Sometimes what is lost doesn’t need to be found, which is a lesson the heroes of this story must learn. We see a softer side of Geralt as he begins his training with Ciri but also wants to ensure she’s taking care of herself. Eskel is laid to rest as Ciri takes strides to impress the Witchers. Yennefer of Vengerberg proves she can still watch the world burn without magic at her hand.
A Witcher’s Goodbye
A considerable amount of time has passed since Geralt and Vesemir had to kill Eskel, who had turned into a leshy mutant. In this time, Geralt and Ciri have continued their training, while Vesemir has continued to dissect Leshkel in search of an answer — how could this have happened? Geralt calls for the investigation to end so Eskel can be laid to rest. Eskel’s body is taken to a cave — where in true School of the Wolf fashion, his body is left to be eaten by wolves. What a funeral.
Nobody Puts Ciri In The Corner
Lambert, doing what Lambert does best, teases Ciri as she trains with a stuffed dummy. Still struggling with the idea of perfectionism, Ciri insists on being trained properly. Happy to oblige, Lambert takes Ciri to an obstacle course suited for the best of the Witchers. The course is dangerous and riddled with deadly pendulums, sharp spinning wheels, wobbly platforms … and it’s all in the snow. Not backing down, Ciri takes the course repeatedly until she is able to make it through … until falling at the very last jump. Geralt, realizing he needs to push her harder in this turning point in their relationship, notes that she did not stick her landing.
Ciri’s Power Explored
This is the first episode where we see Geralt begin to understand the power that Ciri has inside her. He uses Ciri, guiding her to listen to that “pulling” feeling she feels, to guide the pair to the leshy that killed Eskel. Geralt doesn’t have to battle the one-handed leshy for long though as a new monster is introduced — a myriapod. Disgustingly complete with wolf skull, ram horns, a centipede body, and entirely too many claws and eyes, the myriapod literally slicing the leshy in half. Ciri remains cool and collected as she runs from the myriapod, luring it to its eventual death at Geralt’s blade. Another monster of the week down.
Back at Aretuza
Filled with emotion, Tissaia is moments away from declaring that Yennefer is dead … until Yennefer interrupts. Due to some sort of magic barrier in his mind, Tissaia still hasn’t made progress in her interrogation/torture of Cahir. With Vilgefortz at her side, Tissaia is attempting to overthrow Stregebor, who has decided Yennefer is a traitor and as such is torturing her for information. Luckily, Tissaia interrupts the torture and declares that Stregebor will answer for what he’s done. Stregebor demands Yennefer behead Cahir to prove her loyalty.
Istredd proves he still cares for Yennefer by contradicting Stregebor, who is telling the story of a sorceress named Falka who wielded fire magic, leading to the magic being forbidden. Stregebor compares Yennefer to Falka and says if given the chance, Yennefer would burn Aretuza to the ground and destroy the world. He also claims Falka burned off his hands, showing the stumps where his hands were burned off. We also briefly catch back up with Triss, who now has bright red hair and scars on her body from Yennefer’s use of the fire magic at Sodden Hill. Triss isn’t around long before being sent off on a “special mission.”
Yennefer Watches The World Burn Pt. 2
The Northern Kings are beginning to distrust the Brotherhood, as is indicated by Foltest’s snide off-hand comment. This makes sense because following the Witcher timeline from the books, the sorceress will soon be removed from the court after being deemed too powerful and untrustworthy. Istredd has somewhat deflected to Nilfgaard with the desire to help the elves and uncover secrets, despite the fact that both Nilfgaard and the elves are enemies of the Brotherhood now.
Yennefer, proving that she doesn’t need chaos to be powerful and making the statement that she cannot be controlled, refuses to kill Cahir. Instead, she sets the site of execution ablaze in more traditional ways (toppling over various burning objects) and escapes on horseback with Cahir, Velen in their sights.
The Witcher season 2 is now streaming on Netflix.
