Ep. 28 — "Much More" from Netflix's The Witcher
Christian from Argentina and Tracie (aka Miss Magitek) from the US join Alyssa from GoodMorhen for our discussion of “Much More”, the eighth and final episode in season one of Netflix’s The Witcher. Very important bits include: The Battle of Sodden, the epic climax to Yennefer’s new storyline; Earworms!; Fatherhood of Surprise; comparisons to the source material; and the close Season 2 of Breakfast in Beauclair.
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
Breakfast in Beauclair Listener Survey: bit.ly/listenersurvey2020
Breakfast in Beauclair Hanza Takeover: bit.ly/thehanza
Transcript
Cold Open
ALYSSA: In regards to Yennefer and Ciri’s storylines, the books broadly follow Geralt. So, anything for Yennefer and Ciri had to be created—
[Ghostly sound]
ALYSSA: What was that? That was, like, mildly terrifying. What was that?
CHRISTIAN: Oh, I didn't hear anything.
TRACIE: Oh.
ALYSSA: Did you hear that?
TRACIE: I heard it. I'm not sure if it was on your end, Christian.
ALYSSA: That scared the shit out of me. That was like getting yelled up by my mother. Like, I don't know what that was.
CHRISTIAN: I didn't hear it. So, maybe it's my good friend. He's singing in the other room. I don’t know.
ALYSSA: Oh, my god, that was – I completely lost my train of thought. What was I saying? Oh, yeah. So scary.
Introduction
[Breakfast in Beauclair theme music by MojoFilter Media]
ALYSSA: Bienvenidos a Breakfast in Beauclair, un podcast global de The Witcher. Yo soy Alyssa de GoodMorhen y seré tu anfitriona mientras tú, yo y nuestra hanza internacional acompaña a Geralt de Rivia y su destino, Cirilla de Cintra, a través del Continente.
Welcome to Breakfast in Beauclair, a global Witcher Podcast. My name is Alyssa from GoodMorhen, and I…
[Welcome to the last episode of the season! Season 3, covering Blood of Elves will premiere on Thursday, March 4, 2021.]
Over the break:
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[December social + Hanza Takeover]
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[Episode Details]
As for this episode, Christian from Argentina and Tracie, also known as Miss Magitek, from the US call in for our discussion of “Much More”, the eighth and final episode in season one of Netflix’s The Witcher. Join us as we walk through the Battle of Sodden, the epic climax to Yennefer’s new storyline. We laugh about literal earworms, explore Geralt’s Fatherhood of Surprise, draw comparisons to the source material, and close out Season 2 of Breakfast in Beauclair.
In our mid-episode news segment, “Tidings from Toussaint,” Lars from Witcherflix shares brand new updates for Season 2 of Netflix’s The Witcher. Follow his Instagram page, @witcherflix, for continued daily news and updates about the adaptation over the podcast break.
Without further ado, let’s get to the final discussion of Breakfast in Beauclair Season 2, covering Netflix’s The Witcher Episode 108, “Much More”.
Discussion
[Breakfast in Beauclair stinger by MojoFilter Media]
ALYSSA: Welcome to Breakfast in Beauclair. My name is Alyssa and joining us today are Christian from Argentina and Tracie from the US. Hey, guys.
CHRISTIAN: Hey.
TRACIE: Hello.
ALYSSA: How are you both today?
TRACIE: Pretty good, actually.
CHRISTIAN: I’m kind of nervous.
ALYSSA: There's definitely nothing to be nervous about at all. This is gonna be a really fun discussion because it's the last episode of the season. We've gone through the last seven episodes of Netflix series. And we are going to be jumping into the very last one. Before we do – before we jump into our discussion, I'd love to learn more about both of you. We could start with Christian. So, Christian, you are from Argentina. Could you introduce yourself to our listeners?
CHRISTIAN: Okay. Well, I'm Christian. I'm from Argentina, as you said. I started playing the Witcher 1 game. And, well, I played it. I played Witcher 2. Then I play Witcher 3. Then I realized there was a book. I read it in English. Then I read in Spanish and then I replayed all the games again. That changed my mind a lot because it's very different when you play the games after reading the books. I think it's a piece of art.
ALYSSA: Mhmm. Yeah, that's one of the incredible things that I still have to do because I played the Witcher 3 and then read all the books. And then, now, I don't have a console or a PC to play on. So, I definitely have to do that in order to experience the characters in a way that I didn't the first time. So, you read the books in English first and then you read them in Spanish. What were some of the differences between the different translations?
CHRISTIAN: I always listened to the books. Never read them, actually.
ALYSSA: Mhmm.
CHRISTIAN: But I, I listened them in English and then in Spanish. And I don't think there is great differences. Some names and maybe some phrases, but more or less is almost the same.
ALYSSA: Huh, that's interesting. I don't think I've spoken to anyone yet who has read The Witcher books in Spanish. I do know that there's some differences across translations as you go throughout Europe or different cultural contexts and references that make their way into other translations that don't work as well in English. And I was curious about this in Spanish. Tracie, you've been a lovely part of our community. And you're also active in the streaming community on Twitch. I'd love to hear more about you and the work that you do in this community.
TRACIE: Sure. My name is Tracie and my online handle is Miss Magitek. I do stream on Twitch a lot. More recently, in the past few years, I started streaming a lot of RPGs. There's so many great, like, RPG games out there. And, so, a few years ago, I decided to stream The Witcher 3. And that was my first introduction to the Witcher universe. Kind of different from you, Christian. A lot of people that I talked to actually have started with the Witcher 3. Not so many people that I know who have actually started playing the Witcher 1 and then played it in order. Because the Witcher 3 was such a, a big hit game, a lot of people started with that game and then fell in love and started playing everything else. That's what I did. I, I started playing the Witcher 3. I fell in love with it. And then I needed to know everything about the universe and, and the lore. So, I went back and played The Witcher 2 and a little bit of The Witcher 1. I never actually finished it. And then I went on to read the books. And, actually, at the time of us recording this, this past week was the five-year anniversary of the Witcher 3 actually coming out. So, that's really awesome.
ALYSSA: Yeah. So, it's only May.
TRACIE: Yeah. So, it's crazy to think that such a, a big game came out five years ago. That's what started it all for me. Falling in love with the universe and reading the books. I loved it so much and I just, you know, always found myself discussing a lot of the stuff online with my community on Twitch. That made me kind of inspired to start making YouTube videos, kind of doing more in-depth discussions on the books, especially with the, the Netflix series since that, you know, made Witcher grow in popularity so much. I made videos discussing each episode. Yeah, it was really cool to just be able to talk with people online about the Witcher and especially with the show making everybody so excited about it.
ALYSSA: It's been really fascinating watching The Witcher enter the public consciousness and just explode. So, it's been interesting to be on, like, the pre-Netflix side for a couple of years and then see the growing interest. It's really exciting.
TRACIE: Yeah.
ALYSSA: So, was there anything specific that drew you into The Witcher in terms of, like, the themes of the characters? What got you hooked?
TRACIE: Ah, that's – that's actually a good question. I think it was – it was a combination of a lot of the characters. Not even just the main characters. Obviously, Geralt, Yennefer, Ciri, they are all compelling characters in the games and the books. But I think just a lot of the outside characters that Geralt meets and interacts with and a lot of these compelling story arcs, even the political landscape, it all kind of really got me hooked. There's a lot of, like, great fantasy stories out there. But I don't know. Something about the universe of The Witcher, which just was really, really interesting to me.
ALYSSA: Again, we're presented with a really unique opportunity because all of us went from playing the games to reading the books and then, now, experiencing The Netflix series. How long did it take you guys to binge through the Netflix series?
TRACIE: Oh, that – it was the week that I was home visiting family and I was freaking out because I just wanted to watch it. But I also, like, had to spend time with my family. When I would go to bed, I would just binge and stay up watching it. And, and watch the entire thing while I was, like, staying at my mom's house or something. It was great. I watched the entire thing in a week.
CHRISTIAN: I waited from a friend. I have a very best friend that's live in Chile. So, it's far away. Then I know that he loves the story. And we make, like, a pact that we're going to watch it together. I wait for him. So, I watch it, like, one or two months after it releases.
ALYSSA: Oh, that's so nice of you, though.
CHRISTIAN: Yeah.
ALYSSA: Oh, that's really sweet. I mean, for me, when the show first came out, I think, on the 18th, I released our cover of Toss A Coin To Your Witcher, which Tracie was actually in. The 19th was a Thursday. So, I released a podcast episode. And then the 20th was the show. And I was just so tired. And I didn't want to look at anything Witcher for a little bit. So, I think I just didn't watch the show for a couple days or maybe even a week.
TRACIE: Oh, yeah.
ALYSSA: And, by the time I started it, everyone in my family had already finished it.
TRACIE: I think I remember seeing you tweet about that you, like, hadn't started watching it. And I was very impressed that you're able to wait, like, a week or so and not see any spoilers or anything.
