Ok so the Witcher Season 2 is now out on Netflix and the ending has a lot to unpack from it.
Just incase you missed Nightmare of the Wolf, that prequel movie somewhat ties into the
show and in it we followed Vesemir and watched as he pulled himself out of poverty in order
to become a Witcher. Throughout it we discovered that the witchers had been manufacturing the
monsters so that they could ride in, save the day and collect the coin.
This secret was unearthed and we saw the sacking of Kaer Morhen first hand and learned why
the people had taken a distrust to the witcher. In the aftermath of the battle Vesemir came
face to face with a young Geralt and though the old ways of the Witchers had fallen, something
better was rising instead.
Now as for season 2, it's very much centred around Ciri, her training and all the characters
that are desperate to use her for their own personal gain. Ciri taken to Kaer Morhen and
slowly we watch as she taps into her potential but with this comes a whole host of villains
that seek to exploit her. Now on the otherside of this we follow Yennefer who in the aftermath
of Sodden ends up turning against the mages and she goes on the run with Cahir.
Overtime she discovers just how special that Ciri is and slowly all of the sides start
to seek her out. This puts Geralt in a tough position as he wants to protect her no matter
what but he also learns that Ciri could potentially bring about the apocalypse. She's also desperate
to get revenge on the black knight aka Cahir and thus this puts Yennefer has to wrestle
with what to do. Having lost her magical abilities she's very much tempted by Voleth Meir a witch
who acts as the villain of the series and thus Yen questions who she should give her
loyalties to.
Give her loyalties to Geralt, dear me, I'm starting to talk like the people in the show.
Now Voleth is very much based on the legend of Baba Yaga and this is shown in her house
which has the ability to stand on giant chicken legs. Not kidding that's what it is. Come
the end of episode 7 we discover that Voleth was imprisoned by the Witchers and only upon
having her fill of pain and desperation would she be freed. The villain is fueled by anger,
hate and range and we watch as she manipulates several characters throughout the season.
Voleth somewhat becomes the Palpatine of the series as she's someone working in the shadows...and
she's also old...I guess.
Now as with every version of the Witcher, almost everything exists within shades of
grey and I loved how in the first episode we met a man who had been cursed who we learned
over time definitely deserved it.
This twisted take on Beauty and the beast titled Grain Of Truth adapts the story of
the same name from The Last Wish and in it we meet Nivellen. He's been cursed to take
the form of a beast and we're told this can only be lifted with blood and love. As the
episode goes on Ciri and Geralt uncover a Bruxa living in his home with him and upon
her death the curse ends. This is because he loved her and the blood referred to in
the curse belonged to her. Though he's freed, we learn he's very much still a monster and
it's an incredible way to end the episode.
It reminded me of the quests in the game where you'd be helping out someone like the bloody
baron who wanted you to rescue his daughter and wife only to find out that he was abusive
to the latter.
What the second season does so well is that it focuses on the characters and their motivations
as well as the moral ambiguity that they find themselves trapped in. Whereas I spent a lot
of Season 1 trying to figure out the timeline, they've wisely removed the jumping back and
forth here so we can just concentrate on the character arcs.
Now that sort of takes us into the ending of the series which has a lot going on. Throughout
the season we get some lip service paid to the wild hunt and the group do show up in
the finale which I'll talk about later on in the video. Also yeah, if you're enjoying
the video so far then please toss a coin to your Witcher and hit the thumbs up and subscribe
button yeah. Much love.
Now through Yennefer Ciri starts to tap into her full potential and this includes things
like teleportation and she also wtinesses the monolith which ends up being where the
majority of the finale takes place. Ciris powers involve not only her scream but she's
also able to open doorways and unleash monsters which does come into the ending as one of
her main powers.
Fringilla also realises that if she wants power she has to take it and it's a really
eye opening turn for the character. Having lost her seat to Yennefer she refuses to go
back to a life of servitude and watching her mercilessly take people out at the behest
of Voleth Meir is a scene that's super cold blooded.
Mirroring this Yennefer also gets tempted by the witch but she breaks free of the illusion
and tells Ciri the truth.
Literal cracks start to show in their relationship and this alerts soldiers who storm the pair.
Luckily Geralt arrives and saves the day but he commands that Ciri has to return to Kaer
Morhen. We see that, Voleth has played the pieces perfectly to this point and with all
the anger and distrust that's going on she's able to free herself. She tavels to get Ciri
who is now left without a guardian powerful enough to protect her.
Voleth ends up possessing her and she places her mind into a dream that resembles her childhood.
This includes visions of her father who we learn at the end is actually the Emporer.
I think going forward Ciri is going to have to make a choice between her new surrogate
dad Geralt or her biological one who has turned into somewhat of a monster. Just like Nivellan
he was placed under a curse in Season 1 and though he was presumed dead, we now know that
was a f**king lie.
