Did this character really have to go? And why did they butcher his personality like that?
No wonder everyone's so mad. Spoilers for The Witcher Season 2 ahead!
Prior to its release on December 17, showrunner Lauren Schmidt Hissrich
revealed that Season 2 of "The Witcher" had learned from the mistakes of the first season, and
would deliver a TV show worthy of the White Wolf. This latest season, now available on Netflix,
picks up after the pyro-clastic conclusion of Season 1, finally bringing Geralt of
Rivia, princess Ciri, and Yennefer together in a meaningful, and almost binding way.
One of the most pressing themes of this new batch of episodes is family, and considering the
interactions between the main characters, this is only likely to grow in intensity over time.
In Episode 2 of Season 2, Geralt and Ciri find themselves in a stronghold called Kaer Morhen.
This essentially serves as a capital for Witchers,
and most of its inhabitants have undergone the same transformation process as Geralt,
through which regular humans can become capable of combat against powerful beasts.
Returning to what is essentially his homeland, Geralt comes across his mentor Vesemir, as well
as some of his brothers-in-arms – including a Witcher named Eskel, portrayed by Basil Eidenbenz.
Unfortunately for die-hard fans of the "Witcher" video games and Andrzej Sapkowski's books,
this episode's approach to a fan favorite character
had them ready to unleash their own destructive magic – and profanity.
Episode 2, appropriately titled "Kaer Morhen," sees the newly introduced Witcher
Eskel quickly meet a horrific end when he's transfigured into a monstrous tree creature
known as a Leshen. This was a development some fans of the books did not expect
or appreciate, but it was only the beginning.
In an episode discussion thread on the official
subreddit for the "Witcher" franchise, one user wrote:
"They could have just, you know, made one of the other random witchers infected. But
nah, we gotta just kill off Eskel for no f—ing reason. (Not before
making him act like a total douchebag first)."
This elicited a tremendous response from fans, many of whom with knowledge of the source material
were similarly disappointed by such a popular character being killed right away.
"I knew something was wrong. I don't know what happened."
One Reddit user added:
"What the actual f— is this? Just gonn a fridge Eskel, and completely s— on source material?"
It was typically the more dedicated "Witcher" fans that felt betrayed by the series' decision
to get rid of Eskel so quickly. One user summed things up by saying,
"But killing off Eskel? Why? Anyone reading the books, or playing the games,
will feel awkward knowing they just killed him off in
half an episode in the show. […] Seriously, what a way to completely s— on a great first episode."
While much of the fan disappointment over Eskel's character arc is centered on the
fact that a fan favorite character dies in the very same episode introducing him,
some viewers are similarly upset about his change in personality
compared to his prior appearances in the "Witcher" books and video games.
One popular Twitter post about Eskel's new characterization includes a screenshot of
a document associated with the new season of "The Witcher," describing
Basil Eidenbenz's version of Eskel as "a particularly arrogant Witcher" who "loves
sharing tales of his adventures and celebrating them with women and wine."
Needless to say, that isn't a characterization most fans agreed with.
Whereas in prior appearances a set of facial scars have been a prominent
component of his characterization, they found that the show, quote,
"heavily downplaying his scarring should've been a heads-up."
"You alright? You look like day-old s—."
One Twitter user likewise expressed their
disappointment in how Eskel was handled by the TV series, writing
"I [knew] Netflix would change things from the books so I was prepared but eskel being
a mean womanizer who brought girls to kaer morhen and threw a party wasn't one of them."
So, while Eskel may simply be a short-lived companion of Geralt of Rivia's to viewers
unfamiliar with prior versions of "The Witcher," existing fans of the character were unhappy with
both the character's new personality and his death coming so soon after his introduction.
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