ALYSSA: Like, it's a little hard to spoil stuff. I mean, for myself, when, you know, just hearing Lars from WitcherFlix. He gives us updates every two weeks. I'm kind of in the news and stuff. I'm glad that I'm releasing these, like, six, seven months after just because we can get a deeper perspective, I think, with distance and with time. So, I'm really excited for the series when it airs and I'm really excited because we're at the end of it. Today, we'll be discussing Much More, the eighth and final episode in Netflix's first season of The Witcher. This episode adapts Andrzej Sapkowski’s final short story from Sword of Destiny, Something More, in which Geralt ultimately embraces his destiny, Ciri. Meanwhile, Yennefer stands beside her fellow Geralts defending the Northern Kingdoms at the Battle of Sodden. In her scenes, Yennefer and the Geralts of the Northern Kingdoms fortify the Elven keep at Sodden Hill with the aid of his refugee occupants. The opening scene that we see with Yennefer is her and a number of other Geralts on their way to sodden Hill in boats. They disembark. There's a couple conversations that happen between Yennefer and a number of the other mages. And we get to see the keep that they're defending here.
TRACIE: Basically, the Battle of Sodden Hill is probably really the main part of this last episode. It's what takes up most of the screen time more than the other story with Geralt and Ciri. It's very interesting to see more of this conversation between all of the mages and kind of them reflecting on a lot of different things. The previous episode, they, you know, had that big discussion on what to do and how to, you know, help the, the Northern Kingdoms and things like that. But this episode, they're really in the heart of it. And they're getting ready for battle and kind of having these discussions where they reflect on a lot of the things that they have to take care of. And they're really risking their lives. They're not military people. I think Yennefer even says that at some point. Like, we're not military. We’re mages. And it's kind of this different perspective that they have to, to handle when doing this battle.
CHRISTIAN: I think the same as the Sodden Battle was the – like, the most important part of this episode. But what I really didn't expect was the Geralt himself would be so irrelevant to this chapter. I thought that he was going to have more, like, participation.
ALYSSA: Mhmm.
TRACIE: Yeah, I was surprised too, actually, Christian. The name of the story is Much More. So, in my mind, I was like, “Oh, okay, this is just gonna be Something More and maybe a little bit of, you know, Sodden Hill and Yennefer.” But it was mostly the battle more so than the other.
CHRISTIAN: Exactly. Yeah. That's what I was aiming for.
TRACIE: Yeah.
ALYSSA: I think it was an interesting choice. It makes sense given the way that the rest of the season happened with their arcs. Like, for Yennefer, this is the climax of her story. And I think that something that these opening scenes do well as they kind of establish where she is in terms of her thinking, her personality, her relationships with others before they're kind of all thrown into disarray when they're in the midst of the battle. There's a lot going on in these very early scenes where she's getting to know Vilgefortz, who just, you know, recruited her. And she doesn't really have any context for who he is. She's really skeptical and doesn't seem to trust him, but she's there. We don't totally know why, presumably, because I asked her at the end of the previous episode. She's a little standoffish to everyone as the preparations are happening. At the end of these battle preparation scenes, we get a brief moment with Yennefer and Tissaia, which is opened by, “Vilgefortz will be our new daddy” joke.
TRACIE: Oh, yeah. Triss making that joke.
CHRISTIAN: Yeah.
TRACIE: I remember.
ALYSSA: It was funny. It seemed a little out of place for the script, but it was funny.
TRACIE: Yeah.
ALYSSA: But Yennefer has a brief conversation with Tissaia at the end of this battle preparation scene. The conversation turns to why Yennefer is there. And it seems that she feels that she has nothing left to live for. She has no legacy to leave behind. Therefore, she's ready to die.
TRACIE: I was, yeah, very shocked to hear her say that in this final episode. I think she said, “You know, I've lived several lifetimes already.” And, like you said, she has no legacy to leave behind. One of the things about this show is they really do show a lot of character growth for Yennefer that we don't see too much in the books. We were introduced to Yennefer as this very strong character who I feel, like, she has everything put together and she knows what she wants. She's very confident in all of her thinking. But, in this moment, we have a moment of darkness and for Yennefer, where I think she really is kind of questioning a lot of the things that she's been through. And, and I think that's okay. Like, nobody is 100 percent all of the time. And we even see Yennefer, you know, questioning her life if she's ready to die in this moment. So, even for such a strong character like Yennefer, it's nice to see that even her has this kind of moment of reflection and, you know, this introspective moment.
CHRISTIAN: That's what I think that they make her, like, more human, I think. I think it's a very deep conversation with Tissaia.
ALYSSA: You know, when we started in Episode 2, Tissaia just purchased her for those four marks. We got to see the development of her relationship as, like, student and teacher through Episodes 2 and 3. In Episode 5, Bottled Appetites, we see how severely her relationship with Tissaia has been damaged. They haven't spoken in years. Tissaia begs Yennefer to come back to the Brotherhood of Sorcerers and Yennefer refuses. One of the last exchanges that we see between them in Episode 7, Tissaia says please and she pleads with Yennefer to stay and to fight with them. And Yennefer says, “Have you ever said that to anyone before?” So, it's interesting to see them more as equals than I think we've seen them throughout the rest of the season.
TRACIE: Yeah, Tissaia and Yennefer have had a very interesting relationship. Does Yennefer hate her for what she's done to her? Or does she secretly care for her in some way? I mean she did come back when Vilgefortz, in the previous episode, had said Tissaia was asking for her. She went ahead and went back. And, you know, I think deep down Yennefer does care about Tissaia in some way even though they've had a very rocky relationship as a student and teacher.
ALYSSA: And it feels almost maternal. I wonder how much Tissaia, like, really connects with Yennefer in that way or if she doesn't understand why Yennefer feels the way that she does. It's kind of unclear. But I think this is a relationship that we don't actually get to see fully realized in the books the way that we do here. But I actually really like that we've gotten to see their relationship and to see the development of their emotions toward each other and the turbulence of it because it makes their interactions in this episode so much stronger and so much more interesting and definitive of their characters.
TRACIE: Oh, yeah, I absolutely love it.
ALYSSA: At night, Fringilla and the Nilfgaardian knight prepared to take the keep to pursue Cirilla against the advice of his field marshall. Nilfgaard throws a premature magical attack at the keep to test its defenses. Yennefer wakes and deflects the attack. A Nilfgaardian sorceress creates another fireball at the expense of her life.
TRACIE: Yeah. Here, we get to see the, the dark side of Nilfgaard, I think, where it was very shocking, actually, to see --
CHRISTIAN: Yeah.
TRACIE: —that Nilfgaard is killing mages to use these powerful spells.
CHRISTIAN: Yes, I was thinking that how they can convince their people to sacrifice themselves for, for this war. It's because of what their belief. It's because of they’re frightened. I didn't understand from this episode. They didn't speak about their culture and everything.
ALYSSA: Mhmm. It's something that they only sprinkle in throughout the series. We get a little bit of it here and there. Fringilla talks about her loyalty to Nilfgaard. Yennefer talks about almost the cult-like mentality that they have with tearing people down and then building the backup on Nilfgaardian beliefs. And, yeah, I mean the novice that, that Fringilla had, you know, sacrificed herself for this attack. I mean she looked terrified. She still did it. But it also makes me wonder about the relationship that Nilfgaard has of its people and about the kind of culture that they have. This is something that, again, without spoilers, does feel very different from the books.
CHRISTIAN: Yes, exactly.
ALYSSA: Yeah. So, I'd be really interested to see how their ideologies develop over the course of the next – over the course of the rest of the series really.
TRACIE: Yeah.
CHRISTIAN: Yes. I don't know if I'm allowed to say this. Maybe you can cut it.
ALYSSA: Okay.
CHRISTIAN: But, in the books, Nilfgaardian, they treat their people very nice. They love them.
ALYSSA: Mhmm.
CHRISTIAN: But they, they mistreat the – another people. That's the difference – the biggest difference I found.
ALYSSA: Mhmm. I think, in the books – and we could talk about this more later. But we don't really know too much about the Nilfgaardian, like, education structure, how they handle their mages. We only know that magic is a little more suppressed in Nilfgaard—
CHRISTIAN: Yes.
ALYSSA: —than it is in the Northern Kingdoms. It seems a lot more practical, a lot more tied to government. Whereas, in the Northern Kingdoms, it's very ostentatious, very flashy. Like, it's hard to say without, without saying too much. It creates like a weird dissonance, I think, between the freedom that the northern mages seem to have and the militant outlook that Nilfgaard does.
TRACIE: Yeah, I'm interested to see more of, of how this all plays out in future seasons because I think, like you said, there are some hints to different comments made about Nilfgaard throughout the show. I think either it's Tissaia or one of the mages says, like, nothing like a higher power to make you do the unspeakable or something like that. And it's – it’s very much, right now, we see them driven by the White Flame. And this is their main purpose as a kingdom. But I'm, I’m curious to see how that all plays out in the future.
ALYSSA: Yeah. You know, for the purposes of the show, for people who might not be familiar with the original lore that Sapkowski wrote, I think this scene does a good job in not only telling us what their ideologies are but showing us how they actually play out in warfare. So, we see that the Northern Kingdoms are, you know, collaborating very strongly with the refugees from the south. They're also fighting in, like, ball gowns, which is kind of wild. But we see, like, the practicality and the coldness of the Nilfgaardian army compared to the scrappiness of the Northern mages right now. It does a very good job of not only telling us what the ideologies are, but also showing them.
