If you just finished watching Netflix's new animated film "The Witcher: Nightmare of the
Wolf," you might be a little confused, even if you're a fan of the franchise.
So let's explore some of the biggest unanswered questions posed by the animated spin-off.
If all of "The Witcher" you've consumed has been its most popular entries,
"The Witcher III: The Wild Hunt" and the 2019 Netflix show, you're
likely to have some questions about a name often alluded to but seldom expanded upon:
Vesemir. Geralt's old teacher in "The Witcher" video games, Vesemir has his
own tragic origin story, which is the main focus of "The Witcher: Nightmare of the Wolf."
Vesemir spent his childhood as a common "street rat," stealing food and coin in order to get by,
while also serving a rich master as a servant. When a witcher named Deglan comes to exorcise
a monster possessing a woman, Vesemir gets a taste of the action and thirsts for more,
offering himself as payment as part of the Law of Surprise, a custom central to "Witcher" lore.
"Lioness of Cintra! I come to claim what is rightfully mine! Pavetta. By the Law of Surprise."
Skipping way ahead to the end of this particular adventure, Vesemir is saddled with the care
of the remaining witchers-to-be, with most of the remaining witchers missing or dead.
There are so many questions related to this cataclysmic event, but the biggest ones are:
What will happen to Vesemir as fate forces him to become the teacher he doesn't want to be,
and how will that affect the boys in his care?
There's a lot of mystery and intrigue surrounding all of these characters, Lady Zerbst perhaps most
of all. She was a childhood friend of Vesemir's until he decided to undergo the brutal and
deadly training of becoming a witcher, leaving her behind. She did not, however,
share Vesemir's humble status. She's of noble blood, and rose through the ranks due to careful
political ploys and "lucky" coincidences to eventually become an esteemed advisor to the king.
After the events of "Nightmare of the Wolf," however, Tetra uses a powerful illusion to
trick Vesemir into fatally wounding Lady Zerbst, who is now a 70-year-old woman.
Vesemir, who is of a similar age but much younger-looking due to the
expanded lifespan gifted to witchers, tearfully says goodbye to Lady Zerbst
next to the lake they dreamed of sharing together, as she dies in his arms, at peace.
This might seem to be a definite end to Lady Zerbst's story, but then again,
she may appear as a ghost, wraith, or other creature of the underworld.
Or we may get to go back in time and see more of her story. Just who exactly
is Lady Zerbst, and how innocent is she really? We may never fully know,
but we sure hope some piece of "Witcher" media expands on this woman's background.
Apparently named after the traditional Japanese onomatopoeia for a fox's cry,
Kitsu is an unnatural mutation of many mysterious beings, but often appears as a deceptively cute
fox. She also, however, appears as a tree spirit, a basilisk and perhaps even an elf.
Like a fox, Kitsu is one sly creature known for playing tricks, so it's impossible to fully know
what she is or isn't capable of. However, we do believe she was created by Deglan in a series
of unnatural, unholy and unethical experiments on various creatures, most of which died in the
process, but a small number of whom survived and escaped. Kitsu appears to be one such creature,
who lashes out at humanity with a power she struggles to control. Despite all that,
she is a fundamentally well-meaning creature who earns Vesemir's sympathy and mercy.
Where is she now? We can only guess, but we wouldn't be surprised to see
more of Kitsu in the future, perhaps even in Netflix's second season of "The Witcher."
It would be quite the showdown if she got on Geralt's bad side.
Deglan grew up in the Skellige Isles, where he was taught the worst lessons from a young age:
Never show fear or mercy; rule with an iron fist; think of your cause first, yourself
second, and everyone else dead last. He's the franchise's walking totem of toxic masculinity.
Like most characters in the universe of "The Witcher," however, he's still relatable,
even if he is the closest thing to a villain in the movie. As a witcher himself,
he inspired Vesemir to take up the life he chooses, and trained him to become one of
the strongest witchers ever -- even if the process nearly killed him. He is the morally
gray father figure to Vesemir as Vesemir will become the morally gray father figure to Geralt.
However, he crosses the line when he creates the demented, tortured, monstrous mutants,
including Kitsu. He intends to sic these tortured creations on the unsuspecting humans,
who would then have no choice but to provide more coin to the witchers in order to eradicate
them. It's an ingenious, evil plan, until Vesemir puts a stop to it, killing Deglan in the process.
Barring any spiritual hauntings or miraculous recoveries, this appears to be the end of
the tale of Deglan, but we still have much to learn about his own origins.
Will we ever learn the exact chilling details of what made Deglan become such a twisted person?
We aren't holding our breath, but one can dream.
After everything, however, "Nightmare of the Wolf" has one last ace up its sleeve.
The seemingly inconsequential bald kid, who runs away from Kaer Morhen along with
the other boys too young to fight, is actually none other than Geralt,
the famous witcher who acts as the main character of both the Netflix series and the video games.
Alongside Geralt appear to be Remus, Tomas and Luka. It's a lot of names to keep track of,
but we can at least guess where some of his friends end up. Remus appears in the Netflix
live-action series as a freelance witcher, so you can find out what happens to him there.
We couldn't find much on Tomas, suggesting that he may have died as a common casualty
of the witcher-creating process. As for Luka, the official Netflix "Witcher" page about him says he,
quote, "realized early on that the witcher life wasn't for him," so it sounds like he's retired.
Of course, Geralt's story is always being shaped and twisted by whoever gets the privilege to tell
it. The next big chapter, however, will be the second season of Netflix's series "The
Witcher," which debuts exclusively on the streaming platform December 17th.
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