The real meaning of Geralt's new armor, a hilarious meta joke dumping on season 1,
and mysterious Witchers from the past. Everything you missed in The Witcher Season 2, just ahead.
As a dark fantasy series, it's not surprising to see twists on fairy tale motifs in "The Witcher."
The first episode of Season 2 adapts and borrows the title of one of the series'
most popular short stories, "A Grain of Truth," and features a dark love story
reminiscent of the classic fairy tale "Beauty and the Beast." However, the beast in "The Witcher"
is cursed after doing something much worse than being mean to an old woman at his castle door.
"A Grain of Truth" shows Geralt and Ciri meeting with Nivellen, who has been cursed
with boar-like tusks, fur, and claws after he sacked a temple and assaulted a priestess.
"All curses have cures. What did she say?" "She screamed something about love and blood."
Nivellen is hiding another secret from Geralt – his vampiric lover Vereena lives in the abandoned
castle with him and has been feasting on travelers who get too close. Vereena is a
bruxa — a powerful creature who drinks blood and can turn into a giant bat. Geralt fights Vereena,
but it's Nivellen who steps in and stabs the bruxa to protect the witcher and the princess. This act
of blood and love breaks Nivellen's curse, and he returns to his original human form.
As Season 2 of "The Witcher" prominently includes Vesemir,
it was bound to have nods to "The Witcher: Nightmare of the Wolf,"
the Netflix anime that describes Vesemir's origins and the brutal attack on Kaer Morhen.
Though witchers age slowly, Vesemir is considered the oldest among them.
The anime shows how he becomes a mentor not only for Geralt but also to Lambert, Eskel,
and Remus – the four young boys who escaped the battle at the end of "Nightmare of the Wolf."
In "The Witcher" Season 2, we finally see Eskel and Lambert all grown up and in live-action.
Remus, meanwhile, appeared in Season 1 but was killed by a striga.
As part of Ciri's education, Vesemir explains a bit of the history behind Kaer Morhen and
witchers' abilities. He tells her about fighting and living through the attack on Kaer Morhen,
in which humans and magic-mutated monsters assault the stronghold in
an attempt to eliminate the witchers. We also see the massive tree in the
middle of Kaer Morhen's hall where the medallions of fallen witchers hang.
Outside of Kaer Morhen's keep, bones of humans and monsters still litter the ground,
including a massive skeleton that looks like it could very well be
from the mutated griffin that attacks Vesemir in "Nightmare of the Wolf."
In the Episode 2 scenes that are not set at Kaer Morhen,
we follow a beat-up and broken down Yennefer, who is captured by Nilfgaard forces after the
Battle of Sodden Hill. She reunites with former classmate Fringilla, a sorceress on the side of
Nilfgaard. She also meets with Francesca, an elven mage who is a leader among her people.
The three mages enter some ancient ruins, where they eventually find an illuminated straw house
that begins to move on spindly legs. Inside, each of them meets a version of the Deathless Mother,
a character created for the series who serves as a mysterious antagonist throughout Season 2.
While this storyline is not part of the books, the house on stilted legs and the traits of the
Deathless Mother parallel elements from "The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt" video game.
The house, in particular, is reminiscent of the Slavic legend of Baba Yaga, a mythological
character who lives in a straw cabin that roams around on chicken legs. In "The Witcher
3," the trio of witches known as the Crones are loosely based on the tales of Baba Yaga as well.
The Deathless Mother is also a bit reminiscent of Baba Yaga as she is shown
shapeshifting into different people based on which mage she is interacting with.
While "The Witcher" series on Netflix is based on the stories and characters from the books,
both seasons still include subtle nods to the wildly popular video games.
Season 2's second episode, titled "Kaer Morhen," is all about Ciri's education
and training there. In one scene, Vesemir gives Ciri a little tour of Kaer Morhen's vault,
which prominently features weapons and armor from past witchers. The scene focuses on two gleaming
swords, which dedicated fans might recognize from "The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt" video game.
The top sword is the Viper Sword, a silver sword recognizable by the snake on the pommel
and its unique bolt-shaped crossguard. The bottom blade is steel and belongs to Geralt.