TRACIE: Yeah, I agree.
ALYSSA: The following morning, the sorcerers prepare to fight with just 22 of them. Nilfgaard attacks and the fight begins a day early without northern military support. The northern occupants mobilized defending the keep. We get a lot of different beats in the fight here. So, for context, the Nilfgaardian army was meant to be two days away as was helped for the Northern Kingdoms. But, at the request of the main Nilfgaardian knight as well as Fringilla, the small amount of Nilfgaardian troops that were already there decided to march on Sodden anyway. That small skirmish happened the night before and why they're being attacked with such small reinforcements.
TRACIE: Yeah, the real action begins, I guess.
ALYSSA: Mhmm.
TRACIE: And, so, they had more mages. And then, I guess, a lot of them retreated and just kind of bailed out and left only 22 of them left.
ALYSSA: I'm not totally sure.
TRACIE: Yeah.
ALYSSA: I thought that that was a really interesting thing to note because it makes the stakes feel a lot higher.
TRACIE: Yeah.
ALYSSA: I forgot if it might be, like, Triss or Sabrina that shouts out like, “There's only 22 of us,” you know, with a lot of urgency. And I think, despite the strength of a single mage, we'll see you're fighting, like, hundreds of thousands of infantry men. You know, sheer numbers versus strength, it ends up being a very interesting battle to watch. Of course, like, the warfare ends up being very chaotic to watch. There are a lot of small scenes, a lot of small beats that happen. Tissaia sends Yennefer to go stay in the tower and be a looked out for the rest of the mages on the field. Triss with Tissaia unleashes a spore attack on a unit of Nilfgaardian troops. Coral strangles a number of them. Sabrina is with archers and then also takes out another unit. Eventually, Vilgefortz attacks alone behind the Nilfgaardian front and then battles that Nilfgaardian knight one on one. Yes. So, we're kind of starting to see how the northern mages are attempting to defend their position.
TRACIE: Yeah, we see a little bit of everybody's powers, which is really cool. You know, just being able to see the mages unleash their power. Seeing Triss with those spores that, you know, easily killed so many Nilfgaardians and then Coral as well, it's really cool to see the strength and the power of these mages really being put to use in, in this setting.
ALYSSA: I think this is the first time that we really are seeing a full scale attack with magic like this.
TRACIE: Yep.
ALYSSA: It's – as you said, it's absolutely fascinating because it's very creative in terms of ideas in production, right? Things like having those deadly spores.
TRACIE: Yeah.
ALYSSA: Or just being able to strangle – like, Darth Vader strangle, like, 80 people in one go.
CHRISTIAN: Yeah, Darth Vader attack.
ALYSSA: The same thing with, like, the little bottles that they use for the archers.
CHRISTIAN: Yes, I think that it's, like, too far. I'd say because I'm a professional archer.
ALYSSA: Oh.
CHRISTIAN: So, I know what it's like to hit something in the – in the – in the air. It's impossible. They could simplify it a lot.
ALYSSA: Yeah.
CHRISTIAN: It's like they loses the realism.
TRACIE: Yeah.
ALYSSA: Yeah, it's – I think there's definitely some imagination.
CHRISTIAN: Yeah.
ALYSSA: That, that has to come with this.
CHRISTIAN: But I like it. I, I'm not trying to point the, the bad aspects. But I think, like, they could find something online or something easier.
ALYSSA: Mhmm. There's a few things here. Like, as Tracie was saying, we get to see more of the magic. We get to learn a little bit more about the sorceresses and the kind of magic that they could do, which is something that we haven't really seen throughout the series. There's not much personality or backstory to a lot of the sorceresses outside of their time at Aretuza. So, it's nice that we're kind of seeing these specialties crop up on the battlefield.
TRACIE: Like, Triss has, like, these earthy abilities or, you know, things that specialize with the spores and making, like, roots come from the ground and things like that. That's – that seems to be her specialty. Coral – it's interesting because we see that even these really, really strong mages, despite, you know, having all this power, it still takes a lot out of them. Because I think, after Coral does her attack, you see a little bit of blood coming from her nose. You know, this was clearly taking a lot out of her.
ALYSSA: And this builds upon the limitations that we got in Episode 2, Four Marks. So, we learned, in that episode, that, in order to conduct magic, it requires some sort of life source. There's no creating magic out of nothing. Presumably, as the mages have gotten more skilled, I would assume they're able to do smaller magic with less amounts of effort. But, you know, going into warfare, all of that goes out the window, which is why we probably saw the mages on the Nilfgaardian side just completely turned to dust and, as you said, Tracie, why we see the exertion – the physical exertion and the physical consequences for these attacks. I think that was a good addition—
TRACIE: Yeah, I agree.
ALYSSA: —to the show. It gives stakes for the – for the mages, which I don't think we really have as much as in the books. So, I think it definitely makes sense for the purposes of the show.
TRACIE: Yeah, I agree. It shows that, even, you know, having all this power as, as a sorceress, even, you know, being the best of the best – these are the best of the best – they still, you know, have to make a sacrifice to, to perform these spells. They're not, you know, overpowered or anything like that. They, they also have to make sacrifices.
CHRISTIAN: Yes. I think that it evens the battle even more because, when you see Vilgefortz fighting in the back, you know that a mage can also lose a fight with a common person.
ALYSSA: Yeah, that was an interesting scene just because it was another unique kind of magic. We do know, from the show, that Vilgefortz talks about his previous military experience during that emergency conclave of the Brotherhood of Sorcerers in Episode 7, Before A Fall. As we've been talking about, his magic builds upon that experience and that specialty. So, he's just pulling out an unlimited amount of swords from his sheath until they are limited.
CHRISTIAN: Yeah.
ALYSSA: I don't know if that was, like, because of a limit on them or if that's because he over exerted himself or, as we'll see, if he let that knight win. We aren’t really sure. But it – again, it's like an interesting note. One the last things that we see in these early defense scenes is Fringilla takes a number of Nilfgaardian knights, opens a portal outside in the woods to inside the keep, and has them all shoot arrows into the portal, which then start to massacre a number of the refugees inside the keep. This is when the number of defenders starts dwindling. And we'll see how that progresses throughout the episode. But this is kind of where the slaughter starts. In the following scenes, Tissaia confronts Fringilla. Using Dimeritium, Fringilla leaves her for dead in the woods, simultaneously, releasing the “ear worms.”
TRACIE: Yes, those ear worms that are so – caused a lot of problems later on. It was a – they're kind of gross looking, too.
ALYSSA: I thought they were kind of funny, though. Like, they're so literal.
TRACIE: Yeah.
ALYSSA: Like, when I – I remember when I first watched it. I was like, “Oh, that's kind of, like, an actual ear worm.”
TRACIE: Yeah. Yep. Yep. And we see it go in the ear and, and appear. And, yeah, it's very interesting.
CHRISTIAN: I, I saw that in, in an old movie about the ear worms. I didn't remember which one.
ALYSSA: Because, usually, when I think of ear worms, it's like – I don't know if you would have the same thing in Argentina, Christian. But, like, usually when we talk about them, it's usually in the context of, like, a really catchy song. when you refer to an ear worm. It's like Pharrell’s Happy, which I don't like that song. I love Pharrell. Hate that song.
CHRISTIAN: Oh, yes.
ALYSSA: But, like, once you get it in your head, you can't get it out.
CHRISTIAN: Yeah. Yeah. No, we, we don't have that phrase here in Argentina about worms. So, we just say that it's a catchy song or that’s all.
ALYSSA: Like, ear worms aside, this scene is interesting and really heartbreaking. This is when Tissaia tries to confront Fringilla. It's a little difficult to talk about the relationship between Fringilla and the other sorceresses because it is so different from the books. To recap Fringilla’s story briefly, she was a novice at Aretuza with Yennefer and the other sorceresses before she was sent to Nilfgaard in Yennefer's place. And it was in Nilfgaard where she became an integral part of the Nilfgaardian Empire and is responsible, supposedly, for a lot of the ideologies and a lot of the military action that happens in the Nilfgaardian forces. We see the extent of her development during this conversation with Tissaia.
TRACIE: Yeah, this – oh, man, this is another reason why I really love Tissaia’s character in the show because it shows that she hasn't quite given up on Fringilla just yet even though, you know, she is – she taught her everything that she knows. And she thinks that there's still hope for her. That she doesn't have to succumb to what Nilfgaard is, is having them do right now. And she just is brave enough to walk right up to Fringilla because she knows that, you know, this is her student and she still cares about her. So, she'll walk right up to her and say, “You know, there's still time. You can still – you know, you don't have to do this.” And, yeah, I just love this part of Tissaia that she has so much hope for her students even when, you know, there's a huge war going on with Nilfgaard and the Northern Kingdoms.
