The Last Wish is not only the final short story in the very first Witcher book, it is
also the title of that book. So the last wish is very, very important. And although fans
have debated what it is for almost three decades, it’s not really a debate anymore.
In the Last Wish short story, Geralt fell in love with Yennefer. The djinn was about
to kill Yennefer, but Geralt had one last wish to make. Since the djinn could not kill
Geralt, Geralt had to think of a wish that would tie his fate to hers so that the djinn
could not kill her. Geralt thought of something. He made the last wish, and the djinn flew
off. In the show, Yennefer asked Geralt what he
wished for. But in the books, Yennefer heard what Geralt wished for, and she told him a
few things. First off, she asked Geralt: “What made you do it Geralt? Why me?” Yennefer
also said quote: “Your wish … I don’t know whether such a wish can ever be fulfilled.
I don’t know whether there’s such a Force in Nature that could fulfill such a wish.
But if there is, then you’ve condemned yourself. Condemned yourself to me.”
So what did Geralt wish for? Geralt wished for Yennefer to be the mother of his child.
That is why she asked him quote: “Why me?” And that is why she said that she did not
know whether there was such a Force in Nature that could fulfill such a wish. Because Yennefer
was infertile. Okay, now let’s see how this interpretation
holds up from a holistic point of view. Then I will highlight the clue from the show.
So, The Last Wish book had 6 short stories. A Grain of Truth is a story about beauty and
the beast. A nod to Geralt and Yennefer. A Question of Price is a story about Child
Surprises, most notably, how Geralt became tied to the Child of Destiny: Ciri.
The Witcher is a short story about a Princess who Geralt has to save. A nod to Princess
Ciri. The Lesser Evil is a short-story about a princess
on the run: Renfri. Another nod to Ciri. The Edge of the World is a story about renewal
and hope. A nod to Geralt and Yennefer’s rebirth, so to say, upon having a child, namely
Ciri, the child of destiny. And what is destiny – destiny is hope.
Last but not least, all 6 short stories are flashbacks. The Last Wish book actually takes
place over the course of 7 chapters titled: The Voice of Reason. During these chapters,
Geralt is healing at the temple of Melitele – Melitele being the patroness of fertility
and birth. Again, a nod to both Geralt and Yennefer’s infertility, as well as the eventual
birth of their child: Ciri. So basically, every short story as well as
the underlying Voice of Reason chapters speak to not only Geralt and Yennefer, but also
to Ciri despite the fact that Ciri is not even born at the time of these stories.
So that’s Geralt’s Last Wish. Geralt fell in love with Yennefer the very first time
that he saw her, and in order to tie his fate to hers so as to save her life from the djinn,
Geralt wished for Yennefer to be the mother of his child.
The leads us into the final section. A clue that doesn’t exist in the books. A show-only
clue. The very first time that Geralt ever saw Yennefer,
he asked her for her help. He asked her to heal Dandelion, Dandelion, or Jaskier. And
he told her this: Fix it, and I’ll pay you. Whatever the price.
Did you catch that? Geralt said, “I’ll pay you. Whatever the price.”
In the world of the witcher, when someone asks you that, you can invoke the Law of Surprise,
a law as old as humanity itself. The payer will give the first thing that comes to greet
them at home: it might be a dog, a halberdier at the gate, even a mother-in-law impatient
to holler at her son-in-law when he returns home. Or it may be that which you find at
home yet don’t expect: this could be a lover in the wife’s bed. But sometimes, it’s
a child. A child marked out by destiny. So in the show, Yennefer was in the town of
Rinde trying to magically cure her infertility. Then Geralt showed up and he offered to pay
whatever the price. On top of that, Geralt told Yennefer to release the djinn because
he was willing to use his last wish to get her whatever she wanted. When he asked her
what she wanted, she screamed that she wanted everything. That’s the same answer that
she gave to Tissaia earlier in the episode. So Yennefer didn’t give him an answer. But
low and behold, Geralt’s Last Wish was the one thing she wanted most in life. A child.