Ep. 12 — "A Little Sacrifice" with Luisa (Part 1)
Luisa from Germany joins Alyssa from GoodMorhen to discuss “A Little Sacrifice” from Andrzej Sapkowski’s Sword of Destiny. Very important bits include: “A Little Sacrifice” as siren exposure therapy, Alyssa’s awful imitation of the witcher’s even worse singing chops, the honesty and vulnerability within Geralt and Dandelion’s relationship, and accidentally being a suspect in a LARP murder for having a mysterious green jar of Lilac and Gooseberry creme perfume…
This episode is available at Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Google Podcasts, and Stitcher.
In this episode
[00:00] Cold Open
[00:00] Introduction
[00:00] Discussion
[00:00] “Tidings from Toussaint”
[00:00] Discussion
[00:00] Outro & Credits
Relevant Links
Link
Transcript
Cold Open
LUISA: For example, yesterday, I went to a bar in Hamburg. It's called The Dancing Unicorn.
ALYSSA: Oh, adjective and an animal, that's my favorite kind of bar.
Introduction
[Breakfast in Beauclair theme music by MojoFilter Media]
ALYSSA: Welcome to Breakfast in Beauclair, a global Witcher Podcast. My name is Alyssa from GoodMorhen, and I’ll be your host as you, I, and our international hanza accompany Geralt of Rivia and his destiny, Cirilla of Cintra, across The Continent.
[Announcements]
I’ve been sick with a cough the last week and, of course, the night before release, when I record voiceovers, is the night I lose my voice. So I’ll keep it very short this week and Ep. 11 Alyssa is going to help me out where she can.
Thank you to our existing patrons over on Patreon and our producer-level patrons: Luis of Kovir, The Owner of The Churlish Porpoise, Coolguyhenry, Arix the Godling, Katie (The Redhead of Toussaint), Jacob, Mahakam Elder Joe, Julie, Sylvia of Skellige, Will P., Brandon, Jamison, Ayvo of Gulet, and Eric, The Bear of Beauclair.
As Producer-level patrons, they receive an introduction shoutout, a spot on the website, monthly bonus content, stickers, a tee-shirt, an exclusive Producer gift, and producer credits in each and every episode.
If you’d like to explore becoming a patron of the show, head over to patreon.com/breakfastinbeauclair.
I’ll introduce our new January patrons next episode, when I can give them a proper Breakfast in Beauclair welcome.
[Episode Details]
In this episode, we’re joined by our friend Luisa from Germany to discuss “A Little Sacrifice” from Andrzej Sapkowski’s Sword of Destiny and her experience with LARP, or live action role playing.
In “Tidings from Toussaint,” Lars from WitcherFlix joins for Season 1 stats and Season 2 news from Netflix’s The Witcher.
Without further ado, let’s get to this episode’s short story, “A Little Sacrifice.”
Discussion
[Breakfast in Beauclair stinger by MojoFilter Media]
ALYSSA: Hey, everyone. Welcome to this episode of Breakfast in Beauclair. My name is Alyssa and, today, we're joined by our friend, Luisa, from Germany. Hi, Luisa.
LUISA: Hi.
ALYSSA: How's it going?
LUISA: I'm fine. I'm really happy to be here to be your guest today.
ALYSSA: And I'm really excited to have you.
LUISA: Thank you.
ALYSSA: Luisa, you're already an avid fan of The Witcher Universe. And you and I had actually met through Instagram through the GoodMorhen account, right?
LUISA: Yes. I followed your account on Instagram because I'm really into the Witcher since two years.
ALYSSA: You've told me before that the Witcher is something that's really important for you in your life. Can you tell me a little bit more about how you got into it?
LUISA: Yeah, definitely. I've always been very open to medieval and fantasy things. I was a child when my cousin visited me. And he always liked to play fantasy things. Whenever I got to play with him, we played that we were being hunted by orcs or just those fantasy things that children do when they play. And I really loved – well, I still love my cousin. But, when I was a small child, it was more like a Super Idol for me. Like, I really admired him. And he was always into fantasy things. And he was always playing in the woods. I loved playing with him. And, so, I started loving fantasy. What I always enjoyed was, when we were fighting with sticks – and, when I look back, I think he was just actually just beating me with a stick because he was older and stronger and he was quite mean when he was young. But I really enjoyed it when I was a kid. And, so, I started liking medieval things and fantasy things. Yeah. I enjoyed following page like yours on social media. And then I saw your post. And I thought, “Well, I would love to talk about the Witcher.” The same cousin recommended to me the games—
ALYSSA: Mhmm.
LUISA: —when I got a PS4. He said, “If you like medieval and fantasy things, you have to play the Witcher. It’s the best thing ever. And then I started playing it, but it was, like, too exciting for me. I was never used to play and all the adrenaline and all of that. I just – I enjoy watching.
ALYSSA: Mhmm.
LUISA: But playing was very hard for me. So, I started, and then I stopped playing it. But then I went with my parents to Italy, to Lucca where this event of The Witcher show will soon take place. Then I lay in the sun, and I got bored. And I googled like audiobook fantasy. And it was just a coincidence that the Witcher came up. And then I listened to the Witcher. It had me after the first second. It was so nice. It was so well written that I just couldn't stop. But then I went back to Germany, started playing again. I felt brave enough now. And then – yeah. So, I've played the games, and read the books, and listened to the books.
ALYSSA: That's so nice that you had an audiobook experience in Lucca. So, at the time of recording, Lars and I are actually going to Lucca for the Lucca Comics and Games Convention in about a week. We're recording in October. And then I think, by the time this episode releases, it actually might be… maybe January 2020.
LUISA: Oh.
ALYSSA: So, we're gonna be, like, way into the Netflix show by that time. But, at the time of recording, we're still about two months out from getting the Netflix show from what rumors say.
LUISA: So, you'll know more at that point.
ALYSSA: Yeah.
LUISA: Wow. That's so cool.
ALYSSA: I'm sure it's gonna be funny for people listening to this knowing that I'm not even in Lucca yet and knowing what all the listeners know by the time this episode comes out.
LUISA: Yeah, definitely.
ALYSSA: It's like some crazy little time warp thing. So, you've told me before that you're actually very involved in, like, medieval events and LARPing communities. Can you tell us a little bit more about that?
LUISA: Yeah, I am. I started going to medieval or fantasy festivals when I was 13. There's one big one. It's called MPS, Medieval Phantasie Spectaculum. It's touring through Germany. And I really recommend you or your community or whoever, Google where this festival is. So, if you're in the area at that point, you should really come. There are bands – international bands who are like – if you're into the music of medieval and fantasy things, it's pretty cool. Everyone's dressed in medieval clothes. And there's great food. Really, the food's great.