ALYSSA: Yeah, I think, despite the very cold parts of Tissaia’s personality, she feels a sense of responsibility. Fringilla just kind of throws it all back in her face, you know, literally with the dimeritium and then just dismisses her as like, “I don't need you anymore, Rectoress.” Fringilla also admits to Tissaia that, with Nilfgaard and possibly her, that decimated the Skelligan reinforcements for Cintra, which is part of the reason why they lost at Marnadal and why Cintra fell. So, we then find out, I guess, like, to what extent they really go through with this war. Yeah, it's – it's interesting, like, having seen Fringilla’s whole mess that, that she has been part of.
TRACIE: Yep, like I said before, I'm very curious to see what's happening with Fringilla in the future and how this will shape her as a sorceress and Nilfgaard in general.
ALYSSA: Yep.
TRACIE: Yep.
ALYSSA: Yep.
TRACIE: We shall see.
ALYSSA: I’m just gonna leave it at that.
TRACIE: Yeah.
ALYSSA: In the following scenes, the northern forces retreat back to the keep on Yennefer's command. A number of the sorcerers are killed on the way, Atlan and Coral. Triss attempts to bar the entrance to the keep, but is burned. Sabrina and two refugee boys have been infected by the worms and they attack from inside the keep. Sabrina stabs Yennefer and they fall from the tower. With many of the Nilfgaardian forces killed or gravely wounded, Yennefer exits the keep alone. So, man, like, this is now, like, kind of the downturn of the battle. We saw them doing their best to defend the keep in the previous scenes. And, now, we're, quite frankly, just seeing everything go to shit for the Northern forces. Again, like, they're getting absolutely slaughtered just based on numbers alone.
TRACIE: Yep. Yeah, that – this is – things are not looking good. I think, the first time I watched this, I was kind of confused. I forgot about the ear worms for a second. And I saw Sabrina getting ready to try to kill Yennefer. And I was like, “Oh, crap, what's happening?” And then, you know – and then it shows, yeah, that the, the two children and her are infected. And it really is a big turning point for the battle.
CHRISTIAN: And we also see the famous scar that the Triss has in her chest. That is not mentioned in the games, for example.
ALYSSA: Mhmm.
TRACIE: Yes.
ALYSSA: Again, this isn't really a spoiler because we're talking about this here. But, even the books, Triss has a monologue. I believe, in Blood of Elves, the first book in the saga, you know, where she's telling someone, “I'll never wear low cut dresses, again, because of Sodden.”
CHRISTIAN: Mhmm.
ALYSSA: It ends up being one of the defining parts of her character, the fear that she had at Sodden. I really like Anna Shaffer’s depiction of Triss here. Like, I think that it's really consistent with what, at least, I personally know about the character from the books. That, even if you haven't read the books, the fact that she's terrified or she looks terrified when she's working on that spore attack, that she's terrified or just trying to hold the keep at the doors, I think it's good that we see how different sorcerers handle warfare. I like that they're, you know, not all super confident and not all stoic. And that we see the varying degrees of how war affects people.
CHRISTIAN: Yeah, this was her baptism of fire.
ALYSSA: I love that phrase. But, yeah, it's a turning point for her character. And I do quite like that we get to see it on screen. And I hope that we get to see more of her character in the next few seasons of the show as well. At the end of the scene, the attack from Sabrina and the two boys ended up killing a lot of the people inside the keep. Yennefer missed the attack by falling from the tower at that moment, then wanders onto the field alone. As she's walking out, we get this voiceover from Fringilla telling her to surrender, telling her to just give up. Mimi, the actress that plays Fringilla, she sounds so soothing and so inviting to Yennefer. And you can hear Yennefer and see her just try to push Fringilla out of her mind. I'd really like to see some sort of relationship or some sort of confrontation or interaction between Yennefer and Fringilla. We don't end up getting an out here, but I think it'll be interesting in the future.
TRACIE: Yeah. Yeah, it will be interesting later on. They do have a interesting relationship. You know, almost a rivalry of sorts that Yennefer was supposed to be in her spot. And Yennefer has always seemed so indifferent about a lot of the, the political landscape. But, now, in this moment, she's taking a stand. She's not going to listen to Fringilla and she's gonna continue to fight and continue to press on. And, when things get really bad – you know, Yennefer, this whole time has been kind of the lookout for everybody—
ALYSSA: Mhmm.
TRACIE: —and being the communicator between all of the mages. But, now, after all this happens, Yennefer has to, you know, start to figure out what's the next move and how to handle this.
ALYSSA: Yeah, as you said, she's been really aloof throughout the episode and I think the series as a whole. But, really, when we get to the scene, where everyone around her is wounded or dead and she's one of the few left standing, her loyalties and her resolve are really shown here. She's just pleading for anyone to come and fight with her despite the fact that she's been stabbed. And I think it says a lot about where her character truly is because it's coming out under pressure and on this battlefield. In the next scene, Vilgefortz awakens at the bottom of the cliff. He finds a gravely wounded northern mage and kills him brutally revealing himself to be a turncoat. Christian, I think you had a very strong reaction to the scene. Do you mind telling us about it?
CHRISTIAN: Oh, I don't know. But I really don't know what could have happened to him. Why he get up so grumpy. I mean what in the hell happened there?
ALYSSA: Yeah, this seemingly comes out of nowhere for a new viewer. For someone who's unfamiliar with the show, Vilgefortz is the one who hunted out Yennefer and who brought her to Aretuza again. He ends up at the bottom of the hill after being defeated or seemingly defeated—
CHRISTIAN: Yeah.
ALYSSA: —by the Nilfgaardian knight. Yeah, he finds that mage and he – okay. I say this in a lot of episodes when we talk about the Netflix series, but I had to skip this scene because I, I just can't handle the gore at all. And I know that they don't really show anything. He just smacked the mage on the side of the head with his sword, and then seemed to take something, and then bludgeon him some more. And that seems super excessive. So, I just, like, fast forward it a bit. We see this brutality that we haven't expected because he's been relatively gentle and coolheaded up until that point.
CHRISTIAN: Yes, I think it was a sledgehammer. It wasn't a sword or I’m mistaken.
ALYSSA: I don't know about the first swing. But the second two looked like some sort of hammer bat for sure.
CHRISTIAN: Yeah, it, it was really brutal.
ALYSSA: I remember, you know, what, like, five, six years ago, there was that opening season of The Walking Dead where – I – this is – this should not be a spoiler for anyone because it's a very long time ago. But where, like, Glenn was killed. I didn't watch The Walking Dead. I did not watch The Walking Dead. Had a roommate who did. I just had – I was like I had to leave the room.
CHRISTIAN: I think I never experienced something so brutal than that scene in The Walking Dead.
ALYSSA: Yeah. So, I was afraid of that when, when we saw the scene with Vilgefortz. So, I skipped ahead. Actually, on my rewatch this morning, something that I didn't notice the first time – again, because I skipped it. There's a voice that comes to Vilgefortz after he's done executing or slaughtering that mage. It’s just this voice that says, “Vilgefortz, are you with us?” I was like, “Wait, I don't think that sounds like Yennefer. Is that Fringilla?” And it, it was a little hard to discern.
TRACIE: Hmm. Yeah, I think it was Yennefer. The only reason I know this is because I always watch with subtitles. I'm one of those people that—
ALYSSA: I do too.
TRACIE: —reads subtitles. Yeah. And I think that it does say, like, Yennefer – it was her voice or something.
ALYSSA: Hmm.
TRACIE: But, yeah, it, it is very interesting for sure.
ALYSSA: Yeah.
CHRISTIAN: But do you think that he, she asked, like, because she sense something or just because she was – wanted to know if he was alive?
TRACIE: Alive. Yeah.
ALYSSA: I think I don't totally understand the extent of her powers in, in this. You know, she's able to sense the Nilfgaardian forces. So, for example, she tells Triss when they're coming. But I can't really tell, like, if it has to be two way or if it's only one way. So, if she called for Vilgefortz and he didn't answer but he was walking around, would she still know? I, I don't really know the extent of what her powers are here.
TRACIE: Yeah.
ALYSSA: I don't really have an answer.
TRACIE: Yeah.
ALYSSA: But it just makes me curious.
TRACIE: Yeah, I think this scene definitely leaves a lot of questions – unanswered questions, which is okay because we'll probably get those answers in, in Season 2. Yeah, it's a very open-ended kind of conclusion for Vilgefortz.
ALYSSA: Mhmm.
TRACIE: Yeah, we see him killing this mage and, as a viewer, we're like, “Okay. Well, he's not with us. He's against us.” What does that mean for, for Vilgefortz in the future?
ALYSSA: Mhmm.
TRACIE: It even, like, raises questions for everything he's done thus far in the season. Like, when he was fighting the knight, was he holding back? Or was he – you know, was that his full potential? Was he trying to not unleash all of his power? It leaves a lot of questions of what is going to happen to his character and in the future.
CHRISTIAN: Yeah.
ALYSSA: It's very much just like, “Now, what?”—
TRACIE: Yeah.
ALYSSA: —kind of thing.
TRACIE: Yeah.
ALYSSA: Because we have no idea where he went. After that scene, we don't see him anymore.
TRACIE: Yeah.
ALYSSA: He could be hiding in the woods from both forces. He could have joined Nilfgaard. Who actually knows?
