Ep. 21 — "Of Banquets, Bastards, and Burials" from Netflix's The Witcher (Part 1)

Christiaan from South Africa and Canada and Shaun from Northern Ireland join Alyssa from GoodMorhen for the first half of our discussion of “Of Banquets, Bastards, and Burials”, the fourth episode in season one of Netflix’s The Witcher. Very important bits include: how Yennefer’s brush with an assassin interrupts her haze of disillusionment, Geralt becomes an honored guest at a royal banquet, the group almost forgets to discuss that Shrek scene, and Alyssa indulges her anniversary feels.

This episode is available at Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Google Podcasts, and Stitcher.

Transcript

Cold Open

SHAUN: I think it's the thing they call, like, ‘stan’ or something. Like, I don't know. I don't understand enough about it. So, I'm not going to go on the—

ALYSSA: Youth culture.

SHAUN: Damn the kids. That’s all they talk about these days.

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.

[Welcome]

We’ve got something special to celebrate today! Welcome to the anniversary episode of Breakfast in Beauclair! On August 15th, 2019, the first episode of Breakfast in Beauclair released, and I could not have imagined the journey that that first episode started. Thank you so much for joining me and our global community on the Path!

[Patron Announcements]

This episode, we welcome to our hanza our newest patrons, Jennifer and our newest Producer-level patron, Chris K. of Kovir!

This show could not be what it is without every member of our community who has supported the show over the last year. Thank you to our active and former patrons: Jamison, Olaf of Silesia, Bruno R. Salino, Alex Berner, Jamie of Thornton, Charlotte from Vengerberg Glamarye, Luis of Kovir, RedKite, The Owner of the Churlish Porpoise, Brett from Oxenfurt, Tomi of Vicovaro (who is NOT a Nilfgaardian), Marijn the Gwent Addict, Reza of Kovir, Christina Marie of Vengerberg, Coolguyhenry, Arix the Godling, Katie (The Redhead of Toussaint), Gazzeta, Jacob B., Jørgen from Skellige, Mahakam Elder Joe, Will C., Julie, Sylvia of Skellige, John of Ryblia, childofelderblood, Eugene aka Pony of Coins, Will P., Brandon, Robb (The Butcher in Blaviken), Ray of Light, Howard Fagan-Solis, April, Doug McCool, Ayvo of Gulet, Duncan di McNuggets, Sebastian von Novigrad, Morgan, Jennidy Mundilovitch, Bee Haven of the Edge of the World, Jacob Meeks, Steph, Jenny of Ard Skellig, Cynthia of Kovir, Wesley, James of Cintra, The Original Roach, AerialKitty, and Dustin.

If you’d like to explore becoming a patron of the show, head over to patreon.com/breakfastinbeauclair.

[Episode Details]

As for this episode, Christiaan from South Africa and Canada and Shaun from Northern Ireland call in for the first half of Episode 104 “Of Banquets, Bastards, and Burials” from Netflix’s The Witcher. Join us as Yennefer’s brush with an assassin interrupts her haze of disillusionment as Geralt becomes an honored guest at a royal banquet. Someone gains a child and someone loses one. We almost forget to discuss that Shrek scene and I indulge my anniversary feels.

In our mid-episode news segment, “Tidings from Toussaint,” Lars from Witcherflix shares production news on Season 2. Spoiler alert—production’s already started!

Without further ado, let’s get to the discussion for The Witcher Episode 104, “Of Banquets, Bastards, and Burials” (Part 1).

Discussion

[Breakfast in Beauclair stinger by MojoFilter Media]

ALYSSA: Welcome to Breakfast in Beauclair. My name is Alyssa, and joining us today are Shaun from Northern Ireland and Christiaan from South Africa and Canada. Hey, guys.

SHAUN: Hello.

CHRISTIAAN: Hey, Alyssa.

ALYSSA: For both of you, it's your first time on the show. Welcome. Both of you are very active members of our hanza. Christiaan, you were – you actually inherited your name or your pseudonym from a very early post on the show. And, Shaun, you are also in our hanza cover for Toss A Coin To Your Witcher the day before the show came out. Do you guys mind introducing yourselves and telling our listeners a little bit about who you are?

CHRISTIAAN: Yeah. So, thanks for the introduction. Yes, I am Christian, The Owner of the Churlish Porpoise. Thank you for that Alyssa. My Witcher background I guess started with the games. And then, halfway through the games, I realized there's way too much lore. So, I started buying the books and reading the books before I finished playing the games. And then, yeah, I just found your podcast, which is actually the first kind of Witcher community or podcast that I listen – listened to or with – started with GoodMorhen.

ALYSSA: Mhmm.

CHRISTIAAN: So, yeah, that was really fun. And, so, here I am now with a t-shirt over my head based on your recommendation.

ALYSSA: It's very, like, Padawan-liked to my masterful – my masterful—

CHRISTIAAN: Yes, 100 percent.

ALYSSA: —blanket fort. 

CHRISTIAAN: Precisely, yes, I got to start somewhere.

ALYSSA: But I'm glad that I can share my knowledge that Crisanto from Episodes 6 and 7 bequeathed unto me. And I can then share it with you.

CHRISTIAAN: Humble beginnings of a t-shirt to the majestic forms of a blanket fort.

ALYSSA: One day, maybe it'll go through its own Pokemon evolution.

CHRISTIAAN: 100 percent. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah.

ALYSSA: And, Shaun, so, as I said, you are also a very important part of our hanza and very active. You were part of our Toss A Coin cover. I do remember the first time that we interacted. You sent me a very lovely message on Instagram. That was really, really sweet. And we got to know each other that way as well. Do you mind introducing yourself too?

SHAUN: Yeah, sure. I'm Shaun. I'm 16. I'm just basically a student. I started with the games. I started with the Witcher 2 and stuff. Like, the video game. And, from that, I played the Witcher 3. Loved it. I just loved the whole universe, Geralt, everything. And then I realized, obviously, there was the whole books. I started picking them up and reading. I absolutely love the Sapkowski’s writings. That’s when I saw it on Instagram, because I was almost looking for a community and then to share my thoughts with. And that's when I find the Breakfast in Beauclair Podcast on Instagram stuff. I just find it so cool. There was, like, this whole, like, community. And then there was, like, an actual podcast about it. And I just immediately was like – listened to the first couple episodes of it. And I just, as you mentioned, I then sent my lovely little message over to Instagram. But, yeah, I was very happy to find a community around it. And it was very – it just made me more invested into the Witcher in general. So, I think it's amazing. I think it's one of the best fantasy books and games – whatever. TV show, you know, of course, obviously. And, yeah, here I am now.

ALYSSA: I had a really big smile on my face. And, now, I'm about to cry.

CHRISTIAAN: Our fearless leader.

SHAUN: I have that effect on people.

ALYSSA: The reason why I'm getting really emotional is a couple reasons. One, it's currently May 30th, only a couple days before Season 2 starts. And, kind of in this reflection, I've been going through a lot of my own journey when I wanted to start Breakfast in Beauclair. And, one of my very close friends, I was digging through about two years of text messages to her in order to look for some stuff in particular that showed the growth of the podcast. My first message to her, actually, was – I think it was right about now. Oh, actually, about a year before GoodMorhen. So, August 5th, 2018.

CHRISTIAAN: Wow.

ALYSSA: I texted her, “I'm entertaining the idea of launching a Witcher podcasts now so that, when the Netflix series comes out in 2020 and people become obsessed with it, I will have already SEO strength and dominated the internet.” And then I said – I said, “But, actionably, could I interest you in reading a single chapter from the short story book and discussing it for a pilot?” I texted her. I guess this must have been like a month later. And I said, “I'm having difficulty finding guests for the podcast I want to launch. Ideally, I wanted to create a short introduction with just me followed by 1 to 3 episodes with guests I could use to cold pitch to people on Twitter, YouTube, and Reddit.” And then I messaged her almost a year later on May 24th, 2019. So, this is basically a year ago today before the podcast came out. She messaged me, “The GoodMorhen feed looks…” and then she put a big fire Emoji. And then I said, you know, “Thank you.” And then I followed up with a second message. “Also, I want to seriously explore the podcast again.” So, that was May 24th, 2019. So, that was about a year ago today. And I was digging through all these messages, like, last night at, like, 2:00 in the morning, which I shouldn't have been doing. Both of you mentioned the community and I did as well. And that really has been the driving force of the show and the purpose we're doing it. It's super weird. And it makes me very emotional to kind of get that reminder of where I was and the struggle that I had with trying to engage people in New York to do this with me. And then to see, you know, two years later, just the global community that has been a part of this and the kind of love that everyone has for each other, you know, despite distance. And it just makes me feel so good.

CHRISTIAAN: Good work. Good work.

SHAUN: Yeah, like, I genuinely have, like, so much respect for you, because, like, you just decided to start this. You wanted to connect with community. Like, would you ever thought, like, two years down the line that you'd have a cover [Inaudible 9:02] and just like what the actor, Jaskier, and the composers of the TV show would have seen it and complimented it and stuff? Like, it's - it's crazy how much you've actually built up the community and, like, we're able to connect people globally. So, it's incredibly, like, inspiring to some of us.