ALYSSA: Oh, that sounds incredible.
LUISA: Yeah, it is. After that, I started to do LARPing, which sounds freaky. But, to be honest, it’s the best thing I've ever experienced. So, actually, it's like, when you're playing the games but you are Geralt, that's what LARPing is like.
ALYSSA: Perfect.
LUISA: There's a difference between the LARPing community in the USA—
ALYSSA: Mhmm.
LUISA: —and in Europe in general.
ALYSSA: Okay.
LUISA: So, in Europe, it's very serious. Like – and the standards of the costumes are very high. So, yeah, I'm doing Witcher LARP especially. LARP is the shortening for live-action role-play. You dress up like your character. It’s like playing theater, but you have to act spontaneously. There's no text or script. You change the story with your behavior. I'm playing Redanian Squire.
ALYSSA: Cool. So, Redanian Squire. Could you tell us a little bit more about that LARPing community that exists in Germany? Some of your experience with it.
LUISA: Yeah. So, I live near to Hamburg. And Hanover is, like, two hours away from me. They started building a Witcher village inspired by the games. At one point in the game, there's a dialogue where a Geralt says something like, "Oh, this is a very nice part of the village” or something like that. And they took the look of the houses and actually built them. It's so immersive. It looks so realistic. It's great. And you can sleep in the houses. Everything looks like it does in the games. And this is where the best of those LARPing Conventions take place. Yeah. There are people playing [Inaudible 7:57] guardians. [Inaudible 7:58]. It's great.
ALYSSA: How long did these usually go on for? Like a couple days or just the afternoon?
LUISA: It's more of a couple of days. So, I think the, the WitcherCons are four days.
ALYSSA: Oh, wow.
LUISA: And then you camp in tents or you can sleep in houses. It's up to you. You can also, like, message the people who are running those events and ask, “Hey, maybe – can I come around for maybe one day without sleeping there?” And that's – the people are very nice. You can always talk to them. And there's always a solution.
ALYSSA: Wow. But it's always incredibly immersive, right?
LUISA: Yeah.
ALYSSA: Like, for four days, you're very much immersed in the world and in your character, right?
LUISA: Yeah. And there's also actual fighting, which is quite interesting. So, there are weapons, but they look real. They look so realistic, but they are made so you cannot harm yourself with them.
ALYSSA: Right.
LUISA: There are two kinds of techniques how to fight. So, the first one is theatrical fighting. So, even if you lose the fight, if you look cooler, you're actually the winner because that generates a lot of cool scenes for people who are watching. Also, a second way of fighting, which is, if you get hit an area, which might cause a huge damage to you, you're hurt and you can't keep on fighting, and then you have to act out you have been hit and all of that. So, it's quite cool.
ALYSSA: Wow.
LUISA: If you only English speaking, that's not a problem. There are also many international LARPs going on in Germany. You should really Google it. And, if you're interested, you should come.
ALYSSA: Yeah.
LUISA: It's so hard to describe what it is.
ALYSSA: Mhmm.
LUISA: Because, actually, you have to experience it. So, I really recommend everyone to come. It's just great even if you're not a great role player or anything. So, it's just the, the atmosphere, you know.
ALYSSA: Mhmm. I actually did hear about Witcher School in Poland. The ones that, like, I think happen a couple times a year in, like, Polish castles. But I think there you're actually LARPing as like an apprentice witcher are trainee witcher.
LUISA: Yeah.
ALYSSA: I did see that they had international versions of those as well. And I, I think, again, I was like, oh, what if I go or what if I talk Lars into going too or like anyone else in the community and, like, actually being able to meet in this kind of context or even to cover it as I mean "press” for the podcast. But I think it'd be absolutely incredible to go there and talk to people who, like you, LARPing is a huge part of their lives and of their identity and their hobbies and things that they like to do. So, I'd love to hear more about it. What were some of the things that surprised you the most when you started LARPing and about this community?
LUISA: That's a good question. What surprised me most – I don't know if it's just with me if it happens to everyone, but, when I'm doing LARP, I totally forget my normal life. It sounds a bit weird. But, for example, in this village, it feels like you're in a dream and you forget everything else. So, it's so immersive that you can't think of the normal life. And you would feel so far away suddenly.
ALYSSA: Wow.
LUISA: And it helps me really to calm down whenever something in my life is just a bit too much. You know, it's surprising that that is possible to, like, forget your normal life and how kind the people are.
ALYSSA: Yeah.
LUISA: And, when I started LARPing, I was a bit afraid to, like, get to know new people, because, at first, LARPing seems to be strange, you know. And, whenever I try to talk people into coming with me, they always say like, “Hmmm. No. I wouldn't – I wouldn't take myself seriously. I would love all the time.” But that has never happened because it's so immersive. Everyone takes themselves serious and so do you. You feel like you're in another world. It's like actually being part of The Witcher books. And that's just what every reader wants, right? Or, at least, what I want. They should mind every chapter, but --
ALYSSA: There's a few that we could probably skip for sure. So, what is it like for you to get into character as this for Redanian Squire?
LUISA: It's really challenging to get into character – into Redanian character because, as you know, the Redanians are really racist and not nice people. And it's – for example, in my group, there's one person playing a witch hunter. Sometimes, it's very hard for me. Like, I know, in my character, I have to see him like a hero. To me, he’s a hero who protects me from evil magees and all of that. It's really hard to, like, keep this mindset and get into this mindset because, actually, this is horrible men burning innocent women. That's very challenging, but it's also fun to, like, really try to change your perspective. But, of course, that's all in-game. No one is really racist. And we're all friends. It's just a role. So, what I do is sometimes I trade fake memories to get into character. Like, I think, okay, what my home look like? What did my mom look like? What did my parents tell me? Like, what are my memories and all of that? That's something that helps me to get into character.
ALYSSA: Yeah. That's a really interesting theater tactic to use. And it's so cool to hear about things like that. Is there anything else that helps you?
LUISA: Because everything looks so real, whenever I dress into my costume and go to the places or go to locations we are doing that – if the location is very good, there's not – I'm already partly into character. It probably sounds very hard, but it's not that hard if you take yourself serious and are able to be open to all of that. I think that's the most important thing. Just have a good time.
ALYSSA: That's so interesting. It's nice to hear that you can become immersed in, like, different worlds or different characters and experience things that you don't ever experience in everyday life.
LUISA: Yeah. For example, whenever you want to experience something very emotionally engaging and serious, you can play a serious character. Like, the Witcher universe is quite good for that like the RedIndian character and all of that. But, if you just want to have a fun time and with fun people, you can just walk in character. Like, it's really cool.