Throughout the season he used his forces to hunt Ciri and knowing that the two are related,
it becomes pretty clear why this is. It also explains why they knew of her powers way before
she'd tapped into them and it's a pretty big twist for the ending. He's clearly ruthless,
desperate for power and in the end he casts out Fringilla and Cahir after coming to the
conclusion that they've served their purpose. The two themselves were very much just playing
everything their way in order to get power and there's some irony to seeing them being
disposed of by him. Now though Ciri wants to get revenge on him, I think that learning
her father is alive will very much ally her with him instead as the two will probably
end up against him.
Now back with Voleth, she starts using Ciri she starts to kill The Witchers and thus they
mount a counter attack.
Episode 8 centers around Geralt and the Witchers attempting to free the demon from Ciri so
that they can trap it and end her reign of terror.
However it's easier said than done and Voleth unleashes several monsters from the monolith
that really ramp up the stakes for the finale. Geralt is unable to break her free from the
spell and thus Vesemir stabs her. However in doing so, Geralt realises that hate is
what's fueling Voleth's power and thus the Witchers unite to basically leave nice comments
on her videos.
It does depower her in this final fight but it's not enough to pull Voleth out of Ciri's
body. When the Witchers imprisoned her they put a curse on her that she had to live within
a certain vessel. Initially this was the house but upon escaping that she had to find a body.
This is why she appears like embers when she leaves her prison and it's also the main thing
stopping her from vacating the shell of Ciri. However Yenefer offers herself up and draws
Voleth out of Ciri and into her.
Ciri has to say goodbye to the fantasy that she's living in and it's kinda heartbreaking
watching this idyllic version her family get dusted before her. They say that she belongs
with them but she very much chooses her home with Geralt and though it's not perfect, she
can actually make something of herself in the real world. I believe this scene will
very much foreshadow the future season in which she will have to make the choice once
more, only this time with her real dad.
With Voleth now in Yennefer, Ciri opens the monolith once more and they travel through
it along with Geralt. Here we come face to face with the Wild Hunt who are desperately
trying to get Ciri and though they manage to escape, it's clear that come Season 3 they're
gonna play a big part.
Though they're called Wraiths and even act somewhat like the ones from the Lord Of The
Rings, the Wild Hunt are actually Elves that want to tap into not only Ciri's abilities
but also her Elder bloodline which is info that's given to the elves in the fianle.
This bloodline actually contains a mutagen that was used to create the first witchers
and though we don't learn all the ins and outs of it it's very sacred. If you stuck
around to watch the post credits scene them you'll know that they have a trailer for The
Witcher Blood Origin which is coming soon. This prequel series will explore the relationships
between the elves and humans and it'll also go into how important that Ciri is.
In the source material, The Wild Hunt wanted to have Ciri mate with their King and that
potentially could be a storyline that'll pop up in the next season. They're awesome villains
and it adds another element to the future that's gonna cause a lot of issues for our
protagonists.
Now though Vesemir wants Geralt and Ciri to stay and help rebuild everything, they now
know that there's a target on her back and that they have to keep moving.
A bounty is placed on both her and Geralt by The Brotherhood which is another faction
desperate to claim her. It very much feels like the ending of John Wick 2 with everyone
hunting the pair. Elsewhere the Elves learn that Ciri is born of Elder Blood and she's
very much the chosen one who's be prophecised to save them. Throughout the show the Elves
were treated as second class citizens but she could very much plant them on high once
more.
Geralt asks Yennefer to train Ciri and he very much pays lip service to how Ciri could
be the one that fulfils their destiny and brings them together.
There are several ways that they can take the story and in The Witcher 3, Geralt is
actually commanded by the Emporer to find Ciri which seems to be a plot point that might
not be included going ahead.
If I was having to guess what would happen next, which I am, I think we might get one
of the endings in which Ciri's death is faked and she goes onto become a Witcher. Though
the game series has several different ones that happen due to your choices, I think this
series and the direction that it's going very much lean into that one but there could be
several other ones that pop up. There's also the possibility that she herself could become
the Empress which again is something that happens depending on what direction the player
decides to go.
Now they might even take everything in a completely different direction and what I love about
the series is that it can throw some curveballs at you. I've really enjoyed the two seasons
and though I thought there were some pacing issues during the midpoint of the series,
come the end of the show I have to say I preferred this over the first.
Henry Cavill has really stepped into the role of Geralt and he's completely nailing the
performance almost transforming into him at points so that you forget the person behind
the role.
There's also all the plots and character arcs in this season and though a lot of set up
happens, I think they do pay off some of the loose ends really well.
Freya Allan is also brilliant as Ciri and she really becomes somewhat the lead in this
entry leading to her becoming a super compelling character.
The Witcher is very much doing it's own Game Of Thrones right now and it's been great watching
these brand new 8 episodes.
Overall I really liked it and it gets an...
8/10
Now obviously I'd love to hear your thoughts so make sure you comment below and let me
know.
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If you want something else to watch then make sure you check out our breakdown of perfect
scene in Spider-Man Homecoming. We break down the entire thing so it's definitely worth
checking out if you wanna know more.
With that out the way thank you for sitting through the video, I’ve been Paul and I’ll
see you next time. Take care, Peace