ALYSSA: Well, now, I'm happy and sad. It's a – man, this has been such an interesting journey. As I said, we're about four or five days out from, you know, the start of Season 2. But, man, it's – it's a really interesting reflection. Like, I'm wiping away, not tears, but tearing. Yeah, this has been – this has been a very fun, fun ride. And I'm really grateful that you guys are a part of it. I – I'm really blown away by the community and by people that are interested. When I was actually reaching out to everyone who, who would inquire about being on the show, it was amazing to me that everyone is incredibly isolated. And they have a lot of passion. They don't really have any friends locally who are also in this fandom, for example. But then it became more than the actual fandom, which blew my mind. And it has the potential to continue down that track. I really do believe that The Witcher just ended up being the right place for this. I took a lot of time before I started the show to think about, like, “Am I the right person to be doing this?” I wanted to engage other people. And, when I thought about whether or not I'd be the right person for this, it's like, “Well, I'm – I'm not necessarily the right person by myself, but I'm the right person to build a community with purpose, because I just had the nerve to do it.” But I think that's the only credit that I can give to myself. I was just – I just had the nerve to start. I don't know. Like, I'm – I'm just really glad that it's brought people together in, in such a way. But – yeah.

CHRISTIAAN: Well, as am I. So, thanks very much. Yeah. Yeah. You made it look so attractive. That it's like – it's you – you put a whole new spin on the whole Witcher universe. So, kudos. Well done.

ALYSSA: Anyway, so, that ended up being an introduction to me.

CHRISTIAAN: Let’s all raise our glass.

SHAUN: Crying [Inaudible11:06] limit on this. What's it gonna be like at the end?

ALYSSA: I know. Bad. I think it's only been 10 minutes. Is there anything that I think you guys would like to see for the future of this community considering that you are such an integral part of it?

CHRISTIAAN: Shaun?

SHAUN: For me, I’d like to see The Witcher get to, like – I, I know it's already huge. And so many people are in love with the games and books. And, even though, you know, the TV show, people love it and stuff. But I would love to see it on, like, that monumental level of like Tolkien's sort of Lord of the Rings era, where it's just so global. You kind of respect it. I would really like people to have the same feelings the way – the way they do towards, like, some of the biggest ones out there the same way they would toward The Witcher show. So, I'd like to see it up there as the best, because I mean it really is. It's amazing. It's an amazing community. Amazing stories and I love it. I do. I absolutely love it.

CHRISTIAAN: For me, as far as the Breakfast in Beauclair community, I think, Alyssa, just keep doing what you're doing, man. Everybody out there, like you said, is looking for some kind of outlet, because they don't have somebody to talk to you about it. So, you've given the space for everybody to, to voice their opinions, and their love, and their likes and dislikes. So, I mean, yeah, just keep on keeping it on. It's really amazing. And thanks, thanks that we can be a part of it. That's really stunning.

SHAUN: Yeah.

ALYSSA: No, it's – it's, like, truly my honor that people like you are interested in the work that I'm producing. And you guys actually care to be part of a community like this. I'm very happy with the people that have gravitated toward this. Yeah. Yeah, I feel very wholesome. So, yeah, I just have this very wholesome bubbly feeling.

CHRISTIAAN: I can hear it in your voice. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. Well done.

ALYSSA: It's just also very humid and hot in, in this blanket fort. There's, like, four layers of blankets on this. Wooh. All right.

CHRISTIAAN: Yeah. Yeah, I'm sweating and I just have a t-shirt. So, I feel like—

ALYSSA: Oh, man. My legs are outside of it though. So—

CHRISTIAAN: Temperature control. I don't know. Are you one of those people, when you sleep, your feet have to be out of the blanket?

ALYSSA: Sometimes. Certainly, sometimes.

CHRISTIAAN: That's my temperature control for sure. If it's too hot, they go outside. If it's too cold, they're inside.

ALYSSA: Today, we'll be discussing Of Banquets, Bastards, and Burials the Fourth Episode in Netflix's first season of The Witcher. This episode adapts Andrew Sapkowski’s short story, A Question of Price, from The Last Wish in which Geralt is called upon to save a royal marriage. Yennefer, disillusioned by her time at Aedirn’s court, must put aside her resentment to save Queen Kalis of Lyria from assassination. In the present, Ciri and Dara enter Brokilon forest, the home of the dryads. In the opening scenes of Yennefer’s storyline, the sorceress escorts Queen Kalis of Lyria. Their wagon is attacked, and Yennefer opens a portal for the Queen, a guard, and herself to escape.

SHAUN: I think this is, like, a good start. I mean we see Yennefer at the very start, obviously, and that she's having the conversation with the queen. Obviously, she's, like, bored, and she's explaining to her, like, she loves it that she gave up everything to get power, but she's like, “This is not what I – what I wanted. This is not what I was meant to do.”

CHRISTIAAN: Yeah, because how long was she doing that? Didn't she mentioned a few decades or something like that?

ALYSSA: Three decades, I believe.

CHRISTIAAN: Yeah.

SHAUN: Yeah, you can see why Yennefer’s so fed up with, like, almost being just, like, play things on a game of chess or something. That she's literally just there to protect people, give her opinion, which is often not listened to.

ALYSSA: Mhmm.

SHAUN: So, yeah, you can see what she's fed up.

CHRISTIAAN: I'm sure she just feels like an accessory.

SHAUN: Yeah.

CHRISTIAAN: You know, another thing to add to the collection.

ALYSSA: And it certainly shows a very long journey. In the last scene of the last episode, Betrayer Moon, she entered this Aretuza – it's not the debutante ball, but that's kind of what it feels like. And she was presented to the king of Aedirn or, rather, she just stole the king of Aedirn. And she made her way into his court. So, there's a lot of character development that we don't see but that we can infer between the end of Episode 3 and the beginning of Episode 4. You know, we get all of that in just her demeanor alone. So, it's pretty cool to see what Anya Chalotra was able to do with the different phases of Yennefer’s lifetime.

SHAUN: Yeah, I agree. That's definitely a big jump from seeing her, like, so young and how she was so, like, ready to go off to courts and be the court mage and stuff. And she was so, like, excited to do that. And then you see, literally, just the next episode. Obviously, it's a big jump in time, but it's a quick turn on, like, how your opinions change over the years. It's not what you want anymore. And she's done with it really.

ALYSSA: And then we actually get to the person who's with her Queen Kalis, right? Queen Kalis is an original character for the show as far as I think we know in terms of lore. She's from Lyria. Yennefer is escorting Queen Kalis back to Lyria, I believe, from Aedirn. But I'm not sure if that's totally clear. So, while they're talking, again, we get a little bit more of universe disillusionment. And Kalis says like – well, she says some callous things to her.

CHRISTIAAN: No.

ALYSSA: She – you can tell I’m in a good mood now. She insists that Yennefer airs her grievances, and then she does. And then Kalis says, “Well, I have it worse.” Yennefer is just like, “Uh-uh.” So, I think this does a lot in setting up assumptions about the characters. So, we assume that Kalis is, one, rather protected. That she's kind of haughty and, like, has like her own little bubble of perception. And I think we'll continue to see that throughout the episode that she just can't really imagine anything outside of what has happened to her, outside of her own experiences.

SHAUN: Yeah. And then, obviously, there's the attack then. And it's kind of following her. She’s just like, “If only life wasn't so boring,” and just like completely shakes [Inaudible 16:51].

CHRISTIAAN: Life is outside saying like, “Yes, you wanted some excitement? Here you go.”

ALYSSA: This is like the monkey paw.

SHAUN: Yeah. So, destiny was just getting there. Just like, “You know what? You wanted it. Take it.”

ALYSSA: Her cart is attacked. As we find out, all the guards are killed outside save one. And there was an assassin waiting for Kalis and Yennefer. So, they escape. Yennefer opens a portal and all of them jumped through.

SHAUN: It's definitely an interesting thing to see, like, quite powerful. You now, just one assassin – whatever – creature. I don't know the name of the creature, but the creature, yeah, was able to take down the entire escort of guards with pretty much no challenge at all.

CHRISTIAAN: Mhmm.

SHAUN: So, you really see how powerful magic creatures are in the continent.

CHRISTIAAN: Adding to that, Shaun, this is also the first – oh, no, don't – don't quote me on that. But it's an introduction to the darker side of magic --

SHAUN: Yeah.

CHRISTIAAN: —that this world also possesses.

ALYSSA: Mhmm.

CHRISTIAAN: It's not just magic for, like, your own benefit of doing this and doing that and the political side of right and wrong. But then you've got this evil, mysterious, unknown force that magic can be used for evil as well. And I think it was important for the show itself just to show how broad the magic and how important that theme of magic is in the show.

ALYSSA: Mhmm.

SHAUN: Yeah, it gives you a term of, like, the stuff people do basically for cash or money – I supposed a coin or whatever. Everything is how can I advance my upstanding or my wealth or whatever – whatever it is [Inaudible 18:14] and coin will do.

ALYSSA: Yeah, absolutely. Even as I was thinking it through myself, I think you're right. This must be the first, like, real magical battle we're seeing. I think the expressions of magic that we saw throughout the first three episodes was like, Stregobor’s illusions in the tower. We saw, obviously, like, magic as, as Yennefer's learning it but nothing combative—

CHRISTIAAN: Yeah.

ALYSSA: —I think.

CHRISTIAAN: Mhmm.

SHAUN: Yeah. The only thing I think is, like – I mean you would barely even call it about Geralt using the signs. But, apparently, that's like a lesser version of magic.

CHRISTIAAN: Mhmm.

SHAUN: Yeah. Yeah. That's the only time we see it during combat really. It’s when Geralt used it.

ALYSSA: It's definitely interesting. Obviously, it doesn't compare to the magic that we'll see in Episode 8 and the final fight. But, even just introduction to things like portals, there's some sort of connection. We can probably assume it's magical between this monster and this assassin, but we don't really start to see the fury and the fight that happens decades later by the time we get to Episode 8. So, it does I think prime the audience really well for the possibilities.

SHAUN: There’s like – there’s a little detail obviously, but I noticed it when I was re-watching through it. They show the kind of effect the portals have on people as well, because, when the Queen goes through the portals, she like throws up when she comes out of them.

CHRISTIAAN: Mhmm.