ALYSSA: What happens, let's say, after these few sessions? Like, after a few days you've been in character for that, what is that return journey like? Immersing yourself back into everyday living.
LUISA: That's – it’s weird. After a LARP, you have all these great scenes in your mind that you saw, all those great things that you've experienced, and it follows you through your everyday life. So, for me, it's like I'm always daydreaming after that and then feeling a bit like I had to leave a place where I didn't want to leave kind of thing.
ALYSSA: Gotcha.
LUISA: Everything seems so boring after you've escaped the troop of orcs, hid in a barrel. And, so, if you've experienced all those adventure things, everything seems so boring in your real life. That's not so cool.
ALYSSA: So, if you were to, let's say, pitch LARP into someone – and we did touch upon this very briefly – what would you say?
LUISA: I would say do it. So, I would recommend LARPing to everyone who enjoys adventures and enjoys having fun with people. I always experience that people are afraid to go, but they would like to go because, actually, that's what you want to do, right? You want to experience cool adventures and have a good time with friends. But everyone is always afraid to do that. LARPing is so great. Don't be afraid. Just try it out. When you have a question about LARPing or anything – whenever you have a question, you can message me on Instagram. Maybe you can tag me in one of your posts, and then I—
ALYSSA: Yeah.
LUISA: I would be glad to help people find a cool LARP or something like that.
ALYSSA: Yeah. I'd be happy to because I'm sure, as you said, like, a lot of people are interested in it, but a little scared to, you know, like, take that first step and to go.
LUISA: Yeah.
ALYSSA: So, it's really nice to hear from somebody who's been involved in this community, and who really loves it. So, thank you for that. Today, Luisa and I will be discussing “A Little Sacrifice,” the fourth short story in Andrezj Sapkowski’s Sword of Destiny. Part I starts. Geralt is commissioned by Duke Agloval to translate a conversation between him and his mermaid lover, Sh’eenaz.
LUISA: I really enjoyed this short story, because it totally changed my view on sirens. My relationship to sirens was not so good, because I've told you before that I was very afraid to play. Either it was too exciting for me or I couldn't cope with the end of the line. I wanted to go in a boat to Skellige, but, whenever I got close to a boat like 20 sirens tried to kill me. [Inaudible 16:09] the sirens. And, so, when I started reading the books and, at one point it says, the siren said this and that. I was like, “Haaaah! The siren. Huh! The siren. What's going on? The siren.” But the siren was quite lovely. So --
ALYSSA: That's really interesting that they say siren in German because you've read the books in German, right?
LUISA: Yeah.
ALYSSA: In the English translation, it just comes out and says that she's a mermaid.
LUISA: Really?
ALYSSA: Which has different connotations, like, sirens versus mermaids even in English. So, that's really interesting to hear that it's different in German. And that they chose to say mermaid in English.
LUISA: That's funny because I wanted to ask you about the difference between mermaids and sirens. In Germany, it's, like, sirens. Sirens are quite similar to mermaids, but they sit on rocks and sing and lead sailors into their death.
ALYSSA: Yes. Yeah. That's still the same.
LUISA: That's funny. Yeah. The translation says sirens. I know.
ALYSSA: Interesting. Yeah, because, for me and I think for at least most people, at least, in the US, when you think of mermaids, you think of the Little Mermaid.
LUISA: Yeah.
ALYSSA: Either Disney or Hans Christian Andersen, and that's relatively pleasant. That's really interesting to hear right out of the gate that, that's different.
LUISA: It's funny. Yeah.
ALYSSA: I mean, as we do talk about mermaids, there are quite a lot of parallels with the Little Mermaid by Hans Christian Andersen, as I said, but you just have Geralt basically in the middle of that story.
LUISA: Yeah.
ALYSSA: As it is with, like, a lot of those short stories, Sapkowski just kind of bastardizes all of these, like, famous fairy tales and then just like sticks Geralt in there.
LUISA: I love how he does it. It's so amazing. You know all the stories, but still, you can't really tell what the ending will be.
ALYSSA: Right.
LUISA: So, it's still – you felt like, “Oh, I know the story.” It's still so exciting. I really love how he mixes those fairy tale elements with his story. It's great.
ALYSSA: Geralt comes to this town near the sea. And, when we open up, he's talking to a mermaid. And the first two lines of the story are just about how amazing her breasts are. Geralt is singing to her in a language that's supposed to be very similar to elder speech, which is spoken by elves. It's more melodious. So, it's almost like they're singing the language of the elves. So, Geralt is able to communicate with her. In the audiobooks, Peter Kenny actually sings Geralt’s lines, which is really funny. And he sings them awfully, which is even funnier. So, it's, like, super awkward to listen to. I would highly recommend getting the audiobooks. It's just like he sings it so gravelly, the mermaid will just be like, “Don't translate. Don't tire yourself. Dah, dah, dah, dah, dah. And then, when Peter Kenny sings for Geralt, it's like, “She’eenaz, I understand you cannot have a tail.” It's so – like, it's so bad.
LUISA: Yeah.
ALYSSA: Yeah. It's really funny. And, when I first started the audiobooks, I think I straight up laughed. Like, I – because I wasn't expecting it. It embellishes the story in such a unique way.
LUISA: Yeah. So, at first, I started reading the chapter. Then I listened to them in English with the audiobooks again. And, after that, I read it again, and I couldn't read it in a normal voice anymore. It was like Peter Kenny's voice was always in my head. And I couldn't read it quick. I had to, like, read in the same, same ways. And, so, it's so hilarious. And the thing you said with her boobs, that's so illogical. Like, Geralt must be so used to beautiful breasts. Like, we all know how Yen's and Triss’ bodies are, right? They’re – they are gorgeous. I know he's a monster slayer, but I don't think that a tail is a super normal thing for him that he sees in his everyday life. So, why the hell would he not look at her tail, but at her boobs? Why would he not look at her tail? Why at the boobs? That's – yeah. That's just a male author writing female characters.
ALYSSA: Man, it's kind of funny. I'm surprised that Geralt does get as distracted by it as he does. But, apparently, they're absolutely incredible tits --
LUISA: Yeah.
ALYSSA: —as we'll hear repeatedly throughout the chapter.
LUISA: Yeah.