TRACIE: Mhmm.
ALYSSA: And, as you said, we'll hopefully find out next season.
TRACIE: Yeah.
ALYSSA: In the next scenes, Tissaia wakes in the forest and it's night again. The Nilfgaardian army attacks the dwindling northern force. Yennefer finds Tissaia who's weary from the dimeritium and unable to help. She pleads with Yennefer to release her chaos. And Yennefer draws energy from the fire raging in the battlements before releasing it into the Nilfgaardian forces. She seemingly disappears and Foltest and the northern reinforcements arrive. This is really, like, the crème de la crème climax for Yennefer's story. We got to see the origin of her story in that pig pen in Aedirn. We got to see her evolution as she's learning more about herself and her powers, where she's always been told to keep her emotions in check. She's had a number of experiences throughout her life that have taught her to close off herself to the world and to her emotions. And, here, for the first time, we're seeing Tissaia tell her to release them. And it's very powerful and beautifully shot scene for her character.
TRACIE: Yes, I love this scene. This is probably my favorite scene of the whole episode. Just hearing all of the quotes and, and things said to Yennefer in previous episodes, you hear it in her mind. And she's kind of channeling that energy and all the things that people have said about her or to her and just unleashes it. And it's so cool. And, and I love that Tissaia gets to witness this all. And, when she's, you know, unleashing the fire, it goes completely around Tissaia and she's protected. And, so, I just love that Tissaia was a witness to all of this and got to see, you know, Yennefer unleash all of this power.
CHRISTIAN: Yes, I think that [Inaudible 42:16] it has to do a lot with the control. And it's also like she becomes the most powerful mage in the place and also the magic was totally controlled. That's amazing.
ALYSSA: Mhmm. There's a brief moment between Yennefer and Tissaia. And it kind of bookends their relationship very nicely. There's a complete role reversal, where Tissaia is just physically very weak, and very out of it. She can't do anything. And Yennefer is the one that, you know, must take over. And she tells Tissaia like, “You saved me.” And she says it very sincerely and she's very emotional. And this is where Tissaia tells her to unleash her chaos.
TRACIE: Yeah, I love it.
ALYSSA: This is not a relationship that's very explicitly shown in the books. It's a lot more powerful seeing it firsthand. And Anya and MyAnna are just absolutely incredible in their roles. I mean, like, the scene is epic. Like, we see, as, as Tracie said, this fire is just raging down the fields. And, at that point, Yennefer seemingly disappears. Based on what we saw from the Nilfgaardian mages at the beginning of the episode, you know, now, there's a fear that she sacrificed herself for this last attack. In the meantime, King Foltest from Episode 3 arrives with reinforcements from Temeria and Tissaia just shouts out for Yennefer.
TRACIE: Yeah. And what happens to Yennefer? We don't know.
ALYSSA: No.
TRACIE: Will we find out? I'm sure we will next season. But where is Yennefer? That is the question.
ALYSSA: Yeah, I mean that's her story arc as a whole. It just ends with this battle. And I think it's a very stunning thing to end on and a very defining thing for her character.
TRACIE: I actually think one of my favorite parts of the entire season was actually Yennefer's character arc. I think it was just very well developed in the show. We all know this is not really something that's touched on in the books at all. We don't know much about Yennefer's past, only, you know, some passing comments made by her and other characters. This gave the, the show an opportunity to really flesh out her story and I really liked it. I, I enjoyed watching it from Episode 1 to this final episode. Like we said, you know, her struggles, not only as a sorceress but also as a woman and as a person --
ALYSSA: Mhmm.
TRACIE: —even though she is a mage, she’s relatable in some ways. And it's a great development from start to finish. And, and having this final episode show her unleashing the power was, was a really, really strong ending to it.
CHRISTIAN: I just love the way that Netflix created Yennefer’s story. I think that it's very accurate. I think it's very well made. And I think it goes very good with the – with the book. I, I like it a lot.
TRACIE: Yeah.
ALYSSA: Mhmm.
CHRISTIAN: Yeah, like you say, Tracie, I love that you could see your growth from start to finish and what she became. And, well, being like the most powerful sorceress in the world, I think, because, in the battle, there were the best mages and no one has her power, I think.
ALYSSA: Yeah, Yennefer's story has been such a wonderful addition to the show. And I do think it's important for people who are unfamiliar with the books to have some sort of investment in her character. I think that makes sense. And we do get to see a lot of things that, you know, we wouldn't have experienced otherwise from the original source material. Things that Geralt would never see, right? So, different kinds of poverty, the experience of a novice at Aretuza. Like, we're never going to see that if we follow Geralt. For example, at the Battle of Sodden, Geralt is also not in. I do quite like that we get a perspective that flushes out the rest of the world. And, in regards to their adaptation of the Battle of Sodden, I found it really interesting. You know, again, coming from the books, I imagined something very, very bear. Like, when I picture the Battle of Sodden in the books, I imagine a very literal hill. I don't know. Like, a 60 story hill. This is absurd. And just like Nilfgaard at the bottom and the mages at the top. That's how I imagined that battle. Like, it's very dark, and there's lightning, and there's a lot of dirt. I don't really imagine a keep. So, it's interesting here to be able to see that kind of fighting in a landscape. And I think that, from a production standpoint, they did a really lovely job in utilizing the sets that they had, the landscape that they had in order to create something that had a level of realism for the world that I think worked in the context of the series.
TRACIE: Yeah, like you said, the Battle of Sodden, it's also not something that is fully narrated in the books. Again, like, we hear stories about it and it's brought up a lot. So, the showrunners did have this opportunity to really flush it out. Like you, I kind of had different pictures in my head of what it looked like. So, seeing it, you know, on full display in this episode was, was really cool. Of course, you know, like, a season finale should have a lot of action.
ALYSSA: Mhmm.
TRACIE: And this battle is the, the perfect way to end the season with, like, an epic battle.
ALYSSA: This episode is also quite unique because the stories that happen here between our three main protagonists, Yennefer, Ciri, and Geralt, happen simultaneously for the first time. While the Battle of Sodden is raging, we do get to see the perspectives of Ciri and of Geralt as this happens. Ciri’s storyline is quite straightforward. At the end of the previous episode, Ciri was attacked by some boys from Cintra. In Episode 8, Much More, she's woken in the fields by the woman who was in the market in the previous episode. The bodies of the Cintran boys are scattered. The woman takes Ciri back to her homestead. They witnessed the attack on Sodden from a distance. And Ciri is eventually put into bed by the woman who invites her to stay with them permanently. In the night, Ciri dreams of Geralt and leaves the homestead running into the woods.
TRACIE: I think the first scene is, is pretty crazy. When Ciri sees all of these dead bodies of these boys that, in the previous episode had – you know, were threatening her and trying to take her away. And she sees the result of what she did. And it's probably very frightening for her. You know, even, like, when she prophesized in, in the previous episode, it's – it’s a lot. And I think that the opening scene of this shows the camera kind of zoom out and look down at the field and you see the one spot where she was. And it's pretty powerful.
CHRISTIAN: Yes, I think that, that we can see the kind of power that Ciri has and maybe she's not even aware. It's like a strong picture.
ALYSSA: Yeah, absolutely. And I think it sets us up for some really interesting things in the following seasons. We don't know what exactly these powers are. We vaguely hear that they might be inherited from her mother, but we don't really know the extent of what they'd be able to do. We just know that she screams and then destructive things happen—
CHRISTIAN: Yeah.
ALYSSA: —based on Episode 1 and this episode, Episode 8. Something else that we see here is that she actually accepts this woman's invitation. The woman is very kind to her. And it doesn't seem like she's experienced any kind of human kindness throughout the course of the series. She's also very quiet. And the woman's son mistakes her for a mute. So, it's interesting to see, like, how far her character has come as well. She went from being a princess and being kind of surrounded by people all the time that cared for her. And it's definitely hardened her and made her really skeptical of the world. Yeah, that's kind of where we are by the end of this episode.
TRACIE: Yeah, I think – in a way, I think she wanted to just stop for a minute. And, and, you know this woman does take her in and she is able to rest just for a little bit. And maybe – I don't know if she fully feels safe ever as she's always on the run. Throughout the entire season, she's always been on the run. And this is one of the few times she can rest and maybe feel secure as this woman is very kind to her and even, you know, says like, “I've always wanted a daughter.” It's just a brief moment for her, but it clearly doesn't last as she has the dreams about Geralt and, and knows that she still needs to find him.
CHRISTIAN: I think that, here, we see again destiny. You know, this woman says that it was her destiny to find her. And I think that that leads us to understanding what destiny is in this story. It's like a religion. I think it's, like, everything. Yeah, that's kind of deep, but—
ALYSSA: When they talk about destiny on the show, it's just a very matter-of-fact thing in their universe despite the fact that some people don't believe in it. So, as you said, Christian, it does seem kind of religious in a way. Yeah, we don't really know what compels Geralt and Ciri to continue to act on their impulses aside from destiny. So, it ends up being a very powerful force in the context of The Witcher world.
CHRISTIAN: Yeah, not, not for the poor lady. But, but – yeah.