SHAUN: It kind of shows you the effect that has on people that, obviously, [Inaudible 19:28] to see magic and going through portals because it's obviously not a very normal experience. They go from one location and, suddenly, another.

CHRISTIAAN: What do you mean?

SHAUN: Yeah, well, there it was.

ALYSSA: Yeah, that actually is a nice segue into the following scenes as well. The next few scenes happen rather rapidly throughout Yennefer’s timeline. Yennefer and Kalis passed through a desert where their last guard is killed and then a rainy town before being cornered on a mountainside. Yennefer escapes leaving Kalis behind. Yennefer returns attempting to save the queen and baby both are killed. Yennefer flees to a beach where she discovers the child is dead. There's a lot of energy through these scenes.

CHRISTIAAN: Mhmm.

ALYSSA: They're obviously being chased. There's an immediacy to the kind of danger that they're in and an urgency to escape it, which I think these scenes do really well. And, as we kind of spoke about briefly, they also show a lot of the effects of magic, a really small detail, when I was watching the episode this morning, in the very last stand between Yennefer, the creature, and this assassin, when she's finally opening that last portal, there's a close shot of her hands. And I don't think that it's, you know, dirt from running and escaping through all these different environments. It looks like the life force is being drawn out of her hands the way that it happened to Fringilla in Episode 2. Obviously, I can't exactly confirm that. But it's something that I noticed. If it is true that that's actually her use of magic that's doing that to her, again, it shows the amount of effort that she's putting into saving them and saving herself, which I think is a far cry from her apathy in the beginning of the episode.

SHAUN: And another [Inaudible 20:57] when she opens the portal. She's doing two magic things at one go. She's, like, slowing down time to stop the bug from killing them, but she's opening a portal as well. And she – here, she, like, screams [Inaudible 21:10]. She's, like, “Go, I can’t hold it, like, much longer.”

CHRISTIAAN: Oh, yeah, she's in agony.

SHAUN: It shows, like, how powerful Yennefer is, but it also shows how much will power it takes to do stuff such as that.

CHRISTIAAN: Mhmm.

ALYSSA: Christiaan, do you have any thoughts on this chase scene.

CHRISTIAAN: The chase scene, friggin’ good.

ALYSSA: Yeah.

CHRISTIAAN: It was really well done. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah, it's, like you said, a lot of energy. So much fun to watch, because you were just sitting on the edge of your couch or wherever you are. Yeah, it's powerful. It's strong. It’s fast paced. It's – it's like a car chase, you know, but with magic. So, I enjoyed it tons. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. As you said, later on, it's kind of like the struggle where she leaves and then comes back to slaughter the creature. That was interesting as well. Just that whole scene, that whole inner dialogue that she's having with herself, you know, just the thoughts of like, “Oh, did I do the right thing? What am I doing? What is the right thing? I should be looking out for myself, but I can't help but feel this guilt.”

SHAUN: Yeah, I agree. As I was watching, it was like a timer shows definitely showing Jennifer's, like, morals. She wanted to save herself because she knew it was – you know, he was a very powerful mage. But you could still see she still had empathy for the child, because she was like, “It’s not their fault. It's not the child's fault for being there, you know.”

CHRISTIAAN: Mhmm. And this is – yeah. Like you were saying, like, this is 30 years, right, of service where she's in the prime of her life and then not being able to have a baby, which is the main topic, I think, for Yennefer's storyline. It’s, you know, her maternal instincts that are just null and void at this point.

ALYSSA: Yeah, we got to see Yennefer's morality shape and how, I guess, she prioritizes herself and looks at the world. How she views her self-esteem, I think, is something that we talked about extensively in Episode 2, Four Marks. So, it's interesting to see her now; how she values herself, how she values others, especially in a point of conflict when that's tested. Particularly, Kalis turns out to be kind of a bitch.

CHRISTIAAN: Yeah.

ALYSSA: You know, when they were going through the desert, Yennefer brought up the fact that she must have run out of time, as she puts it, to give her husband a male heir. Kalis can't even fathom that for a minute. And then she calls him a prick or something. When she's really confronted at the edge of this mountainside, she actually offers her child to the assassin in exchange for her own life. And then that's when the assassin throws a blade and, ultimately, slashes her neck. Again, like, I think Kalis’ selfishness is contrasted while with Yennefer's more ethical actions. I mean, uh, more ethical, but, like, she --

CHRISTIAAN: Yeah.

ALYSSA: Yeah, we see how the actions of that child's mother, like, her biological mother, are contrasted with Yennefer's attempts to save them.

SHAUN: Like, you saw much energy Yennefer had to do to, like, get them out of there and get them safe. Like, she used kind of, like, so much, like, power to get them out of there. And then, even when they’re on, like, the last place where she gets killed and stuff, she tells her, like, get up mage or, like, get up, like, sorceress. She, like, demands at her even though she just saved her life. That's why Yennefer, obviously, leaves even just to see her give up her child just so that she can live. I mean we just see how, like, dark some people are in the continent, in the world of The Witcher. Yeah, it's definitely in contrast to Yennefer, obviously, risking her life to come back to save the child, you know. I just thought – I thought it was kind of funny, the part where she's just like – she – Yennefer looks like she's waiting to teleport them away from there. And then she just like teleports herself. Like, that was a pretty funny scene. And then she calls her, like, a horrible, useless bitch or something. It’s just like – it’s just funny. It was a good humorous scene.

ALYSSA: I guess the last thing that I want to touch upon is just, like, the idea of an assassin like this in the Witcher world. As far as I can remember, it doesn't have any precedents in the books. Magical assassins like this, aside from maybe some instances in the games, I can't really think of a similar instance or, at least, not quite like this

SHAUN: Yeah, they don't – they don't really focus a lot about it and, like, mostly because, like, you’ve seen how quickly the mage was able to kill the queen and stuff. It's almost like it's not even worth their time. They’re so much more powerful.

CHRISTIAAN: So petty. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah.

SHAUN: Yeah. And they could go off and be an advisor the king and be earning so much more. So, it's not even really worth their time.

CHRISTIAAN: Yeah. Okay. So, here's – here's my thing. When I – when I saw this, this creature, I immediately thought about the insect, like, creatures in Season of Storms. I think I read a bunch of things, like, low guys. And they were like, it's not the same, but it kind of draws inspiration from that maybe. I don't know.

SHAUN: Yeah, I think – I think a lot of people, who have read the books, they thought it was like an existing creature. But I think they might have made up their own for the TV show.

CHRISTIAAN: I think that was confirmed. Yeah.

SHAUN: Yeah, I think the overall thought is just a – it's a [Inaudible 25:55] beast really.

CHRISTIAAN: And that was, was also so shocking for us as, like, you know, hardcore Witcher fans. We’re like, “Whoa. What is this? Who is this?”

SHAUN: Yeah. Yeah.

CHRISTIAAN: That’s cool.

ALYSSA: Yeah. You know, thinking about the other monsters that we see in the show, ah, I guess the kikimora in Episode 1, they kind of made it buglike as well. It's very spiderlike.

SHAUN: Yeah.

ALYSSA: But there's something about this one that's like truly – like, it's got – you know, what is the word for bug armor?

SHAUN: Scaly armor?

ALYSSA: An exoskeleton.

SHAUN: Yeah.

ALYSSA: Yeah, it's got an exoskeleton. The way that it moves is both like crablike and buglike.

CHRISTIAAN: Mhmm. Just also the sheer size of it. Yeah.

SHAUN: Yeah.

ALYSSA: I mean it's a fascinating creature. And I think, for its purpose on the show as an assassin's companion, I think that it definitely looks the part.

CHRISTIAAN: Mhmm.

SHAUN: Yeah, it definitely fits into the beastie area of The Witcher at least.

ALYSSA: Like, it's got knives for hands. Yeah.

SHAUN: How much more, like, scary can you get than that?

ALYSSA: Yeah.

CHRISTIAAN: Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. Straight to the kitchen with you, bug boy.

ALYSSA: Oh, man. Maybe its name is Edward.

SHAUN: And maybe it's just a really peaceful creature.

ALYSSA: It’s Edward Scissorhands. It’s just stupid. Yeah. So, I mean, on that note, in the next scene, it gets significantly more somber because Yennefer ends up on this beach after escaping this assassin. When she's about to go through the portal, the assassin throws a knife. And it looks like it might go through her, but it definitely goes through the baby. So, when she gets to the beach, she discovers the child is dead. And then, in the following scenes, she's sitting on the beach eulogizing the baby and then buries it in the sand.

SHAUN: This is definitely like a sad scene. Obviously, she was like eulogizing the baby's death, but it's showing, like, Yennefer just reflecting on herself as well and just like what she's been through. And she's really – she's really just debating life and thinking like, “Is it worth it? Like, is it worth what I'm going through truly?”

ALYSSA: You know, it's interesting, because, when Lars and I went to Lucca in October 2019 – so, about two months before the show actually aired – they showed three different clips of the show; one for Geralt, one for Ciri, and one for Yennefer. And this is the one that they showed for Yennefer. So, this is personally my first introduction to this adaptation of the character. And I was surprised, like, honestly, because there's such a deep level of vulnerability that Anya brings to the scene. And it's very beautifully done. Obviously, I had no context for what was happening, because this isn't a scene that appears in the books, of course. But I think that it shows a very different depth to Yennefer's character, because she's by herself. It makes it a really interesting monologue.

SHAUN: Yeah, she's very vulnerable in that moment, because there's no one around. She's very, like, fragile and just letting everything out, which is, obviously, not Yennefer's casual style or from the one we knew from the book really. She's obviously very demanding and a strong character. And then she doesn't like to share her feelings very often. But it was just – it was nice to see her. Like, obviously, she's by herself. And she was just letting everything go. So, it was good to see her in a fragile state at some point. See her real true morals. Like, going below the scaly exterior.