ALYSSA: So, there's some really interesting things about the context that were dropped into as readers. It kind of goes all the way back to Episode II. Back in Episode II, "A Grain of Truth," we talked about Nivellen and his vampiric lover, Vereena. And they couldn't really communicate. So, apparently, whenever Vereena, the vampire, would talk, Nivellen would be like, “Oh, she says some weird things. I don't really know what it is, but we love each other.” That's basically what's going on with this Duke Agloval and this mermaid Sh’eenaz. The Duke doesn't understand or we presume he doesn't understand elder speech. That's why Geralt is there. He's specifically there to translate. And we get some really, really wonderful lines in Geralt’s translations, which are both very interesting and very funny I think at the same time. Supposedly, they've been in a relationship for a while. They love each other. They want to marry each other. The Duke wants the mermaid to get legs. And then the mermaid is like, “I want to have his [Inaudible 20:58], but he has those stupid legs. I want him to be a merman and have a tail.” Neither of them wants to give in. That is why Geralt is here. Geralt is trying to convince her to get legs of some sort. And the mermaid says that she knows a sea witch that could give the duke a fin. Again, going back to the idea of Little Mermaid by Hans Christian Andersen, we get a very brief introduction to the title of the chapter "A Little Sacrifice." She says, “Whoever loves makes sacrifices! I made sacrifices for him, every day I hauled myself out onto the rocks for him, I wore out the scales on my bottom, frayed my fins; I caught colds for him! And he will not sacrifice those two hideous pegs for me? Love doesn’t just mean taking, one also has to be able to give up things, to make sacrifices! Tell him that!” In Sapkowski, his writing, he always brings back the theme of the chapter or the theme of the book. And, again, we'll see this in "A Little Sacrifice" as well. This idea kind of manifests in a bunch of different ways.
LUISA: What she says is actually hilarious. Like, I love how he combined his humor with the deep message. The beginning of the sentence is quite funny, and the rest is so, so deep. I love how he does that. You said that they are not able to communicate, right?
ALYSSA: Mhmm.
LUISA: So, do you know of a situation, whenever you get to know, like, a guy or something, you don't really talk, but you can feel like this, this floating high tension in the room?
ALYSSA: Yes, I'm familiar.
LUISA: But then, suddenly, he starts talking to you. Like, I wish you wouldn't have done that because now I can hear that you're an idiot.
ALYSSA: Are you listening on my life?
LUISA: So, yeah. Just, just imagine they are, like, married for some years, but they're, like, super unhappy now. So, he hates – everything that she cooks tastes like fish. And she can’t stand how he doesn't want her to communicate with the children in the seas anyways. And they wish back the old good times, where they just threw glances at each other.
ALYSSA: Yeah.
LUISA: No, we can't.
ALYSSA: Oh. I do have a lot of questions about that. That exact thing that you're talking about. And we'll probably get to it by the end of the chapter, but I have a lot of lingering questions about the mechanics of this relationship.
LUISA: Yeah, me too. Me too. But let's wait with that.
ALYSSA: Okay. So, the end of the section is, again, like a very funny example of Geralt translating. And you'll kind of get an understanding of – I think of Geralt as a person throughout this and also his job. This excerpt reads. Geralt translated quickly, trying not to be vulgar. He was not very successful. The duke flushed and swore foully. “The brazen hussy!” he yelled. “The frigid mackerel! Let her find herself a cod!” “What did he say?” Sh’eenaz asked curiously, swimming over. “That he doesn’t want a tail!” And the mermaid replies, “Then tell him… Tell him to dry up!” And the Duke asks, “What did she say?" “She told you," the, the Witcher translated, “to go drown yourself.” So, it's just one of those things that’s, like, a little funny.
LUISA: Yeah, it's just hilarious. I love the dialogue – the dialogues in the Witcher app. Oh, it’s so funny and so great.
ALYSSA: Ah.
LUISA: I want them.
ALYSSA: In Part II, After Geralt’s failed attempt at reconciliation between the duke and mermaid, Geralt and Dandelion find themselves penniless in Bremervoord and without food. Teleri Drouhard, a local spice merchant, appears asking if Dandelion can perform at his son’s wedding. As it turns out, Dandelion will be the second bard to perform, the first being Essi Daven.
LUISA: Hmm. I have a question. I have a question about that.
ALYSSA: Yeah, what's up?
LUISA: Why is Geralt always broke? Just think of what opportunities he has to get rich within two seconds due to skills in that he’s a great monster slayer, but he's like no businessman at all. How can he – like, he could be so rich with his skills. Why is he always broke?
ALYSSA: I mean I guess, when you think about it, Geralt is quite a lot like a blue-collar exterminator, but I also think that Dandelion spends their money when they're together. I think that's probably what happens. I think I do mention that they sold like a couple of things. I think it was in this chapter that they did.
LUISA: So, probably, the explanation why Geralt’s always broke is called Dandelion. Everyone has this friend, right? The Dandelion friend.
ALYSSA: Oh, dear. Yeah. And you wouldn't be wrong in saying that, I'm sure. But, after Geralt's morning with the Duke, Geralt still doesn't have any money. And someone says, “He pays for results, not good intentions.” I think then he specifically told Geralt that he was meant to bring the mermaid, and it didn't happen. So, Geralt didn't get paid despite the time and effort that he gave that morning in order to try to get the mermaid.
LUISA: Yeah. It explains a lot.
ALYSSA: So, this, this part in and of itself was quite short, but we do get, like, a very interesting little tidbit about the context of the world again. There's a whole sidebar about Dandelion angered a bunch of people with, like, some lewd on-the-spot improvised ballad. Guardians of the Forest is the name for them. And the Rangers, they're defined here as a volunteer force whose mission is to eradicate nonhumans. They had to abandon their original plan because Dandelion insulted them. And they were about to get chased out I think or killed. That's how they ended up in this town by the sea. It's almost as, like, you're saying, like, LARPing with someone who's a witch hunter, it provides, like, a lot of – more context about the world and that their mission is specifically racist. It's to eradicate nonhumans. And that's the whole point of them. Even though it's a very short part of the chapter, it's a very obnoxiously long paragraph in which they talk about this. It says a lot I think about the context of the world.
LUISA: Yeah, definitely. It's a detail that helps you understand the world much better. And also the dark – the dark aspects of the Witcher universe.
ALYSSA: And I think it throws into nice contrast the fact that we did open with a love story between a human and a nonhuman.
LUISA: Oh, yeah.
ALYSSA: And then there's also this.
LUISA: Yeah, you're right.
ALYSSA: I just – I just realized that as I'm talking about it. I didn't think about that earlier.
LUISA: That was deep. Yeah, you're right. I really like that as well.
ALYSSA: At the very end, there's this kind of, like, bumbling merchant who wanders over. And he's like, “Master! Master!” And Geralt turns around, and he's like, “Yes?” And then he's like, “Oh, no, Master Dandelion.” And Dandelion just transforms into, like, this fully functioning peacock, and he's just like, “What?’ The airs. Come on. And he's just like, “He was asking for me.” This merchant comes over, and he's like, “My son's getting married. Would you please perform?” It comes out that there's another bard there. And Dandelion, again, starts putting on airs. He's like, “I'm not going to sacrifice my art just to be the second bard to perform.” And it's like a whole big thing.