ALYSSA: Yeah, I mean, as you said, she's like, “I feel like I was meant to find you.” And, ultimately, as we'll see in Geralt’s storyline, that does seem to serve a purpose as well. At the very end of Ciri’s storyline, she has a vision of Calanthe telling her to find Geralt of Rivia. And then it compels her to leave, which brings us to Geralt’s storyline. Following the fall of Cintra, Geralt returns to the abandoned castle looking for any trace of Ciri. He doesn't find one and, instead, makes his way to Kaer Morhen. On the way, Geralt encounters a merchant burning the bodies of Cintran refugees and defends him from monsters. These opening scenes for Geralt’s storyline are really indicative of his character and his interest at this time. He promised Calanthe he would find Ciri and bring her back safely. He lost her in all the madness of the fall of Cintra and resigned himself to just going back home. This is where he comes across the same Cintran camp that Ciri entered in Episode 2. He meets this man Yurga, who we’ll get to know throughout the episode and saves Yurga from some sort of monster. They’re unnamed in the books.
TRACIE: It shows how deadly, like, some monsters can be. I think this is one of the more – I mean Geralt has been in a lot of fights in, in all of these episodes, but these monsters kind of swarming and ambushing him. I think he said to, to Yurga that one bite or one attack could kill him. And then Yurga responds, “And it can also kill you.” So, it's – it's clearly a very deadly thing for him.
ALYSSA: Yurga’s character is just very sweet and very pure. He's, like, the nicest little cinnamon roll we've seen --
TRACIE: Yeah.
ALYSSA: —in this whole series.
CHRISTIAN: Yeah.
ALYSSA: You know, there's a slight difference in the scenario that Geralt walks into in the books as opposed to in this episode specifically. So, in the books, Geralt just comes across Yurga on a random bridge. And Yurga is just a merchant. He's not, like, tidying up a grave site. So, I think, when we actually see Yurga here and we meet his character, there's a number of things that happen that don't have to be explicitly said because they're shown. I think that, one, it's actually really nice that they recycled the set and the situation from Episode 2 from Ciri. It shows us that, apparently, she didn't go very far if Geralt is kind of right on her tail albeit by a few weeks. It also sets up more lore around the monsters. And it tells us a lot about Yurga’s character and establishes a very strong foundation for him without having to say too much. He seems to be altruistic. He seems to be very kind, concerned about the welfare of others even if it's for the dead. It's a much stronger start to his narrative, to Yurga’s character, so that, when we go through the rest of the story, everything he does for Geralt makes a little more sense.
TRACIE: You're right. It is really sweet of him as he's, like, trying to help take care of the bodies. And it shows that he is a good guy, ultimately.
ALYSSA: Mhmm.
TRACIE: Geralt too. You know, he, he tells Yurga to just leave it and, and don't even bother. But Yurga continues to try to help. Geralt could have just walked away and left him to die, but he ends up coming back and, and fighting the monsters, which, as always, shows us Geralt is not so hard and cold on the outside that he does try to help this man. So, I, I really liked that as well.
CHRISTIAN: Oh, yes. I think that we can see if her, her human side also. Like, we know that he's – it's his job to protecting people from monsters. But he was not expecting payment in return. He was helping him without expecting any payment. Well, I really like the, the phrase he says when, when he gets bitten. He says something like, “Not a happy ending after all” or something like that. I don't remember very well.
ALYSSA: Mhmm.
CHRISTIAN: I don't know if it's an Easter egg or something, but I, I think it sums up the whole story. It's like a prediction. I don't know.
ALYSSA: I think you brought up good points. Like, when we see this fight between Geralt and these monsters, I think this is one of the more interesting fights of the season just because he gets bested and he sustains an injury here. You know, we've seen him get injured before but not like this. He is just, like, out of his mind the whole episode from the healing he's attempting to do on himself, the psychedelic drugs he's taken. We'll see how that affects him throughout the rest of the episode as well. In the following scenes, Yurga takes Geralt delirious from the bite. The witcher recalls his childhood with his mother. Geralt and Yurga hear the Battle of Sodden in the distance. And Yurga resolves to find Geralt a healer. Eventually, they do and Geralt is cared for by this healer, Visenna, who's revealed to be his mother. He hallucinates about Renfri and Yennefer. So, this stuff is all really heavy. We don't really know too much of his backstory. As I said, we only kind of see him in this monster of the week setting. We get a lot more insight into this character here.
TRACIE: Yep, I think this is a much needed backstory for Geralt in the show because, yeah, we, we know that he's a witcher. We know a little bit about witchers. But we don't know Geralt’s story. As far as the show goes, at least, we don't know Geralt's full story. And this gives us a little glimpse of it. We see him as a child. He has these visions or, you know, these memories of his childhood and, you know, him becoming a witcher. It's – clearly, it's not an easy process. And it's taken a lot out of him. We get to see this in the show. And I think it was much needed.
ALYSSA: Yeah, because witchers, as a cast, they just seem super human. And, having this backstory and getting even a little glimpse into his origins, humanizes him for sure. It tells us a little bit more about his vulnerabilities. It tells us more about the things that he values, the way that he might feel. We've gone through the whole season as out of touch with him, I think, as other people in the continent have been. Through the lens of other characters, you know, seeing his relationship and interactions with Jaskier, for example, with Yennefer, we've gotten to get a little bit beneath the surface of who he is. But it really is here on this episode that we get to understand more of his character. Geralt wakes after being healed. And Yurga offers Geralt the Law of Surprise as payment for saving his life. Geralt and Yurga arrive at his homestead, revealed to be the same one Ciri had just left. Geralt remembers the words Renfri said to him and goes searching for the girl in the woods. After seeing nothing, Geralt turns to see Ciri running toward him. They embrace and she asks, “Who is Yennefer?”
TRACIE: Ah, yes, the ending. The final ending to all of this. I think the one thing I, I wanted to point out was, when Yurga does ask for payment, one comment I love when Gerald says, “Just give me ale and consider your debt paid.” I think, at this point, he's over the Law of Surprise. We've heard it so much in the show and it's become a lot of his existence. And I don't think he wants to hear it anymore. Or, in a way, he does, but, no, he doesn't. And, so, when Yurga does kind of offer this, you know, payments, he's just like, “No, just, just give you an ale.”
ALYSSA: Yeah.
TRACIE: That’s good.
ALYSSA: You know, it's something that's been plaguing him since Episode, like, 4.
TRACIE: Yeah.
ALYSSA: Like, we keep hearing about this. He keeps hearing about the Law of Surprise. He presumably saw himself as some sort of failure after being able to protect Ciri. Again, his child of surprise. So, now, being offered with yet another, he seems kind of just like “ehh” about it. So, at the close of the scene, there's actually something very specific that triggers Geralt to go out in the woods looking for Ciri. Yurga’s wife, who is unnamed in the show and she’s just referred to as Goldencheeks, all one word in the books. So, I don't know if she has, like, a real name. She reunites with Yurga. And Geralt is still sitting in the cart when she says like, “Yurga, I should tell you something. I found this girl in the woods.” I think she keeps talking, but Geralt, at this point, now remembers what Renfri said to him as she was dying. He gets himself out of the cart and wanders into the woods looking for Ciri.
TRACIE: Yep, it all kind of comes together. It's really all been leading up to, to this moment. Everything that Geralt has heard that first episode with Renfri saying, that was for this moments when he finally reunites with Ciri.
ALYSSA: Based on the structure of the show, this isn't as slow of a burn as the books are just because, you know, as we spoke about throughout our 15 short story episodes, Ciri is not really a part of the short stories until, like, significantly later. As we're seeing her story develop throughout the series, it does end up being like, “When will this happen? When will this happen?” And it does end up being a strong payoff from Episode 1. This ends up being, I think, a choice on the writer and on the showrunner. But, when they finally reunite, we get, like, a moment between Geralt and Ciri. So, before Ciri actually left the homestead, she had a dream and also had visions of Geralt shouting out Yennefer's name. So, by the time that they actually meet, the Witcher and his child of surprise embrace and she asks, “Who is Yennefer?”
TRACIE: So, for me, personally, the scene, I loved the buildup. Even, like, just the cinematography of it, the music, everything was really well played for that moment because you, you knew it was about to happen. There's this, this music and the scene gets you very much, like, excited for this emotional first meeting. For a second, they look hopeless in a way, but then they find each other and they embrace finally. And it's – it's a very heartwarming moment. And I think, for everybody, as viewers, it's very satisfying. You knew they needed to meet up. You knew they needed to come together. And, when it finally does, you feel that warmth in your heart. But I think, for me, personally, it was a little anticlimactic when she asks who's Yennefer.
ALYSSA: Yeah.
TRACIE: Like, I understand that, from a show point of view, it leaves questions of how Yennefer is going to be part of Geralt and Ciri’s life. So, it leaves questions for us to ask for the next season. But I don't know. I thought it was a little anticlimactic to end the series,
ALYSSA: Having read the books, I do have a lot of emotional interest. I guess, like, in the end of the story, when I first read Something More, that was one of the stories in the short stories that just is a absolute tear jerker—
TRACIE: Yep.