CHRISTIAAN: Yeah, she was vulnerable. She was exhausted, you know, after all that effort, overcome with emotion, and realization of some personal stuff but also just the way the world works as well.

ALYSSA: And, you know, this must be compounding, like, maybe about 50 years of her own feelings. She was first brought to Aretuza supposedly when she was 14. So, it's been a very long time since then. And she brings up her parents. She brings her family. She brings her friends and any previous lovers that she had had and expresses disappointment with all of them. It's interesting to see how much, I guess, hope she had toward the beginning of her journey, particularly, in Episode 3 and the last episode and how much of her world outlook has shifted since then.

SHAUN: Like, she's always been disappointed; like, her parents and stuff. And, like she says, like, she tried lovers and they were fun for, but, at the end, they were still disappointing. She's almost like saying that I've tried everything and I'm done. I just want to do it myself.

CHRISTIAAN: And, having said that, I made a note here where she's been frivolous. She's been gallivanting around the world doing God knows what. I made a note, and it's pretty farfetched. But it just came to mind where it says, maybe she tried to take the baby as her own adoptive daughter, because, you know, she's – she's done with the world. She's ready to settle down, you know. Or she's sick of it. Maybe she isn't ready, but she's just doesn't know where she's at. And I think there's a lot of confusion within herself and with me as well, obviously, as we can hear. But, yeah, I thought that was – it just came to mind when I was prepping for the show. Who knows?

ALYSSA: You know, if it's true, part of that decision to want a child, there's a few clues that we start to get here. That'll be much more important on the next couple of episodes, Episodes 5, 6 in particular. But, when she's on this beach and she's talking to this dead baby, she's talking about how, as a woman, you're a vessel. You're a vessel for them to take, and take, and take until you're empty. When I was watching that, I wondered. Because Kalis put a lot of emphasis on that she's only valued because she can produce children, so, I was wondering if Yennefer – if she talked about herself being a vessel and then her usefulness as a vessel was taken away by her decision to go through with her changes to have like her uterus taken out in exchange for her powers. If she feels that, you know, if she's not valuable in court, if she's not valuable as a mage, and she doesn't have any traditional use as, like, a bearer of children, then what use does she have? That's something that I was thinking about this morning.

SHAUN: Yeah, I would argue that probably this moment where she's on the beach is actually, like, the moment where that want to have the ability to have children again kicks on, because she's talking about how she's disappointed with everything she's done so far. And, if you think about it, having a child is probably one of the only things Yennefer hasn't been. It's almost like that's her last hope that she can find some comfort or some sort of relievement with her life. And that's the thing she wants to gain back, because, obviously, they say it's impossible to get it back. You know, like, that's the consequence for becoming a mage, whatever, and having that much power. But, obviously, Yennefer thinks differently. And she thinks there is a way that she can take on the ability to have children again. And I – yeah, I think the scene here is probably where that instinct kicks on, where she – that's where she wants to have a child. So—

ALYSSA: Yeah. And she talks about that really explicitly in the beginning of the episode when she's talking to Kalis in the cart. She says she thought her time at Aedirn would be her legacy. Like, to be the greatest mage to grace the king’s court would be her legacy. And, ultimately, she feels that it wasn't. So, I would agree that, like, the idea of legacy being a child's – being a family to leave behind. Yeah, I could see this being the starting point for that ideal. Did you guys have anything – any other thoughts on this? I think the last thing that I wanted to note was that she didn't use magic to bury the baby. Just her hands.

SHAUN: It’s not a criticism or anything. I’ve just seen it on, like, the internet. And I just kind of laughed about it. It was, like, she buried the child, like, a foot deep under the sand. And they were, like, that's not a good idea in the world of the Witcher where there's like drowners and stuff. But, like, I understand the whole scene was a she doesn't use her magic. And it's, like, the human side of Yennefer.

ALYSSA: Mhmm.

SHAUN: Where she just dug the hole by herself and show Yennefer’s mortal tendency.

ALYSSA: Yeah, that was something that I thought about as well. Yennefer doesn't use magic to bury the baby and, instead, she uses her own hands. You know, that could be because she's incredibly tired, but it could also be just for the sake of physical labor to show respect, I suppose. Yeah, I was, like, it's low tide and that baby's only a foot under there. Like, as soon as the tide comes in, that baby is floating away.

SHAUN: It’s [Inaudible 33:47].

ALYSSA: Yeah. I was like, “Hmm.” But it's interesting, because this – this better not be a spoiler, because it's been like 20 freaking years. But, you know, we see a similar scene in the Harry Potter series, for example.

CHRISTIAAN: Yes.

ALYSSA: Yeah. In the final book, when Harry buries Dobby. If you haven't gotten that far, like, I have nothing to say to you. So—

CHRISTIAAN: Whoops.

SHAUN: You just spoiled Harry Potter for me.

ALYSSA: Yeah. So, this isn't really a spoiler, I suppose. But – so, there's this whole really beautiful scene where this house elf, Dobby, if you're unfamiliar with the series, sacrifices himself in order to save the main character, Harry Potter. Out of respect and repentance, I think, and out of anger and sadness, Harry goes out to the yard and he wants to bury this house elf with his own hands. Yeah, but it's a very, like, moving scene. It's a very profound scene. And that was one of the things that I thought about here when I saw this – Yennefer and when she chose not to use magic.

SHAUN: I agree. I think global idea was to show the respect more and like how she could do it easily with magic in a few seconds, but she decided to, you know, put on the effort and do it with our own hands to shoe the respect for, obviously, a dead child.

ALYSSA: That pretty much takes us to the end of Yennefer's storyline in this episode. Did you guys have any, like, closing thoughts on how it developed her character between Aretuza and the next episode? And what do you guys think this episode did for Yennefer's character?

SHAUN: To me, I think it was, like, the final breaking point that turned Yennefer into the one that, obviously, we know in the later books in the main saga and stuff, because it really is, like, the last, like, you know, strike for her. And then that's why she becomes this, like, person that's, like, “I don't care what you have to say. Yeah, I'm doing this for me.” She's the sorceress we all know then. It really gives her, like, a tough outer shield. And it's, like, she doesn't – she doesn't care anymore. It's about her. That's a – I think that that was really the last breaking point to where she became the sorceress we all know.

CHRISTIAAN: For me, honestly, I think – I think we nailed it in the head with everything we discussed. It was a great character development for Yennefer. I made a note towards the bottom. And I think I'll just read it right now, actually, if you don't mind. It gives viewers a glimpse into how desperate she is for change; if it's to have a child or if it's to experience something new. And, later on, it also just highlights or emphasizes her anger towards Aretuza for taking – taking the one thing she has as a woman away from her. A big sacrifice for something else that she now regrets, you know.

ALYSSA: Yeah, I think both of you are absolutely correct. This ends up being a very decisive turning point. And I think checkpoint in where Yennefer is between Aretuza and where we'll see her in future episodes. This is one of the last times that will see her as a very independent character prior to her meeting Geralt. I think that it says a lot about who she is when the Witcher ultimately steps into her life. Speaking of, that does take us to Geralt’s storyline in this fourth episode. Before we get to Geralt’s storyline, we’re going to hand it over to Lars from WitcherFlix for recent news on the Netflix show. When we come back, Christiaan, Shaun, and I will continue our discussion of “Of Banquets, Bastards, and Burials.”

“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". Welcome back everybody. Good news! The filming for Season 2 has finally continued. On August 12, director Stephen Surjik has posted a picture on Instagram that proves that the cameras are rolling again. This is great! But there are still a few more pieces of news to report. So, let's jump right into it.

The preparation for the restart of the shooting is well on its way. Several cast members like showrunner Lauren Hissrich or actors like Freya Allen, Mecia Simson (who will play the elven sorceress Francesca Findabair in season 2) or Paul Bullion (who will be the witcher Lambert) have posted pictures preparing for the filming. Lauren has already visited the set and met with her season 2 directors like Sarah O'Gorman or Stephen Surjik to talk the filming process—all while wearing a face mask and social distancing. According to Redanian Intelligence during the filming for season 2 every crew member will be tested for the coronavirus at least twice a week, maybe more.

Moreover Redanian Intelligence reports that several new characters are being cast for Season 2 at the moment. An audition tape by actor Edward Rowe was released where he speaks for a character simply named "D". This character is a hardened warrior who knows how to kill. "D" is another codename, so it's hard to guess which book character this could be. It might also be an entirely new character.

Redanian Intelligence revealed two more cast members appearing in the next season: First there is Tim Samuels who will play a newly created and unknown character named Elad. The second addition is actress Ania Marson who has an acting career of more than 60 years. We don't know her character yet, but Redanian Intelligence speculates that based on her age she could play a wise, old character like Ithlinne, the elven prophet.

In other news, Witcher director Sarah O’Gorman was asked in an interview for WinterIsComing.net about what we can expect in Season 2. Unfortunately she couldn't reveal a lot. She said: "This is tricky. [...] I can tell you what [showrunner Lauren Hissrich] has already revealed, which is the timeline is going to be linear. We have our three main characters, Yen, Geralt, and Ciri on their journeys. I read the scripts before it was out, and it’s really exciting. It has the mix of mythical monsters, with those big set pieces, but with the big emotional journeys. Which is what I find appealing."