LUISA: So, Dandelion is actually quite famous in, in the universe, right?
ALYSSA: Yeah. Yeah. Geralt and Dandelion. Their fame kind of precedes them.
LUISA: Yeah. That's right. And you can tell by the reaction of the merchant that he's – actually, he's very nervous when he – when he talks with Dandelion, right?
ALYSSA: Yeah. I mean I'd be nervous too if, like, my son was getting married that evening and my wife was on my case, I'm sure.
LUISA: Yeah. True. True.
ALYSSA: Yeah. So, so, it turns out there's one other bar there, who's set to perform. And, at the very end of the chapter, we just hear that her name is Essi Daven. We're gonna hand it over to Lars from Witcherflix for recent news on the upcoming Netflix show. And, when we may come back, Luisa and I will continue our discussion of a little sacrifice.
“Tidings from Toussaint”
[“Tidings from Toussaint” theme music by Bettina Campomanes]
LARS FROM WITCHERFLIX: Hey, it's Lars from Witcherflix and this is “Tidings from Toussaint.” First, Happy New Year to everyone. I hope the new year is already treating you well. The Witcher on Netflix is out for almost a month now and oh boy, it created quite a stir. Luckily we already know quite a lot about season 2, so let's jump right into it.
At first, let's start with some awesome numbers for Season 1 of the Witcher show. It was the most popular series release on Netflix in 2019 in countries such as the United Kingdom, Germany, Austria, Poland, Philippines, Australia, New Zealand, Denmark or Finland. According to the Steam Charts, the video game The Witcher 3: The Wild Hunt set a new record of 103,329 concurrent players, this is the all time high since its release more than four years ago. And of course, it's more than likely that the Witcher on Netflix is responsible for this new record. When it comes to Season 1, the man himself, author Andrzej Sapkowski, also talked about his impressions. He specifically mentioned Henry Cavill's interpretation of Geralt of Rivia. He said: "I was more than happy with Henry Cavill’s appearance as The Witcher. He’s a real professional. Just as Viggo Mortensen gave his face to Aragorn [in The Lord of the Rings], so Henry gave his to Geralt — and it shall be forever so." This is so wholesome and I couldn't agree more.
On the r/netflixwitcher subreddit, showrunner Lauren Hissrich revealed her original pitch to Netflix. She also addressed the most-talked about things in season 1: The season's structure and the different timelines. She said: "I want to track three separate stories for the first season: Geralt, Yennefer, and Ciri. In the simplest of terms, I want to tell the origin story of each character. In order to make that work, we’ll be working in at least two different frameworks of time (and sometimes even three). The nonlinear storytelling in the short stories and saga are one of the franchise’s most appealing elements to me, and I think TV audiences are savvy enough to follow along. The idea is that the three stories will run parallel to each other, each covering different ground and different periods of time. Over the season, the stories will start to weave together: Geralt’s story and Yennefer’s story will connect first, midway through the season, and Ciri’s story will weave into theirs in either the penultimate or final episode of the season."
But what's in store for the Witcher in the future? The production for season 2 has already begun, the scripts are already written and showrunner Lauren Hissrich has arrived in London to continue her work on the Witcher. In an interview with Collider Lauren said: "We're not shooting yet, but we have a pretty good idea of where we're going with all of the stories." Moreover she added that they will start filming "sometime in the spring". At the same time the spies at RedanianIntelligence are already reporting that the Witcher show will adapt even more short stories in season 2. RedanianIntelligence has learned that "A Grain of Truth" will be adapted very early in season 2. It's the short story about Nivellen, a man cursed to look like a beast. RedanianIntelligence further reports that the adaptation will differ from the source material: In the books, only Geralt meets Nivellen, on the show Geralt and Ciri will stop at Nivellen's mansion on their way to Kaer Morhen. Moreover Royce Pierreson, the actor for Istredd, confirmed on Twitter that he will be back for season 2. This could mean that the short story "A Shard of Ice" will also be adapted in some shape or form. This is the short story where Geralt and Istredd meet.
When it comes to the plot of season 2, Lauren Hissrich has already hinted at some things in various interviews. In an interview for RedanianIntelligence she said: "As expected from the saga, Ciri really takes center stage in season two. The whole world is after her, and she has to find safety and respite with Geralt (and eventually, Yennefer). Problem is, they’re complete strangers. She doesn’t know Geralt, doesn’t see why she should automatically trust him, and really doesn’t love when he starts making big decisions in her life — especially when she’s still mourning the loss of her grandmother in Cintra. For his part, Geralt dutifully wants to protect Ciri, but also doesn’t know anything about being a dad, and certainly doesn’t know how to balance that with the need to continue doing his job. There’s some comedy in how these two come together and eventually bond, but that belies a deeper reflection on what it means to become a family." In an interview with Steve Varley on YouTube, Lauren Hissrich also talked about her long game plans for the show. She said: "“What I mean is that we have the books. I don’t feel the need to go beyond the existing books. They are great source material, Andrzej Sapkowski has written all of them, there is a natural ending to them and I feel like as long as we stick that landing, which is the ending of the books, then we’ll be good.”
Unfortunately we still have to wait at least another year for season 2, as it's release is planned for 2021, most likely some time in spring. But to help us through this long off-season Netflix maybe has some exciting stuff for us. In an interview with Telewizja wPolsce, executive producer Tomek Baginski said: "We are planning a few more interesting surprises between seasons but I will not say exactly what will happen." Could he hint at an animated Witcher series featuring some minor characters? Back in November a rumor about this was floating around and after Tomek's interview there is still hope there will be some new Witcher-related shows in the not-so distant future.
Anyway guys, that's it for me. We'll talk again in the next episode of Breakfast in Beauclair. Until then, thanks again for listening and good luck on the path!
[“Tidings from Toussaint” theme music by Bettina Campomanes]
Discussion
ALYSSA: Hey, everyone. Welcome back from the break. I'm here with Luisa discussing, “A Little Sacrifice” from Andrzej Sapkowski’s Sword of Destiny. In Part III, Geralt and Dandelion attend the wedding where Geralt meets Essi Daven, Dandelion’s young troubadour friend. The witcher and young poet are innately drawn toward each other. The Duke arrives at the wedding for a private word with the witcher about a mysterious attack on a pearl diving ship at a location off the coast called the Dragon’s Fangs.
LUISA: Did you already mentioned that she’s called Little Eye.
ALYSSA: Not yet. Do you want to talk about it now?
LUISA: Yeah. As I just said her name is Little Eye. And I was wondering. Is she called Little Eye because of her beautiful eyes, or is there another reason I did not get?”
