently with Fringilla and Nilfgaard after having been captured in the wake of the Battle of Sodden. I suspect we will see her reunite with Geralt and Ciri at some point towards the end of this season, although I wouldn’t be surprised if it was delayed until season three, providing Geralt and Ciri with time to forge their own onscreen bond while pulling Triss into a more central role.
It’s easy to think of The Witcher as a story about Geralt, but he’s not the only witcher the title refers to. I already explained that Ciri is, at least technically speaking, not a witcher. She hasn’t undergone the mutations, hasn’t got the cat eyes, and can’t smell a drowner’s left leg from four miles away. She is a witcher in spirit, though, and in training, and in disposition and intellect. The title of this series refers to her at least as much as it does to Geralt, and I think Netflix’s decision to steer clear of making Cavill the solitary frontman is brave but ultimately correct.
Speaking of which, Geralt talks way too much in the trailer. He doesn’t generally speak a lot and you can tell by the way season one plays out that he was consciously written to be gruff – to talk plainly, and with brevity. The fact he narrates an entire two-minute trailer is, in my eyes, an enormous red herring. Obviously Cavill is going to have the most screen time, and obviously he is still the star of the show at this point in time – but to suggest anything other than the fact that Allan is going to be pulled into a more prolific position in the show’s core narrative is ludicrous, especially if you’ve read the books.
Season two of The Witcher looks absolutely brilliant so far, and the prime reason for that is its emphasis on Ciri’s story. Geralt may be one of my favourite characters of all time, but Ciri’s various arcs throughout the saga are some of the best parts of the entire Witcher universe – I can’t wait for people to finally get to see them.
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