Anyway guys, that's it for me for today. A little shorter than usual, but we can expect great things to come now that the filming continues. I hope you all stay safe and well. 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 Christiaan and Shaun discussing “Of Banquets, Bastards, and Burials” from Season 1 of Netflix’s The Witcher. When we left off, we had discussed Yennefer’s brush with a magical assassin and now we’ll jump into Geralt’s storyline. In his storyline, Geralt attends a marriage banquet in Cintra under the guise of being Jaskier’s personal guard. An unexpected guest arrives causing the banquet to fall into chaos. The opening scene of the storyline is quite funny. A crowded tavern mourns the loss of The Witcher to Jaskier’s amusement. Ultimately, Geralt wanders back in to the surprise of all of the people in the tavern. And, later as Geralt bathes, Jaskier pleads with him to attend a Cintran marriage banquet as his guard.

SHAUN: I've mentioned these before. Geralt and Jaskier are my two favorites, especially just their relationship. They have with each other. It's kind of like the just funny friends. Like, it's just – it's so funny to see like always writing down when the guy's describing what happened to Geralt. And he's like, “Ah, he's alright. He's alright.” I was there. He's standing. He’s just like – it's a funny thing.

CHRISTIAAN: Yeah, it was – it was good. It's the laugh that you needed in a – in a very serious, somber kind of episode.

SHAUN: Yeah.

CHRISTIAAN: Yeah. Yeah. Yeah.

ALYSSA: And a triumphant return for Jaskier as well. So, the first and last time that we saw him was in Episode 2, Four Marks, where he and Geralt traveled to the edge of the worlds. And he created the infamous song, Toss A Coin To Your Witcher, which we see reprised here in the scene. There's clearly been, you know, as we saw in Yennefer's scene, significant relationship change between Jaskier and Geralt since the last time that we saw him in Episode 2. So, they're clearly, at least, friendly now. They’re pals. Apparently,  Jaskier spends his evenings rubbing chamomile on Geralt’s butt. So, they're – they're, like, clearly, you know, friendly. They’re mates. And then we've since seen – at least, me, on Twitter, I've seen the Twitter boom explode with Jaskier and Geralt’s fan art of the erotic nature.

SHAUN: Yes. I, I do not get that in, like, fan bases and stuff.

ALYSSA: Yeah.

SHAUN: I definitely wasn't picking up any waves really.

ALYSSA: I mean, to be fair, Jaskier is quite flamboyant.

SHAUN: Yeah.

ALYSSA: I think we, as – we, as book readers, know that he is very clearly a womanizer. And there's no romantic tension between Geralt and Jaskier on the books. But, to be fair, I think Joey Batey did play him in a way that there was this adoration toward Geralt. There was this kind of pining toward Geralt.

CHRISTIAAN: Yeah.

ALYSSA: I don't necessarily think it’s romantic, but I do think that was enough for those fan art creators to latch onto.

SHAUN: Yeah.

CHRISTIAAN: Yeah.

ALYSSA: It happens in every fandom, I think, as you said.

CHRISTIAAN: It does.

SHAUN: Yeah.

CHRISTIAAN: Yeah.

ALYSSA: But I'm always – I'm always amused when it floats across my Twitter feed. But I do think that Joey Batey did a really lovely job of bringing Jaskier to screen. So, I think regardless of – I, I think it does bring people to, to the fandom clearly. So, it is nice to see such a, an open reception to his characterization of the character.

CHRISTIAAN: Mhmm. Agreed.

ALYSSA: As I said, the, the big plot point here though between these first few scenes is that it sets us up for the rest of the episode. Like, this is the call to action. Jaskier invites Geralt to the Cintran banquet as his guard, supposedly, because, as Jaskier does, he's slept with numerous amounts of women. He says, sometimes, wives, sometimes, daughters, sometimes, even mothers. So, there are definitely going to be people at this banquet who are out for his head.

SHAUN: Yeah.

ALYSSA: In the next few scenes, Geralt and Jaskier arrive at the Cintran palace. Geralt reunites with the druid, Mousesack, before entertaining the guests at the banquet, curbing stories and rumors about himself. Calanthe, who we met in the previous episodes, arrives at this banquet, eventually, getting a chance to speak to Geralt herself at the high table. In the course of the night, a representative from Nilfgaard is laughed out of the banquet.

SHAUN: Yeah, a lot did not in here, but I just love all the scenes to do with Geralt and Jaskier, because a lot of them are humorous. They're just quite fun to see. Like, he walks on, like, Dandelion knows where to call. Jaskier says keep a low profile. We don't want anyone know. And you just hear Mousesack shouting, “Geralt!” But, yeah, it’s a funny scene. Yeah, there's a – there's a lot happens. I mean this whole storyline with Geralt is, obviously, the main point of the whole episode. It's a really important part of Geralt's story. But, just in this part right here, it's kind of funny to do with the whole Nilfgaardian stuff as well and how she just completely [Inaudible 44:27] over them in front of everyone further embarrassing Nilfgaard in contrast in what happens 30 years – 40 years down the line or whatever.

ALYSSA: There is, like, a really funny thing about that opening with Mousesack and Geralt as well. So, as I said when we're recording this, it's currently May 30th. But we actually recorded this for the first time on February 9th, about, like, four months ago. So, we are re-recording this episode, because I changed the structure.

CHRISTIAAN: And we're just having so much fun. Yeah, that’s cool.

ALYSSA: We are. I think we are having a lot more fun this time.

SHAUN: Yeah.

ALYSSA: We had a lot of fun the first time, but we didn't start with me crying 10 minutes into the episode last time. But none of us could have predicted the state of the world's back when we recorded this episode. But, since then, there's a line here that Mousesack says, “I haven't seen you since the plague.”

CHRISTIAAN: Yes, I love that.

ALYSSA: The writer for this episode, Declan de Barra, he posted on Twitter people have told him like, “Oh, something that you wrote went viral.” And he's like, “Oh, what?” And then it's like a very sad face. And then it's just a screenshot of Mousesack saying, “I haven't seen you since the plague.” They relate it to our situation a little bit now. So, when we record this in February, we didn't have anything to say about that line, but now we do. So --

CHRISTIAAN: Now, we do.

ALYSSA: We want updates four months later.

CHRISTIAAN: I loved it. When I saw that – like, that meme, I just thought myself – I was like, “Oh, this is brilliant.”

SHAUN: Yeah, that's when you know you've made it when there's memes about it.

ALYSSA: This is the kind of pop culture significance that we wanted for our fandom. 

SHAUN: Yeah.

ALYSSA: We’re introduced to a number of major players in these banquet scenes. We're walking in with Geralt and Jaskier. We meet Mousesack, who is a druid from Skellige. We're briefly told about Crach an Craite, the bard, Draig Bon-Dhu. These are characters who appear in the books, but we just don't really get to interact with them too much in the show. We see Calanthe again, who we met in Episode 1, The End’s Beginning, when she was much later on in her life. And then we meet Eist Tuirseach, who's the uncle of Crach an Craite and also representative from Skellige. And then we meet Pavetta, who is the daughter of Calanthe. And she is at this banquet table. This banquet is for her specifically. And she's deeply unhappy to be there. And we don't know why yet.

SHAUN: You can see, when Calanthe comes up the talk with Pavetta, she's like holding back her tears, because she, obviously, doesn't want to be crying in front of everyone. But you can see how much, like, Calanthe feels sad for her, but she wants her to you know, like, she was the same. Like, she knows the – like, the pain she's going through. And she's like, “Did you think I want to marry your father? You can do however you want after you're married and stuff.” So, she – she's basically trying to cheer her up. But she's telling her, “Don't cry in front of all these people. It'll – it’ll, you know, ruin reputations and stuff.” And she, she does feel bad for her, but she can't show too much [Inaudible 47:12] really.

CHRISTIAAN: Yeah, because, like, with that badass entrance that they had Calanthe do—

SHAUN: Yeah.

CHRISTIAAN: —smeared in blood, you know, covered in full plate armor. It was an amazing, amazing introduction, I think.

ALYSSA: Yeah. And I think consistent with her character that we saw in Episode 1 as well. We did see her at the Battle of Marnadal in Episode 1. So, for her to say that she had spent the afternoon before her daughter's banquet taking care of uprisings in the south.

SHAUN: Yeah.

CHRISTIAAN: Mhmm.

ALYSSA: —very casually. And then she just changes into a more formal wear. I think it's very consistent with the character that we saw and possibly alludes to very little character development between these earlier scenes that we're seeing in Episode 4 compared to her death in Episode 1.

SHAUN: Yeah. Another thing I forgot as well just to mention was the whole thing with Jaskier and stuff. The guy approaches them and he's like, “I know your face. I know your face,” and stuff. And Geralt’s like, “No, you've got the wrong person.” He was kicked by – what was it that he says? He was kicked—

ALYSSA: By an ox.

SHAUN: Yeah, an ox when he was, like, a boy. And he's like, “Ha, ha, take a coin. Take a coin,” which is good. We actually know just their friendship really.

ALYSSA: Yeah, it's actually not his face that he recognizes. He tells him to pull down his pants, because he’d recognize that pimply bottom anywhere.

CHRISTIAAN: Yeah. And the Jaskier is almost like, “What? No, my bum’s not pimply. What are you talking about?”

ALYSSA: The short exchange also shows Geralt’s humor. We see this a ton throughout the books and even a little bit in the games. We're really starting to dig into who Geralt is now that we've spent a number of episodes with him. Actually seeing him relatively comfortable, not under immediate threat, we're starting to, like, see a little bit more of his character and of his humor. He has a look of amusement on his face as he's telling the very sad tale of Jaskier, the eunuch.

SHAUN: Yeah.