ALYSSA: I think that's it. Essi Daven, she's got, like, this gorgeous, you know, hair. She's very, like, petite and little, but she has, like, these huge, huge blue eyes that are absolutely stunning. But I guess she has like bangs or something that cover one side of her face. So, it notes that she has like one really spectacular eye, and then she blows her hair away in kind of like a puff. The narrator, Geralt notes, that, like, our second eye was equally as beautiful and comparable to the first.
LUISA: Oh, yeah. Right. When, when she was first mentioned, I thought that she was maybe Dandelions girl at first, but nope.
ALYSSA: She's a gorgeous character, Little Eye.
LUISA: Yeah. She's so lovely from the beginning.
ALYSSA: Yeah.
LUISA: I want the first dialogue she has with Dandelion. Can you read it?
ALYSSA: Umm. I can. It's pretty long, but it's – yeah. The dialogue between Dandelion and Essi is very interesting when they first meet. And it's seemingly very tense. Dandelion says, “Greetings, Little Eye. That was a pretty ballad you just sang. You've improved your repertoire considerably. I've always maintained that, if one is incapable of writing poetry oneself, one should borrow other people's. Have you borrowed many of them?” So, apparently, she was singing one of Dandelion’s ballads in the beginning. “A few,” Essi Daven retorted at once and smiled, revealing little white teeth. “Two or three. I wanted to use more, but it wasn't possible. Dreadful gibberish, and the tunes, though pleasant and unpretentious in their simplicity – not to say primitivism – are not what my audiences expect. Have you written anything new, Dandelion? I don’t seem to be aware of it.” “Small wonder,” the bard sighed. “I sing my ballads in places in which only the gifted and renowned are invited, and you don’t frequent such locations after all.” Essi blushed slightly and blew the lock of hair aside. “Very true,” she said. “I don’t frequent bordellos, as the atmosphere depresses me. I sympathize with you that you have to sing in places like that. But well, that’s the way it is. If one has no talent, one can’t choose one’s audiences.” And then it says, “Now, Dandelion visibly blushed.” Apparently, Little Eye laughed and then gives him a really big hug. And then she just said like, “I’m glad to see you again.” So, that kind of like fun banter, I love. So, it's really funny to hear it written out here.
LUISA: Yeah, definitely. At that point, I kind of realized, “Okay, I think she's not his lover or anything.” It was to banterish, but not in a sexual way. But more like a deep trusting friendship way.
ALYSSA: Yeah. And then Dandelion, at the end of, once they kind of – for lack of a better term – like, break character, Dandelion says, “You were magnificent, by the gods, I haven’t heard such marvelous spitefulness for ages. You bicker even more captivatingly than you sing! And you look simply stunning!” So, as you said, like, it does seem like a relationship that's built very much on trust. And we're gonna hear a little bit more about the relationship between Dandelion and Little Eyelike throughout the chapter.
LUISA: As I said before, I love the relationship. It's very – I think I read that dialogue like five times, and laughed to tears. I really love how, how funny I think they are.
ALYSSA: Agloval arrives at the wedding for a private word with Geralt. And he's bothering this guy's Zelest, who's the bailiff and pearl diving steward, which is a super specific occupation, I guess. They tell Geralt that, apparently, a pearl-diving ship went out. Some super mysterious happening that everyone was gone from the ship. There was blood on deck. So, it looked like a fight had happened, but no one was there. No bodies, no nothing. So, apparently, now, all the divers and the fishermen in the area are too scared to go out to sea. This is how the economy of this town runs. It’s off of the sea. Agloval needs them to, like, go do their jobs so that things could prosper and thrive.
LUISA: Hmm. That's quite mysterious – the way they got killed.
ALYSSA: And we have no idea at this point in the story what that was or what it could have been.
LUISA: I was – I was so sure that it was the siren, because I was still very, very not trusting her because of my experience in the games. But—
ALYSSA: Uh-huh. Again, we get this one little line from Agloval, which makes it really clear how little he seems to value Geralt or how entitled he believes he is to Geralt’s services, where they try to talk Geralt into going and Agloval says, "A hungry witcher is a good witcher."
LUISA: That's so disrespectful. Wow.
ALYSSA: Yeah. And that Geralt would do anything just because he has no other choice. So, Geralt and Zelest, the bailiff and pearl diving steward, they agreed to me in the morning at the harbor. So, Zelest can actually show girls where this is happening.
LUISA: Well, that's – I wasn't sure Geralt would maybe hurt him or anything. That's so horrible for him to say such a thing. He's not valuing him at all, and he does not care about him at all. Whoa. It’s so – he's so – he’s such a big – well.
ALYSSA: Yeah.
LUISA: I think it's funny that he comes again to Geralt to ask him to do something when he was so unhappy with, with his work in the first place. Actually, maybe he likes Geralt or at least admires him in a way. I'm always trying to explain to me why people are like this.
ALYSSA: I wonder if it's almost like he had no other choice for anyone in the area who's even close to dealing with some sort of, like, sea mystery. So, I wonder if Geralt was just like he already had Geralt from, you know, that morning. So, he just goes and finds Geralt again. I think effectively, like, “You didn't do your job. So, I have another job for you,” which doesn't really make much sense when you think about it. You're right. Like, he didn't get anything out of Geralt’s original outcome. So, why is he coming to him for a second job? But maybe it is because he feels he can exploit Geralt.
LUISA: He knows that Geralt relies on him, right? Because he's still, as he says, hungry, He has no money. And, so, he kind of is dependent, like, on Agloval and maybe he likes that. But he knows that he has the control or anything. I don't know. I don't know. I still have many questions about this character, Agloval. I think we'd can discuss that in the following chapters.
ALYSSA: While Dandelion is kind of busying himself with performing and then also with the girls that are at this wedding, Geralt and Essi take a moment to go out onto the terrace, somewhere private outdoors. They start talking. And it's this very interesting kind of section where Geralt is very enthralled by her. And it seems that she's a little hard to read for him. There's this excerpt that I actually put on GoodMorhen a little bit ago. As he says, “What do you connect with the sea, Geralt?” And Essi answered almost without thinking, “Interesting. And you seem so calm and composed. I didn't say I feel unease. You asked for associations.” “Associations are the image of the soul. I know what I’m talking about, I’m a poet.” “And what do you associate with the sea, Essi?” he asked quickly to put an end to discussions about the unease he was feeling. “With constant movement,” she answered after a pause. “With change. And with riddles, with mystery, with something I cannot grasp, which I might be able to describe in a thousand different ways, in a thousand poems, never actually reaching the core, the heart of the matter. Yes, that’s it.” “And, so,” he said, feeling the verbena affecting him more and more strongly. “What you feel is also unease. And you seem so calm and composed.” She turned towards him, tossing back her golden curl and fixing her gorgeous eyes on him. “‘I’m not calm or composed, Geralt.” And Gerald suddenly kisses her.