ALYSSA: when you're reading it for the first time. And I think, even on Episode 15 in the podcast, I was about to cry to Lars, like, reading it out loud. I do have to agree, like, in the context of the show, I don't think it's as successful as it could have been in setting up that final scene. I think some of it – like, it could have been the dialogue or that last line that seemed to, I think, throw off the cadence of that reunion a little bit. Like, maybe it could have been another line. Like, I would have actually expected Geralt to say something as opposed to Ciri in this scenario. I'm not entirely sure how much I think some of this scenario makes sense in the context of the show because they've never met before. So, I think that there could have been another opportunity to rework it. Whether that's a dialogue, whether that's not, I'm not sure. But I think that there were a couple of opportunities that could have been taken here that were ultimately missed.
TRACIE: Yeah.
CHRISTIAN: To, to sum it up, I would think that – I don't know – maybe the entire season has been building where the two timelines converge. While Geralt and Ciri didn't know each other personally, I think that the viewer already know how much they have to offer each other.
ALYSSA: Mhmm.
CHRISTIAN: No, I think that Geralt is shown like a reliable – reliable mentor and protector. I think that I didn't like very much the ending too. There’s so many different possibilities they could exploit. Beside the scene give me the chills when they reunited, but I think it's because we know the background – the background story and, and a lot of more information. But I think that it could have been a little different, I would say.
ALYSSA: I think removing that line or changing it, I think, could have – could have definitely helped if the scene was, again, shot the way that it was. As you said, Tracie, a lot of the visuals were incredibly strong. A lot of the shots were very strong. It's a bit of a weird thing. It's a bit of a weird thing to end the discussion on as well.
TRACIE: Yeah.
ALYSSA: Yeah. So, I think, as we've spoken about, this is the climax and the final scene of the series and also of Ciri and Geralt’s storylines. Do you guys have any closing thoughts on their specific storylines?
TRACIE: As a whole, the storyline was very interesting because, as we know, they, they were following different paths for a while. You know, the last two episodes show all of the timelines converging together. It was interesting to see all of these times that Geralt, like, just missed Ciri by something happening. And, ultimately, the destiny thing really does come into play here in the end. It's unavoidable. Like, they need to, to both face their destiny. Geralt, obviously, struggled with it a lot throughout the entire series. And Ciri also struggled with it. She had to accept her destiny. She was, you know, running and running. But, ultimately, she had to find Geralt. So, when we do see the meeting together in the woods, it's a good way to end the series and, you know, gets people excited for what's going to happen for the two of them together in Season 2.
ALYSSA: Before we jump into our standout parts of the episode, we're gonna hand it over to Lars from WitcherFlix for recent news on the Netflix show. When we come back, Christian, Tracie, and I will continue our discussion of “Much More.”
“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.
Anyway guys, that's it for me for today. 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 Christian and Tracie discussing Much More from Season 1 of Netflix's The Witcher. When we left off, we've broken down the plot of the episode. And, now, it's time to dive into the points and themes that interested us most. You know, usually, our personal discussions end up being around a very specific theme or specific scene or topic in the episode. But we have a really unique opportunity here. Because, you know, this is the closing scene. We now get to see everything and we get to have a discussion on everything. So, that's what we're gonna do today. Tracie and Christian, what did you guys think of Season 1 of the Netflix series as a whole?
TRACIE: I think, overall, as a whole, I very much enjoyed the series. It had its strengths and it had its weaknesses like any show. And I think, as a whole, it was incredibly enjoyable even from a book reader standpoint, from somebody who, you know, just loves The Witcher as a whole. I think they did a good job demonstrating a lot of the things that we know and love of The Witcher universe. They had a lot of these different monsters and action battles, which is very much important to Geralt. They had some of the, the political aspect. And they had the mages and the sorceresses and how important magic is to the world. So, those things, I think, were very, very strong. And they did take a lot of what is in the books and brought it to the show in their own unique way. Like we talked about earlier, Yennefer’s storyline was one that was very new. And, you know, a lot of things that aren't touched on the books, they were able to touch on the show. I think that was one of my personal favorite parts of the show and especially in this last episode. And then Geralt’s storyline was also the stories that we follow in the books. Personally, for me, my favorite was, was probably Yennefer’s storyline.
ALYSSA: Like you coming out the show as a book reader, I wasn't totally sure what to expect. Obviously, there was a lot of hype around the show. I think it's been really interesting to see how it actually ended up playing out ultimately given the hype around the show. Christian, what do you think?
CHRISTIAN: As a book reader, I think that the series was pretty accurate. I think that all of the actors – their performance was perfect.
ALYSSA: Mhmm.
CHRISTIAN: I have a different vision in my head when I was reading the books and I imagine the characters. I think that none of them were like the ones that I imagined them. But the characterization was perfect. I think that all the characters were, were nailed. I really like, as I said before, the creation of Netflix, all the parts that weren't in the books and then in the original story. I, I get kind of confused with the timelines. I think that was pretty hard.
ALYSSA: Mhmm.
CHRISTIAN: It was a topic that many people discussed. But, in the end, they converge. So, you get the point, I think. And, of course, I have questions like about Cahir, about Triss. All, all of the questions that leave us, like, an open ending, that’s very good for introduction to the – to the second season.
ALYSSA: Yeah, absolutely. I would agree with you that the first season does a nice job of setting up the worlds and the lore, especially for a new audience that might not have experienced the Witcher from CD Projekt RED or from the original source material in Sapkowski’s books. When I go back in time to when I first watched the series back in December – as I said, we're now recording this in May. And I've seen some of the episodes multiple times as we've been preparing for the podcast. I think, the first time I saw it, I was admittedly a little bit surprised as to how they chose to diverged from this original source material. In retrospect, I do think that some of those changes make sense when translating from script to screen. I do think that there were some things that were better in that regard. You know, at least on my part, I did really appreciate the casting, I felt the cast was actually really great in terms of what they had to work with. I think there could have been some things that could have been done better with material itself, the way that the story was structured in certain places. There are some things I would have liked to see more of when it came to the worlds and lore and opportunities that I think were missed but could be improved on later seasons. It was a good foundation, I think, for the rest of the series. And, hopefully, we'll get to see more from the actors, more from production, and a continually built storyline and world as we go on.
TRACIE: I'm hopeful for Season 2 that, like, they will hear a lot of the things that people said and make Season 2 really strong as well. I'm – I’m pretty confident about it. And I feel, you know, very hopeful and excited for the next season for sure. There's always a bit of, I guess, controversy, when you have an adaptation of, of books or other media, things like that. I'm with both of you guys that, you know, sometimes, when you're reading a book, you have in your mind how you picture it to be. And then, when you see it on a screen in an adaptation form, it's – it's always – it's not always how you picture it. So, I think it's a unique thing to, to experience. I actually have not had many types of media where I've, like, read the books and then watched a show or a movie. It's usually for me the other way around. I watch a show or a movie that's an adaptation. And then I go back and read the books. For me, this, this was one of the first times where I had previously read the books and then went in and watch the show. And I got to compare it in that – in that sense, where it's like, “Oh, okay. Well, this is how I, you know, read it. And then here's how they are displaying it on a show.”
ALYSSA: Yeah. And that's actually a really nice segue into the comparisons of the books. In Geralt’s storyline, it's a overall adaptation of “Something More”, which is the last short story in the Sword of Destiny compilation. Some of the difference is that Something More focused on Geralt exclusively and the show does broad the follow his storyline from the books. A very minor difference is that, in the show, Yurga is the one that offers the Law of Surprise to Geralt after he's already been healed. Whereas, in the books, when they're on the bridge, Geralt is the one who says like, “You'll give me the Law of Surprise,” before the battle even starts against those monsters. So, that's just, like, a very small change. But I think, broadly, the story is pretty much the same. The differences really come into play in Yennefer's storyline and in Ciri’s. Because the books closely followed Geralt, a lot of the material for Yennefer and Ciri’s storylines in the show are either completely new or flushed out. In this specific episode, Episode 8, as we’ve said previously, the Battle of Sodden is something we never actually explicitly see or experience firsthand in the books. We just hear accounts of it. Yeah, notably, Yurga is actually the one that tells us about it in Something More and Triss in Blood of Elves. The other thing that is new is Ciri, six months after the fall of Cintra, the timeline is much longer between when Cintra falls and when Geralt to ultimately finds her at Yurgas home. Again, we also never see her experience in the six months in the books. But we do hear about it briefly throughout the series. So, we know that she somehow escaped the fall of Cintra. We learn more about that in the saga, but I'm not going to go into the details here because it's spoilery. And, from Goldencheeks, Yurga’s wife, we know that she came from the care of druids to Yurga’s home. So, that's just a little bit about that. I think that the changes make sense, again, per the medium, per Ciri’s age as well. Do you guys have any, like, thoughts on those comparisons?
TRACIE: I think it makes sense to introduce all of the characters early on for the show because they are the three main characters. And it's very important to establish some sort of connection to all three of them. Another noticeable difference is that Geralt and Ciri, in the books, had met a few times. And, now, for the show, they only meet for the first time at the very end. So, another interesting change. But, yeah, I agree that it's very important to have Ciri’s character established and Yennefer as well.