ALYSSA: So, as you said, Christian, we get a really wonderful entrance for Calanthe in this episode. We also hear about her animosity toward elves. And this is going to be important in a Ciri’s timeline later on in this episode. But, for the moment, there's two exchanges specifically that point to this. When Calanthe approaches the table in the scene that Shaun was discussing where she's trying to tell Pavetta to just calm down and to deal with the night and she could do whatever when the night is through. Pavetta says something. She alludes to her mother's slaughtering of elves. And she sounds very angered by it. Even though Pavetta is unable to do anything about it, it does sound like she has very strong opinions toward the fact that it happens. And I think that this characterization – something that we'll come back to later on in this episode. The other scene that comes up is Eist. Geralt is, like, kind of entertaining the crowd. And Calanthe asked Geralt to tell them about his adventures at the edge of the world. Geralt tells the truth here. He tells them, “Filavandrel let me go and Filavandrel had his blade in my throat.” And Eist turns around to Calanthe and says, “Queen, if it was you who had confronted Filavandrel, you would be the one with your sword at his throat.” So, this is something that we'll come back to. But it's a unique characterization for Calanthe in the show.

CHRISTIAAN: I was just going to get back to the disapproval I guess that Pavetta has with a mother with all the slaughtering of the – of the elves. That kind of racism, they just – I think it's – it's quite accurate, you know, when you look at like the younger generation just frowning upon what the old generation has done. I'm like, “Don't try and force that down my throat. Like, you know, things have changed. Things are different. It doesn't need to be the way it's always been.” I noticed that quite quickly.

ALYSSA: You know, considering the state of the world right now, it's the end of May. And there's currently a lot of unrest happening in the States, in Minneapolis. This is, obviously, something that is important to me as someone who is a non-black person of color. But there's something that was shared as everyone's kind of sharing their feelings on, on social media and sharing a lot of resources. But it's a quote that says, “You are personally responsible for being more ethical than the society that you grew up in.” This is something that we'll see in the books. Like, we see this happen in Blood of Elves. No spoilers on the show. But there's a scene that talks about the relationship between humans and nonhumans in Blood of Elves that's incredibly powerful among a number of different plot points throughout the series. And I do think that Pavetta really exemplifies that ideal here. She shows a lot more grit than her character does in the books.

SHAUN: Yeah, I think she said, like, something, like, maybe I should, like, decorate the halls, like, the heads of elves or something like that. So, yeah, you can see she's, like, mocking her. It's almost like Calanthe takes her hatred of elves as like a personality trait almost. Like, it's part of her personality, which is why she can't get rid of it really as part of her, you know.

ALYSSA: And, as we'll see, it ultimately becomes part of Calanthe’s legacy to Ciri’s surprise. We'll talk about that in her storyline too. One very brief scene that we see here as well, there's someone from Nilfgaard. I think Prince Peregrine is his name. And he comes into the banquet and he has a whole – oh, my gosh, it's – it's this very cringe scene. And the actor does wonderfully here. But everyone in the hall is mocking him. And he's trying to, you know, offer himself to Calanthe and Pavetta. And he – you know, he says he's from Nilfgaard. His reason – oh, my god, his reason for why he'd be a wonderful suitor is because he's, like, one of five or six boys. And he says, like, “With my potent seed inside Pavetta, we’ll produce the strongest male heir.” It was a very, like, Mr. Collins moment from the 2005 Keira Knightley version of Pride and Prejudice. I don't know if you guys have seen that.

CHRISTIAAN: It's been a while. Yeah.

ALYSSA: It's the same kind of deadpanned – like, this is why you should love me, because I can provide this, this, this. It's very, like, logical and very linear, and very deadpanned. And I felt the same kind of cringe way listening to this scene.

CHRISTIAAN: Wooh.

SHAUN: Right.

ALYSSA: And it also reminds me of some people that I've encountered on dating apps, and it terrifies me. Oh, my god.

SHAUN: Yeah, I think we can all relate to some – something like that. Yeah.

CHRISTIAAN: What a pickup line.

SHAUN: Yeah, it's funny as well. The Skelligans at the side as well, while he's trying to talk, they keep playing the bagpipes, like, every time he tries to talk and then shows you, like, the hatred that they have towards Nilfgaard that they all – like, they constantly spill out a limb and see them as like a measly army really.

CHRISTIAAN: Yeah, it's just a joke – a joke to them really.

 SHAUN: Yeah.

ALYSSA: Yeah. And it gives us a good insight into the status quo that Fringilla’s arrival then changed. From this, we can kind of assume that this banquet must have come before Fringilla was assigned to be at Nilfgaard. It's kind of confusing, because Yennefer is older than Geralt in the books, but younger than him in the TV show. It shows us the status quo. And, ultimately, we get to see what Nilfgaard was like, how Fringilla changed it, and, obviously how it changed Fringilla. We see Nilfgaard at its full might in Episodes 1 as well as 7 and 8.

SHAUN: Yeah, they belittle Nilfgaard. And it's, obviously, foreshadowing what occurs later on.

ALYSSA: And it's quite humiliating as well. When he's proposing marriage to Pavetta and Calanthe, he tells them, you know, we should unite the jewel of the North referring to Cintra with the jewel of the South, Nilfgaard. And Calanthe says Cintra is indeed the jewel of the North, but Nilfgaard is the shitbag of the South.

SHAUN: Yeah.

ALYSSA: And the entire hall erupts in laughter. It appears to be very shameful. So, yeah, huge secondhand embarrassment from whatever the heck was going on there. Ultimately, this is the kind of thing though that, that brings about Cintra's demise. We do get a couple of brief scenes with just Calanthe and Geralt talking. Again, we'll talk about this more in comparison to the books, but it's really lovely to see the two of them together. Their personalities and values, I think, are relatively equally matched. And they do – I think, despite how forward Queen Calanthe is, she does seem to have respect for Geralt that is earned throughout the night. Ultimately, she invites him to that high table, because she says – I believe the quote is, “Any man who can paint himself in the shadow of his failures will make for a far more interesting conversation tonight.” And that's when she invites him up to chat with her. And, as they do, we learn a little bit more about witchers, who they are, where they came from. And Calanthe asks why there are so few of them. Geralt entertains her question and says that, since the sacking of Kaer Morhen, it's impossible to make more of us. And then he turns it around on her and asks her why she continues to go into battle and risk her life on the battlefield when she could just sit on her throne in Cintra. And her response is that, “There's a simplicity in killing monsters, is there not?” So, it's interesting to see her mentality there.

SHAUN: I think Geralt and Calanthe’s personalities are very similar, but I think the reasons why they have some incessant grievance is because of their situations. They're both in very different situations. You know, one is the queen of a country – really a kingdom. And she constantly has to live up to expectations and has to rule in order, this and that, and whatever. There's a lot of stress on there. Whereas Geralt is why – a witcher that takes some simple jobs of money for killing a monster. There's not much to Geralt. He just goes and does stuff like that. So, I think they both have really similar personality. It's just the fact of their situations is why they disagree with each other. And, ultimately, they do enjoy each other's company. But, ultimately, they have too many disagreements with each other then.

CHRISTIAAN: They’re so strong willed and such heavy, big personalities.

ALYSSA: It's interesting. I think part of the reason why they're equally matched here is because they're kind of opposites. Calanthe is very gregarious. She's very charismatic and very forward. And Geralt is quite reserved. So, it's interesting to see the kind of conversations that they get up to.

CHRISTIAAN: That is very interesting. I was in the service industry for a while as well. And you kind of see it. The people who are drinking coffee are the loudest ones. And the people are drinking tea are just sitting there listening to the person bitch about everything else. It's that kind of loud versus quiet, but it just complement each other so well in a sense. There could be tension or there could not be tension, but still it's – it's complementary.

SHAUN: Yeah, it's almost like they're both very opinionated. Calanthe almost feels like she has to force her opinion on people. Whereas Geralt just keeps everything to himself really.

ALYSSA: Yeah, that's a really nice way of putting it. Later on the evening, the masked Urcheon of Erlenwald interrupts the banquet to claim Princess Pavetta’s hand in marriage. He insists that he can’t reveal his face, but Eist knocks off his helmet in response. Urcheon is revealed to have the face of a hedgehog. Calanthe orders Geralt to kill him and the witcher refuses. Urcheon claims right to Pavetta under the Law of Surprise. Calanthe, instead, turns her guards and subjects on knight. Geralt and Eist defend him. Calanthe, herself, then ends the fight.

SHAUN: So, this is, like, probably, like, the high point of the episode or the, the most intense action sort of. It all happens very quickly as well. Like, he just burst out of nowhere and immediately claims Pavetta’s hand in marriage and stuff. I thought it was, definitely, funny to see Eist. In the books, it's a lot different. But he just knocks his helmet off and says, “Bollocks to that.” Yeah.

ALYSSA: Yeah, I think, as you said, as a book reader, it was very unexpected for me, because I was expecting, as we'll see, you know, something much longer. To just have that happen, I did laugh out loud. It was a funny moment. I was just surprised by, by the turn that the plot took.

SHAUN: Yeah.

ALYSSA: But I think it's also necessary given that they have no more than half an hour to tell this whole story.

CHRISTIAAN: Mhmm.

ALYSSA: So, this knight enters, as we said, there's a lot of tension in the dialogue. And then his face is revealed to be a hedgehog, which, obviously, freaks everyone out. They're not expecting this person, hedgehog man, to be under that mask. He's laying claim to Pavetta, which Calanthe doesn't like. And then Geralt is biding his time to see when to get involved. Ultimately, the whole thing turns into a brawl.

SHAUN: And what I love about it is that it's like such a fast pacing. Like, Geralt has to make up his mind so quick if this man is really, you know, a cursed knight or is it some sort of monsters. And, like, you can already hear he's made his assumption straightaway. When Calanthe says – you know, she orders him. She's like, “I order you to kill him.” And he's like, “I'm not going to kill him.” So, you can already see that Geralt has made up his mind. It's definitely cool to see him, like, jump on the action to intervene and save Duny.