LUISA: Oh, wow.
ALYSSA: And Essi kisses him back before pulling away, and the moment’s super, super tense, and then they just go back inside. Aah.
LUISA: Aah, that seems to shock me. Like, I was—
ALYSSA: Yeah.
LUISA: I think it was well written. I had – I think I had goose pimples. Actually, Geralt used to women reading his mind, right?
ALYSSA: Yes.
LUISA: I think maybe Essi can also do that, but without magical skills or anything.
ALYSSA: Maybe she's a Pisces.
LUISA: Yeah, maybe she is. Maybe it reminds him of a certain sorceress or anything. Or, she's doing it very provocative, right? So, she's not just making a secret out of that, that she couldn't kind of look into his emotions or anything. Well, I felt that the kiss was very intense and very romantic. And then, suddenly, I came to realize that there's a huge age difference between them.
ALYSSA: Yeah.
LUISA: So, I googled that Essi is 18, right?
ALYSSA: Uh huh.
LUISA: And I googled, and I looked it up in different sources. Some say that Geralt was, like, 80, but some say that he's over a hundred by now or at that point. And that made me like, “Oh, oh, oh. What's going on there?”
ALYSSA: So, I was also kind of skimming, because you pointed that out in the show notes that you added, I was googling too. And, supposedly, he might be anywhere from maybe like 50 to 80 or, like, even a little older than that. But, supposedly, he looks about 30. You and I, you're about 18 and I'm almost 30. So, like, I can't imagine. I mean, even his outward appearance aside, like, yeah, he, himself, is, you know, 60 or, like, however old he is, getting very overwhelmed by this 18-year-old woman.
LUISA: It makes it a little weird.
ALYSSA: Yeah.
LUISA: But, but only if you think about it. So, just don't think about it. I'm sorry that I pointed that out. It destroyed all the magic in that scene.
ALYSSA: Oh, no.
LUISA: Just ignore this fact.
ALYSSA: I mean, no, it's interesting, because Geralt is already kind of like loved and lost Yennefer at this point. And we do know that throughout the beginning of the story and as well as all the other short stories that have preceded this one. But Geralt has already loved and lost her, you know, however many times – at least once. I think Yennefer is meant to be older than Geralt as well, and Essi is considerably, considerably younger. So, it's interesting to see I think the contrast between these two women as this chapter goes on. And this is something that we'll see Geralt kind of grapple with internally throughout the entirety of the chapter.
LUISA: Maybe you can't compare Essi and Yennefer. They are just so – like, Essi could be Geralt and Yennefer’s daughter.
ALYSSA: Oh, yeah. Yeah.
LUISA: Like, the age. Oh, well. Yeah. But you had – they are two so different characters. Geralt has her. And we'll see how it goes with that.
ALYSSA: Yeah. And it's not – it's not great.
LUISA: Oh. And, at one point, it says that, that Essi smells of verbena, right? When can we expect to get the perfume of the Essi perfume?
ALYSSA: I was about to say, “Charlotte, help.”
LUISA: Yeah. Could you please text Charlotte and she can tell us when, when the, the Essi perfume will be released?
ALYSSA: Yeah. I'd imagine it will probably take a while. I do know that she wanted to do all of the ones that are mentioned in the books, and Essi Daven is in her road plan.
LUISA: I hope so.
ALYSSA: I mean, again, I guess going all the way back to Episode II. So, not just for Nivellen and Vereena’s relationship, but also for our lovely conversation with Charlotte of Vengerberg Glamarye. She has said that, like, some of these perfumes take her, like, a couple months to, like, even more than a year to actually develop. I mean I can't wait for, for more of these. And they're so beautiful. But, no, I’m as curious as you are. I'm just like, “Oh, verbena.”
LUISA: Oh! Fun fact. I have the Yennefer perfume. And I brought it to LARP – to a Game of Thrones LARP.
ALYSSA: Oh, really?
LUISA: Someone was poisoned. And, before, before that happened, it was like a ladies tea time party.
ALYSSA: Interesting.
LUISA: So, all the ladies were, were in a – in a hole, and we were all sitting and drinking tea before this person was poisoned. And, before that, I, I gave the ladies this perfume. And they were all smelling it. And then they said that they find this very, very good. They had very good smell. But, after this murderer, after she was killed—
ALYSSA: Uh-huh.
LUISA: —everyone thought that it has something to do with this perfume because the smell was so intense. Someone who was playing Maisie came to me. He was like, “Fuck. How can you give me this thing? You gave all the women what was inside. It smells so intense.” So, yeah, that was fun.
ALYSSA: Oh, that's so cool.
LUISA: Yeah.
ALYSSA: I’ll so like tag her on this episode. Oh, man. So, full circle. Full circle on these perfumes and how Sapkowski uses scent as, like, an identifier for all of the women throughout the books and especially the sorceresses and all of Geralt’s lovers.
LUISA: Definitely. But, to be honest, it helped me. For me, how he described the smell of her, but maybe, maybe more intense.
ALYSSA: In Part IV, Dandelion returns to the attic room at Drouhard’s, where he and Geralt are staying, and confronts Geralt about his actions at the wedding with Essi. Haaa. So, this is like the best friend talk of the chapter. And we'll get a couple of these, but the whole brunt of it – the thesis of Dandelion’s monologue at Geralt is like, "You're an idiot."
LUISA: Yeah.
ALYSSA: Why are you doing this?
LUISA: I really – I really liked this chapter, because it gave me a closer look to their friendship.
ALYSSA: Yeah.
LUISA: Because, actually, all the time, I was wondering like, “Why are they even friends? So, would you like to be friends with the person who like, manipulates people all the time, especially women? Tells everyone your secret, is arrogant, and who was a bad guy? Always brings you into trouble, insults you, behaves like a child, and lies to you?” So, I was like, “Why? Why are they, friends? Why are they, friends?” And, after this dialog, I realized that Geralt might have a little self-destructive tendency or, sometimes, he has a self-destructive behavior. And I think Dandelion protects him from that and knows him very well and tells him the truth and helps him. But that he helps him to deal with his feelings. And I think that's, that's the explanation why they're friends.
ALYSSA: It's like this very lovely attraction of opposites in their friendship, where they're just so different that they're opposing points of view a lot of the time bring out the best in each other.
LUISA: Yeah.
ALYSSA: I think as best they can.
LUISA: Definitely. Yeah. I’m really happy. This dialogue is so good. As you said before, like he's – like, like he's all the time, like, just telling him, “You're an idiot, I know you think you know everything but that's not the case. Listen to me. I'll tell you what it is.” I really like that.