In the "Witcher" games, witchers typically carry two swords – a
steel one for fighting non-magical beings and one coated in silver to slay monsters.
Besides Geralt, Jaskier the bard is one of the most popular characters in "The Witcher" series.
"Aw, aren't you just the cutest,
most terrifying thing I've ever seen in my entire life. Run away. Run away. Geralt!"
In Season 1, Geralt and Jaskier part ways after an explosive argument that sees Geralt blaming
the bard for all of his recent woes. However, Jaskier isn't doing so bad in Season 2, as he
has developed a new look and sound that harken back to his portrayal in the books and games.
In these scenes, Jaskier is also sporting longer hair,
an unshaven face, and new attire that is much more in line with what he wore in the books and games.
Along with a purple-hued leather coat, one brief scene shows him crooning while wearing
a hat with an egret feather in it, bringing back one of his most memorable accessories.
"The Witcher's" second season is largely a grim affair, but there are some moments of
levity thanks to the musical stylings and commentary by Jaskier the bard.
When we first see Jaskier in Episode 4, he's belting out his newest ballad,
an epic breakup song with the hook "burn, butcher, burn." It's angsty, emotional, and
hilariously recaps some of Season 1's adventures with the witcher from Jaskier's perspective.
It may not be as catchy as "Toss a Coin," but it brings some comedic relief to the season.
One memorable scene shows a man telling Jaskier that his niece is a big fan of his work,
but he also has a few pointed critiques for one of Jaskier's songs
"It's a bit complicated. It took me til the fourth
verse to understand there were different timelines."
This is, of course, a hilarious and self-aware nod to the convoluted timelines of Season 1.
"The Witcher" creators have been upfront about changes to the structure of the show for this
season. Showrunner Lauren Schmidt Hissrich participated in an Ask Me Anything on Reddit
in 2020 where she detailed how Season 2 would be much less confusing for those who were thrown
off by Season 1. Second season Geralt also grunts much less than he did in Season 1,
a trait the witcher himself, Henry Cavill, said he pushed hard to change, per Gizmodo.
That doesn't stop Jaskier from hilariously poking fun at Geralt's grunt in Season 2,
saying that Geralt grunts, and he makes a song. We wonder how Geralt would feel about that.
"Doesn't rhyme."
By the middle of Season 2, you'll notice Geralt has fashioned himself
some shiny new armor. This new armor, made out of thick plates and leather,
is both imposing and allows Geralt more flexibility while fighting monsters.
In addition, the new armor also symbolizes a key evolution in Geralt's character and philosophy.
In a release from Netflix, Cavill said he had a big hand in redesigning the witcher's new armor,
which made it easier for him to move around and fight. Throughout the creation of both seasons,
Cavill has been open about his love for "The Witcher" franchise – the books,
games, and show – and about his influences on
making changes to Geralt's look and character through all 16 episodes.
Geralt's new armor isn't just about the character's mobility. In the same release,
Cavill explained that this new armor symbolizes Geralt's comfort in remaining in one place for
a longer period of time. Typically, Geralt is a loner on the move, with no opportunities to
fashion new armor. However, the time he spends in Kaer Morhen with Ciri, Eskel, and Lambert shows
his belief in the safety of the witcher stronghold and his trust in his fellow monster hunters.
In Episode 6, titled "Dear Friend...", a very pregnant Francesca walks with Fringilla in the
gardens of Cintra. The two sorcerers have become friends and clearly care for one another but have
very different goals. While Fringilla serves Nilfgaard and the mysterious "White Flame,"
Francesca's chief concern is the safety of her unborn child and her people, the elves.
While the two walk, Francesca stops to bring some white roses back to life and picks a few
for her baby's bassinet. She also tells Fringilla about discovering her magical powers following the
death of her mother, with whom she loved to pick flowers. In the book "Blood of Elves,"
white roses are symbols of the elven heroine Aelirenn - also called the White Rose of
Shaerrawedd. Aelirenn is best known for leading a last desperate battle against the humans.
In the books, white roses still grow at the ruins of Shaerrawedd,
and Francesca's revitalization of the flowers is a small nod to Aelirenn's sacrifice.
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