CHRISTIAAN: Yeah, I mean, like, he just barges into action. I watched the scene this morning. He just kind of rolls in, body slams a few guards, and then he’s like, “Sorry for the intrusion.” It just comes out of nowhere. And, like you said, Shaun, it's fast paced. It's quick. Everything happens in the blink of an eye. Then there's something that Calanthe says where she says, “There’s a simplicity in killing monsters, is there not?” and then kind of like orders The Witcher to kill Urcheon. I think I'm jumping the gun, but it seems like a setup.

SHAUN: Yeah.

ALYSSA: Yeah. And I think Geralt even says as much down the line that Calanthe must have known that he was coming and that she was kind of priming Geralt to try to kill him.

CHRISTIAAN: Mhmm.

ALYSSA: This is also a scene that we saw while we were in Lucca. This is the scene that they decided to show for Geralt. Geralt steps into the fray and chops the axe in half that – and Duny catches it. We see the brawl breakout. And then I believe the clip stopped around the time that Calanthe stepped in. So, this was my first introduction to Henry Cavill’s adaptation of Geralt. And it was definitely interesting to see. I wasn't expecting Duny to look like that.

SHAUN: Yeah.

CHRISTIAAN: Mmm.

ALYSSA: Yeah, I think they did a good job, like, with the practical effects. It just looks very waxy. Like, I want to like – I want to, like, rub his snout. I mean, ultimately, it works on screen. It's a good scene. It's interesting, because it looks like this must have been one of the earlier episodes that they shot or, at least, it wasn't reshot. You could tell I think because of the way that Henry's wig looks compared to, for example, the Blaviken fight scene in Episode 1. But the fighting style feels a little different in Episode 1 than it does in the scene in Episode 4. Like, it doesn't feel deadly. I don't think anyone's really killing anybody. I think – I think one guard takes a slice to the back of the leg. I think a couple of them get, like, hit on the head and, like, knocked down, but I don't think anyone's trying to really kill.

SHAUN: Yeah, you can almost see that, like, Geralt, himself, he's gone light. He’s slowly will take people down, but you can tell he's almost like holding back his part. Yeah, I mean we've seen him in Episode 1. He basically caught three – about five people, like, butter. It was – obviously, he's very skilled. And I thought, like, the part where Calanthe comes out and Geralt is going, like, really fast and moving really fast. But it's a good thing of, like, showing the witcher’s sort of, like, instinct and how skilled they are, because he, like, immediately turns around. But he looks like he's getting ready to get them, but he immediately stopped right before he hits Calanthe. It shows a very good example of showing, like, how skilled watchers are and how – like, how they’re fighting style is different to, you know, your casual knight or whatever. And I thought it was showing very well on the scene.

CHRISTIAAN: Yeah, it was a stunning fight scene.

ALYSSA: At the end of this fight, Calanthe steps in herself noting the incompetency of her guards. She basically says like, “If you're not going to do it, I'll do it myself.” And she steps in, eventually, crossing swords with Geralt himself. which ends the fight. Geralt and the banquet attendees hear Urcheon’s case about the Law of Surprise. So, as they're all arguing with Calanthe about the validity of it, she feigns acceptance. And then, ultimately, betrays Urcheon causing Pavetta to release uncontrollable magic in the great hall.

SHAUN: Even Geralt sees it this way as well. He says it later on in, like, Mousesack says to him, “You know, destiny intervened.” And then Geralt goes, “No, it wasn't. It was a girl using her magic to stop her mother killing her lover and stuff.” So, Geralt sees it as a mere, like, coincidence almost or, like, she meant to that. Sure. It was Pavetta’s powers that, ultimately, stopped Calanthe from doing it. But, obviously, it was destiny that happened there. He wasn't meant to die. Geralt, obviously, doesn't believe in as he says later on. But, yeah, it was crazy to see how, even after all the talks from Eist and stuff, Calanthe still doesn't believe in it. And she was ready to just kill Urcheon at that moment. So, it was definitely interesting to see that.

CHRISTIAAN: Yeah, it was shocking. I mean, sure, we know how, like, badass Calanthe is and how she seems, like, she would stop at nothing, you know, to get what she wants and then just sort of just whips this dagger out. I don't know. It caught me by surprise. I'll tell you that much. Yeah, but it also just then goes to show I think how strong destiny is, because destiny definitely intervened even though she was scheming, planning to stop this whole thing from happening.

ALYSSA: It's interesting to see her stance laid bare. She does this for everyone in the hall. She turns to people in turn for their perspective. Eist, he says, “Who are we to challenge destiny? Life was saved. Debt must be paid or the whole order of the world falls apart.” Mousesack says, “Honor destiny’s wish or unleash its wrath upon us.” She's like, “Does anyone not care about destiny? Is anyone man enough to look in the face of destiny?” And she turns to the Witcher, first, it seems he's going to agree with her. He says, “Destiny helps people believe there's an order to this horseshit. There isn't, but a promise made must be honored as true for a commoner as it is for a queen,” which I think is very profound. So, Calanthe here says, "I bow to no law made by men who never bore a child," which I think tells us a lot about her character and what she values. She puts a lot of emphasis on her family, as we saw in Episode 1, with her adoration and her commitment to Ciri. We'll see this again here as well as in Episode 7. The way that she feels about her daughter Pavetta is very much the same. So, there's an author on Twitter that actually broke down the scene and the Law of Surprise really well in the context of the Netflix show and of adapting to a television medium particularly. So, this Twitter thread was by Sam Sykes, who's an author. And I’ll link it in the show notes. And one of the things that he liked in particular about the last surprise was the use of contextual storytelling in which he said that the stakes, you know, in the Law of Surprise is established immediately. They aren't really explained, but they do escalate, which demands attention throughout the episode. It's quite a long Twitter thread. So, I’ll jump down to the other section that really interested me in which he says, “The Law of Surprise is a little goofy as are a lot of things in fantasy. So, the Witcher wisely leads by attaching emotional value to it from the characters. For Geralt, it's worth dying. For Calanthe, it's worth killing.” As he mentions, we don't know what the law of surprise is explicitly as a new audience. You know, his point is that we get to see the emotional investment of the characters. And we immediately get an understanding of the weight that it carries. So, yeah, I would definitely agree with that. I think the show does this very successfully, you know, despite the fact that we're being shown something not told what it is as we talked about extensively in Episode 16, The End’s Beginning. So, this show not tell is on full display as we're seeing the character investment here in the Great Hall. And, curiously, as I was skimming through the episode, Pavetta here talks about she will marry Duny, and she'll finally be free. This is not necessarily something that we hear in the books, but it's interesting to see her voice that line, “I will finally be free.” What do you guys think that she's aspiring to be free from?

SHAUN: We don't really know exactly what she's talking about. I mean she could be sort of metaphorically talking about, like, she's free from, like, this life that she's on. As in, like, she doesn't want to be – live like a royal life where she's married off to people. And she's just not a fan of it. But that would be my best guess.

CHRISTIAAN: Yeah, I guess it was free of the family grip. You know, the responsibilities. My, my mom's gone. I don't want to have to be the one to slaughter elves. That's not what I'm about. Yeah. Yeah, I agree with you.

ALYSSA: I do like how I'm forward Pavetta is. In the adaptation, her character is much stronger than it does in the books. And I do like that she's more vocal about her desires.

SHAUN: Yeah, I agree as well. We had to see that, like, throughout the episode, like, a couple of times. Like, Geralt asked her, like, this isn't the first time you've, you know, pondered about a male tradition and stuff as well. She's, also, very annoyed as well when she hears the reason why Urcheon has come to claim the Law of Surprise, because she doesn't even like her husband, you know. But he's now the reason why she's losing Pavetta, because he almost died and he was saved. And he claimed the Law of Surprise. And she, she calls him something like, “Yeah, your stupid father,” or something like that and stuff. So, it’s like—

ALYSSA: Yeah.

CHRISTIAAN: Hmm.

SHAUN: Yeah, it's – you see, like, how annoyed she gets at, like, [Inaudible 1:07:20] as well. And she says to Geralt – she’s like, “If I was a man, I could, like, order them all over here, you know, and just say Pavetta doesn't want to marry or something.” But she can't, because she's not a man, obviously. She definitely worked for her respect. And it's almost like a given right when you're born a male in the Witcher universe. You have more power and authority than a woman. We see Calanthe thinking about this a lot throughout this episode.

CHRISTIAAN: Yeah, she’s just sick of it. You know, growing up as a woman in a predominantly male-run, controlled universe or world.

ALYSSA: And, obviously, this isn't something that just exists within the context of The Witcher world too. We'll be able to revisit this theme of how women navigate their time in the continent throughout the saga as well. And it has a lot of parallels to our own worlds, which is part of the reasons why I find the source material so fascinating. And I'm really happy that they were able to translate it on screen and show that aspect of the continent. Anything else? Or should we shuffle on—

SHAUN: Move along. [Inaudible 1:08:18].

ALYSSA: —to – oh, I guess the whole magic scene I suppose.

CHRISTIAAN: Yeah.

ALYSSA: That’s important. We should talk about that. Yeah. So—

CHRISTIAAN: Wait. Which one is this?

ALYSSA: The Shrek scene.

CHRISTIAAN: Yes, the Shrek scene.

ALYSSA: Yeah. So, after Calanthe goes to kill Urcheon, Pavetta lets out this, like, supersonic scream. It causes everyone except for her and Urcheon to fly into the pillars. And it causes absolute destruction in the hall. The effect is a little strange. Yeah. I'll be honest, in that, I think it's a bit strange. It's almost like they're in the eye of a tornado. And everyone else is in the tornado itself. The wind is blowing. The glass panels in the hall are shattered. But Pavetta and Duny are, like, right in the middle. Everything is very calm around them. Like, their hair isn't even moving. They just start spinning. And they're just holding hands and, like, spinning in the air. I don't know. It's a – it's kind of weird.