ALYSSA: So, a bit of the dialogue here and, again, it is a lot of Dandelion monologuing and berating Geralt. But it says, “Do you know what your problem is, Geralt? You think you’re different. You flaunt your otherness, what you consider abnormal. You aggressively impose that abnormality on others, not understanding that for people who think clear-headedly you’re the most normal man under the sun, and they all wish that everybody was so normal. You wrongfully thought, Geralt, that Little Eye was interested in you out of morbid, downright perverted curiosity, that she looks at you as though you were a queer fish, a two-headed calf or a salamander in a menagerie. And you immediately became annoyed, gave her a rude, undeserved reprimand at the first opportunity, struck back at a blow she hadn’t dealt. I witnessed it, after all. I didn’t witness the further course of events, of course, but I noticed your flight from the room and saw her glowing cheeks when you returned. Yes, Geralt. I’m alerting you to a mistake, and you have already made it. You wanted to take revenge on her for–in your opinion–her morbid curiosity. You decided to exploit that curiosity.’ You try to learn if it was possible to bed her in the hay if she was curious to find out what it’s like to make love with a misfit, with a witcher. Fortunately, Essi turned out to be smarter than you and generously took pity on your stupidity, having understood its cause. I conclude this from the fact you did not return from the jetty with a fat lip.”
LUISA: I love how he analyzes and destroys everything Geralt could, could say against that.
ALYSSA: I know. It's – and Geralt, by the end of it, though, is super annoyed.
LUISA: Yeah.
ALYSSA: Especially because Dandelion just gets more and more, I think, to the core—
LUISA: Mhmm.
ALYSSA: —of what he's either self-conscious about or upset about because Dandelion says, “I know who warped you like that, who left you unable to understand a normal woman. Oh, but that Yennefer of yours was a troublemaker; I’m damned if I know what you see in her. [...] Do you really not prefer normal girls like Essi? What do sorceresses have that Essi doesn’t? Age, perhaps? Little Eye may not be the youngest, but she’s as old as she looks.” I think Dandelion as you said just gets right—
LUISA: Yeah.
ALYSSA: —to Geralt. And he just knows Geralt so well and just can read into him.
LUISA: Yeah. Do you know this feeling when you're just very annoyed by someone because, because they are right and you know it, but you can't admit it? I think that's this – that's this feeling. Yeah. This shows how good Dandelion knows Geralt. Yeah. He's also quite good at reading his mind, and, so, help.
ALYSSA: And I think you also have an interesting dichotomy and how they handle themselves or handle conflict. Dandelion just keeps pushing and pushing, and pushing, and pushing. And that's basically all this part is. Geralt, as Dandelion is doing this, he kind of tries to curb him, and then, eventually, Geralt just shuts down.
LUISA: Yeah.
ALYSSA: And it's interesting to see, like, throughout the short stories too, you know, Geralt, he's not always, like, the brightest bulb in the box. And there's definitely times where he kind of lacks common sense, but a lot of time he's very perceptive. But he kind of handles a lot of things. on his own, especially with, like, his conflict of emotion or morality. So, for someone else to kind of expose the struggle that he's already having internally and to try to force him to make a choice before he's ready to, I think it says a lot about Geralt’s character now that he's feeling Dandelion kind of brush up on something that he's really uncomfortable with.
LUISA: Yeah, absolutely. I totally agree with you on that. That's just the absolute core of their relationship. I love how Dandelion helps him to cope with, with the feelings and the kind of self-held hatred he, he, sometimes, has. I think this is one of my favorite parts. Because, even though it's almost only Dandelion speaks, it reveals so much about Geralt. How he reacts to that just shows everyone like, “Yep. That's – yep. That's what he was coping with, you know.” And I really like that.
ALYSSA: Uh-huh. It's a very specific kind of relationship. And I feel like it's the kind of thing that, you know, most people do well with friends that have slightly different viewpoints. So, that can help them see either the bigger picture or the smaller details depending on how they themselves think. I think Geralt is sometimes the kind of person – I mean that, obviously, depends on the situation, but sometimes, like, this is kind of lost in the weeds right now, especially with something that's so personal to him that he – it seems like he feels like he has to bear this weight alone. The weight of what to do in these relationships or the regret that he feels with Yennefer. His magnetism toward Essi and Essi’s magnetism toward him is informed by the difficulties that he's had in his relationship with Yennefer.
LUISA: Yeah.
ALYSSA: And it's hard. Like, even dating now, like, obviously, all of your past experiences inform your future ones. And they shouldn't hold you back, but you should at least be conscious of them. And it does seem like, at this point, Geralt’s relationships with Yennefer are holding him back from just being comfortable with Essi at all.
LUISA: It's a big part of Geralt that he always wants to, like, cope with his problems on its own. I love how Dandelion forces himself on Geralt. Like, Geralt has never asked him or anything. Never asked for his help or his opinion. Dandelion just gives him that.
ALYSSA: Yeah.
LUISA: He forces him to like, “Listen to me. I do – I know you don't wanna hear this, but this is what's going on.” And I really – I think that's what Geralt needs. Like, someone who does not wait to be asked or anything.
ALYSSA: Yeah.
LUISA: I think, yeah, they are very – they work together quite well.
ALYSSA: Are you ready to move on to Part V?
LUISA: Yes, I am. The critical part. No, just kidding.
ALYSSA: Oh, man. Before we get to the rest of the chapter, we're gonna cut it here for today. Thanks so much for joining us for this episode and Luisa will return in the next to finish the second half of "A Little Sacrifice."
Outro & Credits
[Breakfast in Beauclair theme music by MojoFilter Media]
ALYSSA: Thanks for joining us at the breakfast table! For show notes, transcripts of each episode, and a complete list of our social platforms and listening services, head over to breakfastinbeauclair.com.
Breakfast in Beauclair is created by Alyssa from GoodMorhen. It’s hosted by Alyssa with the “Tidings from Toussaint” News Segment by Lars from WitcherFlix. The show is edited by Alyssa with the Breakfast in Beauclair theme by MojoFilter Media and the “Tidings from Toussaint” theme by Bettina Campomanes.
Breakfast in Beauclair is produced by Alyssa in New York City with Luis of Kovir, The Owner of The Churlish Porpoise, Coolguyhenry, Arix the Godling, Katie (The Redhead of Toussaint), Jacob, Mahakam Elder Joe, Julie, Sylvia of Skellige, Will P., Brandon, Jamison, Ayvo of Gulet, and Eric, The Bear of Beauclair.
Special thanks to Chris and Adi for joining us for this episode and our international hanza for their support.
Transcriptionist: Rachelle Rose Bacharo
Editor: Krizia Casil