The hunt is on in "The Witcher" season 2,
as fans of "The Witcher" video games will see some very familiar faces riding in to run wild.
Here's everything else that meant more than you realized in "The Witcher" season 2.
As fans may know well by now, Geralt is not known for being particularly forthright.
For this Witcher, less is always more.
He takes Ciri to the Witcher stronghold, Kaer Morhen, knowing that it will keep her safe. Upon
their approach, Ciri notes its rundown appearance. He offers a vague explanation, telling her,
"There was an attack. A long time ago, when I was a boy.
Almost wiped us all out. So now we like to keep a low profile."
The sacking of Kaer Morhen is devastating for Witchers, and it's detailed in the anime film
The Witcher: Nightmare of the Wolf. The Netflix film covers Vesemir's backstory. In his youth,
he dreams of escaping his misfortune, and he goes on to become a Witcher and kill monsters for coin.
In addition to this backstory, Nightmare of the Wolf details the specifics of the downfall
of Kaer Morhen. A powerful mage named Tetra blames Witchers for the deaths of her family
and comes up with a plot to destroy them. This plan includes destroying mutagens,
which results in the loss of any means to create more Witchers. This backstory gives more context
to Vesemir's grief over losing Ciri's blood compound that would have made more of his kind.
Part of Ciri's great loss is that she never knew her parents. As we see in Season 1,
The Law of Surprise ensures that, even though Geralt initially balks at the idea,
Ciri's destiny is forever tied to his, and he is responsible for her.
Ciri's birth parents are removed from the picture the moment Geralt helps her father, Duny,
secure Duny's union with Ciri's mother, Pavetta. However, Ciri was first raised by her grandmother,
Queen Calanthe, who kept the details of her lineage and fate a secret from her.
Geralt reveals to her that he was at her parents' wedding feast, causing
Ciri to be intrigued because she has very little knowledge about how her parents came to be wed.
Geralt never sugarcoats the truth, but he does leave specific details out.
"Your grandmother. She didn't want your mother marrying a — an outsider."
True to form, Geralt is once again lighter on the details, omitting the fact that
Ciri's mother fell in love with her father while he was cursed to look like a hedgehog.
Geralt does this as a kindness, not wanting to sully Ciri's perception of her grandmother.
But he is careful for another key reason. He knows exactly what it means to be an outsider.
Going through life, he experiences judgment from the world at large for being a Witcher.
He knows the pain that brings and what it is like to remain on the outside.
Being a parent is a core theme of The Witcher Season 2. Until now,
Geralt spent most of his life alone, only having to care for himself and his horse, Roach.
Parenthood — albeit surrogate fatherhood — is new to him, and he doesn't always do the right thing.
When Geralt and Ciri travel to Kaer Morhen, Vesemir advises him on the truths of being
a parent. Geralt often expects Ciri to do as she's told and quickly realizes that raising
a child is not as easy as bending a child to one's will. He learns this especially after
the death of his brother-in-arms, Eskel. Eskel is infected by a Leshen and turned into a monster.
After Geralt is forced to kill him, Vesemir laments the loss, telling Geralt,
"If it were your child, you'd be going crazy to figure it out."
"What you missed. What you could have done differently."
The Witchers at Kaer Morhen are like sons to him, and his grief is powerful.
At the time, Geralt feels like he can sympathize with Vesemir's emotions.
He is a father of sorts now and would do anything for Ciri. But he doesn't
fully understand the overwhelming weight of parenthood until later.
After bringing Ciri to a temple so she can learn to control her chaos, he reunites with Yennefer.
Though the reunion is romantic at first, Geralt quickly learns his mistake in trusting her.
Yennefer steals Ciri in a bid to reinstate her power. Geralt is not especially surprised at
Yennefer's actions but feels the heartache of losing someone who is effectively his child.
Stregobor is easily one of the most detestable antagonists in "The Witcher."
He operates with no morals, asking Istredd to spy on Yennefer due to her elven blood in Season 1.
He makes no show of hiding his prejudices and outwardly hurts people for his own enjoyment.
This includes his treatment of Yennefer in Season 2. Because she is a quarter elf,
Nilfgaard's alignment with the elves calls her loyalty into question.
Fueled by suspicions that she is a spy, Stregobor tortures her,
trying to enter her mind for secrets. He defends his actions by stating that all he ever cared
about was protecting their society, and he tells a group of mages as much in episode 3.
"I've always tried to protect our institutions. To protect you."
But this is a weak defense. Stregobor has often exhibited hatred of women.
He refers to Yennefer as being lesser because of her blood.
"The only Cintra hates more than mages is elves."
This attitude is a mirror from Season 1 and his treatment of Renfri. Renfri was among 60 girls
born during a lunar eclipse. Because of this, Stregobor decreed that they should all be killed.
"Renfri kills for pleasure. She is a monster. She is the last of Lilith's women."
Renfri suffered at the hands of Stregobor, and his abuses continued into the present timeline.
"Stregobor's man raped me, robbed me and let me go."
He uses the excuse that he is doing it for his people when he is really just prejudiced.
Many plot points have been teased and built up since the first episode of The Witcher series.
However, an element that fans of the show may not be familiar with materializes in the final
episode. After Ciri, Geralt, and Yennefer dispel Voleth Meir in a parallel sphere,
the newfound family sees something they did not expect: A horde of ghostly riders charging them.
"Child of the elder blood, starry eyed daughter of chaos, join our hunt!"
After they portal back to safety, Ciri knows they aren't completely safe yet.
"Were those the Wraiths of Mörhogg?"
Geralt confirms her suspicions, merely saying those riders are The Wild Hunt, also known as
The Wraiths of Mörhogg. The Wild Hunt will be integral to The Witcher world going forward.
The ghost riders are set up in Andrzej Sapkowski's books and are heavily featured in The Witcher 3
video game. These riders are intent on capturing slaves, and they mark Ciri as their next target.
Her Elder blood draws them to her and makes her desirable because of how powerful she is.
The introduction of The Wild Hunt is only the start of the
plotline involving this terrifying antagonist from The Witcher canon.
Ciri and her new family will have to look out for it in Season 3.
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