SHAUN: Yeah, it's – it happens for a very long time as well.

CHRISTIAAN: That's what I was gonna say, Shaun. Yeah. Yeah, it's too long.

SHAUN: Yeah, but it was – it was funny to see the memes about that as well with the comparing and then attracting where it’s – it's very close to – and this is the funny part about it. It's incredibly close to the actual Shrek scene. But still, I guess, it got the point across about how powerful destiny is.

 CHRISTIAAN: That's it.

SHAUN: Yeah. And it's showing how, like, powerful her feelings to Urcheon is as well.

CHRISTIAAN: And how powerful she is.

SHAUN: Yeah.

CHRISTIAAN: Not even having known it at all.

SHAUN: Yeah.

ALYSSA: We don't really know anything about what her powers are, where they came from, what they do. The only thing is we get a single line from Calanthe where she says like, “I thought your grandmother's power skipped to you as they skipped me.” But we don't really know what they are. Like, she had like this supersonic scream and then, like, defied gravity for bet. That was it. So, we don't really know, , what the limitations are, the source of it. It’s an interesting scene. And then we also see Geralt, in order to deal with that threat, he chugs a vial of something or, at least, tries to. It might be smashed. And then he uses a sign to knock her down.

SHAUN: You could see, even someone as powerful as Geralt and, obviously, Mousesack as well,  who is – who can do magic and such, you see they’re both powerful people. But they have to use all of their strength to just get through. It definitely shows just how powerful Pavetta’s powers are and who knows how long it could have gone on if Geralt and Mousesack weren’t there to stop it really.

ALYSSA: Did you have any thoughts on the scene, Christiaan?

CHRISTIAAN: Just big, explosive. Yeah, especially with them trying to subdue the couple. And then she kind of just, like, gives him this evil glance as he was waiting for a distraction.

SHAUN: Yeah.

CHRISTIAAN: Here’s my shot, but nothing extra to add. No, I'm afraid not.

ALYSSA: In the next few scenes, following Pavetta’s magical outburst, Calanthe shows true acceptance of her daughter's marriage. Noting Pavetta has magical heritage through her grandmother, she decrees that the Law of Surprise will be honored. And Pavetta and Urcheon will marry as well the Queen and Eist of Skellige.

SHAUN: Yes. So, I guess that part shows how intense it was for Calanthe even. She was, like, really opinionated. She didn't believe in destiny. It almost scared her that much that she's now accepted it. And she's marrying her only daughter off to this hedgehog by the looks of it. That's all she can see. So, it even scared someone like Queens Calanthe that much that she is afraid. She denied it. I think that's a very powerful scene.

CHRISTIAAN: It took a lot of convincing for sure.

SHAUN: Yeah.

CHRISTIAAN: I guess, even just also her and Eist’s history and then Eist kind of just backing up the whole Law of Surprise from the very get go, I think that was kind of a mind changing maybe as  well where it had some influence at least.

ALYSSA: We had heard earlier in the episode Mousesack mentioned Eist had asked Calanthe to marry him a number of times, and she said no. Ultimately, she accepts his proposal now. So, then there's two weddings in the night; Calanthe and Eist and Pavetta and, as we find out, Duny.

CHRISTIAAN: A handsome fellow indeed.

ALYSSA: Yeah, we find that out.

CHRISTIAAN: Yeah.

SHAUN: Yeah, we also seen, like, Eist as well, like, earlier on when he – like, you remember when he was like talking out Queen Calanthe almost kind of like – I don’t to say ass kissing, but, you know, like, he was—

CHRISTIAAN: Yeah, some sort of brown-nosing.

SHAUN: Yeah. Yeah, you definitely see that, like, a hand towards it. And then we, obviously, find out later on then around here that they're agreeing to marriage.

ALYSSA: So, at this point, we see the marriage ceremony between Pavetta and Duny. At the moment that they kiss, Duney changes back into his human form, where he's revealed to be not a hedgehog man. After the ceremony is completed, Geralt goes to leave. And Duny insists on paying him with something. He insists that the Witcher saved his life. Therefore, he owes him something because he doesn't want to start this new life with a debt as he puts it. So, Geralt, very flippantly, invokes the Law of Surprise. And this backfires on him with the very untimely announcement of Pavetta’s pregnancy. Mousesack begs the witcher to stay to look after the child, and Geralt refuses.

SHAUN: Yeah. And little, little humorous, obviously, got sort of moment along where they – he’s, like, I’ll take the Law of Surprise. And she just throws up and then she's like, “What have you done?” And Geralt replies with the famous line just, “Fuck.”

CHRISTIAAN: Yeah.

SHAUN: Pretty fucked.

CHRISTIAAN: Yeah, the Law of Surprise also known as, you know, Murphy's Law in my – in my dictionary. This is irony at its best.

ALYSSA: I mean, it's interesting to see in the comparison to Yennefer’s story, for example, she was faced with the threat. And she stepped up to try to protect that child, whereas we get Geralt here and he gets dragged to the banquet against as will by Jaskier. And then he goes to this whole thing, eventually, ends up with a child at the end of it, and then choose to walk away from that child and that responsibility. I mean there's a lot here in what the Law of Surprise means and in what this means for Geralt specifically and for this child. As we'll see in the television show, Geralt only flippantly asks for it because he doesn't want anything and makes the assumption that he'll come back to crops or to a new puppy. That's the moment we're Pavetta vomits, then announcing her pregnancy. It's an interesting decision here. He saw how powerful the outcome of this was. And then he just kind of, like, did it offhand. And then it just ended up backfiring on him really quickly. I don't know if I would have expected that based on what we learned about him in Episodes 1 through 3.

SHAUN: Especially, you know, even after all of that changed Calanthe’s opinion, even when Geralt’s told when Mousesack was telling him about, like, staying for the child, he still is, like, in disagreement. He still doesn't believe in destiny. And he's like it doesn't seem like a very Geralt thing to do to ask for the Law of Surprise. But, again, he was kind of – he just wanted to get out of there. And it seemed like Urcheon wasn't going to let him go without giving him something. So, he was just like, “Yeah, I'll just take the Law of Surprise.” And then he's like, “I’m not coming back here anyways. I'm not going to be claiming anything. So—

CHRISTIAAN: Mhmm.

SHAUN: It's definitely interesting to see the instant sort of payoff to the – what he says.

CHRISTIAAN: Yeah. And it's not like – he also mentions that it's not possible to create witchers anymore, but a prominent reward was the Law of Surprise. And he’s like, “Well, we're not making any more witchers. And, like, I don't need anything.” Children is the last, last thing on his mind. Then he gets a child.

ALYSSA: I don't know. I – that felt a little, like, out of character for me, I think, that there was just no thought behind it. Mousesack decides to stay in Cintra, because of Pavetta’s powers and help her refine them. And he asks Geralt to stay as well for the sake of that child, because he says, when it's born, the bond between Geralt and the child will be extraordinary. Geralt just says no.

CHRISTIAAN: Hmm.

ALYSSA: He just walks away. And it's interesting to see I think. Ultimately, what happens, based on what we know about that child, Calanthe’s grandchild, Ciri, and how that's going to play out, we'll find out more in Episode 7. You know, I think there were a couple of choices made in Geralt’s scenes based on the time that they had available to them. So, things like knocking off Urcheon’s helmet and also just the immediacy of that reveal, I think it makes a lot of sense when it's brought to screen. The fact that she just threw up, as an audience, we were able to infer what was happening, why it was funny, and how it affected the characters in such a short timeframe. I think it was a good choice for the medium.

SHAUN: Yeah, I agree. I think, sometimes, I do think that they should have, like, extended, you know, like, more episodes, because there are some pivotal, like, moments that, in my personal opinion, should have been on the show. But, to me, as long as it really gets the point across and not in a – like, a really lazy way or anything. I don't like the, the way they’ve done it in the show was bad at all. It's just, for a lot of people that have read the books, it’s a lot more in depth in the books, like, this whole story. It's all just right to the point in the show. And, again, it’s for time reasons, but still it would have been cooler in my opinion to see some of the, the scenes from the books in the show.

CHRISTIAAN: Yeah, I agree fully. They did super well, I think. You know, everything had the sense of urgency. Those fast-paced movements, they all made sense. You know, the, the big reveal, the quick reveal, the quick cuts to this, the quick cuts to that, it all made sense in the long run when you look at it, because you realize the urgency and the importance of this, this whole scenario and, especially, like, that explanation that you posted here with the Law of Surprise. They did it so well, I think. I mean, definitely, things could have been added. It's a big difference. Like, if you look at the book and you look at this scene, it's – there's a huge difference, you know, in events, but it still makes sense. The story comes across, and it comes across really strong.

ALYSSA: Yeah, absolutely. Well, we will talk about the changes in adapting A Question of Price from the books to this episode. Before we get to Ciri’s storyline and our discussion of adapting the books to screen, we’re going to break the episode here. When we come back, Christiaan, Shaun, and I will continue our discussion of “Of Banquets, Bastards, and Burials.”

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, Arix the Godling, Katie (The Redhead of Toussaint), Jacob B., Julie, Sylvia of Skellige, Jamison, Ayvo of Gulet, Bee Haven of the Edge of the World, Jacob Meeks, Sebastian von Novigrad, Charlotte from Vengerberg Glamarye, RedKite, The Original Roach, AerialKitty, TheOneTrueChef, Dustin, and Chris K. of Kovir.

Special thanks to Christiaan and Shaun for joining us for this episode and our international hanza for their support.

Transcriptionist: Rachelle Rose Bacharo
Editor: Krizia Casil

 

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