ALYSSA: Mhmm. That is something that I do miss from the books. So, in the books, Geralt had three different interactions with Ciri. So, the first time, like, she wasn't born yet. Whatever. But she was, was at Pavetta’s marriage banquet. The second time was during “Sword of Destiny,” which is the second to last short story in Sword of Destiny. And I believe it's Episode 14 of the podcast. And then the third time is ultimately in “Something More”, which is when they're reunited. The reason why I miss the fact that they had a previous relationship in the books is because, at least in my opinion, I think it's very important that Geralt rejected her that first time. Ciri was begging for him to take her and then he rejected her. I think that's why he feels so much guilt following the fall of Cintra. I mean they tried to do something similar on the show. Like, he does try to come back in Episode 7, which is when Calanthe locks him up. But, at least, I don't personally think it had a similar emotional impact just because it was Geralt's choice to let her go and to walk away from her, which is why I think that we're reunion felt so powerful in “Something More.”
CHRISTIAN: Yes, I was going to add that, yes, in the books, they first met in Brokilon, I think. I really like then that story. I thought that, in the – in the Witcher series, they're going to show something when they show Brokilon, but I would love that, that bard to be in the in the story. But – well—
ALYSSA: I think in terms of, like, things that they did successfully here in comparison to the books, you know, we talked about the Battle of Sodden. As I said earlier, it is nice that we get to see how that played out. If we assume that it might be the same number of mages between the books and television series, we know that 14 people died on the hill. That's a huge amount of their numbers that were decimated in that battle. Again, assuming that these numbers are the same between the books and the show, only 22 of them. I like the fact that we get to see the desperation of this battle. Technically, the North won this battle at Sodden. But it really demolished a lot of the Northern mages. But we do know a lot of the mages have very permanent effects, both psychological and physical from the battle.
CHRISTIAN: Yes.
TRACIE: Yeah, agreed. Like you said, it was a victory. But there was a huge cost with that. There was a lot of loss, especially for the sorceresses. And, yeah, the, the way Triss recounts it later in the books really does kind of show that it was – it was a rough battle for, for the sorceresses. And I'm glad that we got to see that played out in show format.
ALYSSA: Yeah, because it ends up being super epic. I think it was a good choice of battle to actually have in the show. In the short stories, we rarely see a big battle like that. There are opportunities to, to have large battle scenes in the saga as we'll see. But there's really nothing in the short stories from Geralt's perspective that constitutes, like, big warfare that would actually be really fascinating to watch on screen. So, I do – I do really like that we get Sodden and Marnadal and the fall of Cintra here.
TRACIE: Yeah.
ALYSSA: I guess, if we're talking about the season as a whole, I do know that there are some qualms with, like, the realism of certain parts – certain aspects of these battle scenes that we spoke about on previous episodes of the podcast. I do really like how they approached a lot of these battle scenes. And I do think that they serve as a very powerful part of the narrative because a lot of the external narrative about the politics and of culture centers around war. So, I think it's important to not only hear it from the other characters, but also to see it and see the effects of it. I’m not, like, military person. No. So, if they're, like, not real, I can't really attest to the realism of it. But I do think that they serve really nice purpose in the narrative.
TRACIE: Yeah, I'm with you. I'm more of just watching it and thinking it's cool rather than analyzing it from a realism stand – standpoint. So—
ALYSSA: Like – yeah.
TRACIE: —even, you know, the fall of Cintra battle and then the Sodden battle I thought were very cool to watch. And I loved experiencing them in the show.
ALYSSA: I think it's a nice close to both the Netflix season as well as the season of the podcast. Let's turn the conversation over to the overall arcs of each of our characters. So, we had eight episodes with Geralt and Ciri respectively and seven with Yen. Well, I guess, we could start with Geralt.
TRACIE: You know, each episode was a bit of each of these short stories. And, so, I've – I've really loved that. And that was a really enjoyable part of the entire season for me. So, I'm curious, as we go into Season 2, it may not be formatted the same way because, as we know, it goes more into an epic saga and not so much these short stories. So, I'm curious if it's going to just play out more of a saga and not so much a monster of the week type thing.
CHRISTIAN: For me, it was the best story. Well, because I, I’m a very fan [Inaudible 1:20:52] of his character, of his ideals. I really like his story.
ALYSSA: Yes. So, when it comes to Geralt’s storyline, it's very episodic. It feels like a new snapshot of his life every single time we see him, again, because of the length of his timeline. We're seeing Geralt over a long stretch of time compared to Ciri, for example, whose story only takes place over the course of maybe a couple of weeks, if not less. I think there's incremental change from episode to episode in terms of his character development. But I think that we see something very strong in Episode 1 in his confrontation with Renfri that then informs his actions over the rest of the series. I do really like the fact that they lead with the Lesser Evil as the establishing story.
CHRISTIAN: Yes.
ALYSSA: That sets the expectation for who Geralt is, where his moralities lie, and how they'll affect his interactions throughout the season. So, when he sees the striga, why does he act the way that he acts? Why does he treat elves the way that he does, which is much different than other people do on the continent? We learn how this decision of the Lesser Evil affects him and affects his interactions with others and sets him up, I think, as a very morally just character.
CHRISTIAN: Yes, I think that I see what, what you're talking about is the neutrality that he always maintains, you know. That he never take actions, but every action has a, a consequence. And, well, I think that, in the Lesser Evil and in every – in all the short stories, it's, like – were very well done.
ALYSSA: I would imagine, Tracie, you're right when it comes to how we're going to see Geralt develop in future seasons. I think we'll really be able to see a true character journey over the next – you know, hopefully, few seasons and the development of, like, this trio that they're creating. And then, when it comes to, I suppose, Ciri, what did you guys think of her character and of her characterization on the show?
TRACIE: There's definitely a lot more fleshed out story for Ciri than there ever was in the books just because she is, you know, introduced in Episode 1. And she's going to be a main character. So, the show definitely stretched out a lot of her story beyond what's in the books. My favorite part was definitely the beginning of her story with the fall of Cintra. I loved everything about the interactions that she had with Calanthe and Eist. And I just loved all of that. I think it started really strong. Wasn't as much of a fan as we got later on into the series. There's a lot of jokes online of just, you know, Ciri running—
ALYSSA: Yeah.
TRACIE: —for many, many episodes. It makes sense because there's really not much she can do at this point. She can only run and try to, you know, figure out what to do and how to find Geralt. But I think, overall, the strongest part of her story, I think, was the beginning with the fall of Cintra. And I would have loved to have seen more of that, too.
ALYSSA: Yeah. You know, I think, the characters that fleshed out the Cintran palace were really, really compelling. So, as you said, Calanthe, Eist, Mousesack as well, her guard, Lazlo and Danek. I think it's very nice that we got to see Cintra at its prime before its fall. And the fall of Cintra was an incredibly compelling scene to watch. It's kind of hard stretching out such a short period of time over so many episodes when there's not many events or much character development happening. There are, like, sweeping changes in her character between the first episode and the last episode, but they happen very slowly. The fact that she loses trust in people I think is a very important part of her character journey. Her self-reliance, she meets a companion, and then she loses them, and then she sets out on her own. I think that's a very important journey that, again, happens over the course of eight episodes. I do think the changes that they made in regards to her character being aged up makes sense. In the books, she's a child. She's only about eight or 10. But, in the series, like, there's some weird dialogue thing that makes me think she's meant to be 12. But—
TRACIE: Yeah.
ALYSSA: —the way that she actually looks, like, she's meant to be 14 to 17. There is a piece of dialogue in Episode 7, Before A Fall, between Geralt and Calanthe where one of the mentions like, “Oh, it's been 12 years since Pavetta’s betrothal banquet.” Because this character is a little older, there are certain things that make sense in the TV adaptation. So, the fact that, you know, she wasn't shepherded around by Druids for forever. But the fact that she was able to go out on her own, find her independence, confront her grandmother's legacy with Dara and the dryads. So, there was stuff that I think happened a little slowly. But I think, when you look at her arc as a whole, I think it does, hopefully, set her up nicely for future seasons.
CHRISTIAN: I think that she has, like, the most [Inaudible 1:25:41] sad and strong story of all. I think that this character is going to have, of course, a very big importance in the next story. She's doing a great job, I think.
ALYSSA: So, obviously, the last person in this trifecta of main characters is Yennefer. And I know, Tracie, you said that she has one of your favorite story arcs of the season. I would agree. Like, seeing Yennefer's storyline, Anya Chalotra did such an amazing, amazing job at portraying Yennefer at varying stages of her personal life and of her career. When we first see Yennefer, she's, like, a terrified 14-year-old girl with very little self-worth and a lot of fear. And then, by the time we see her in Episode 8 at the Battle of Sodden, she's absolutely unstoppable. Anya Chalotra just did an incredible job at depicting that range on screen. And it was a – it was a huge undertaking. And I think she did that really well.
TRACIE: I agree. I think she did an amazing job portraying Yennefer. I, I said this a bit earlier. But the Yennefer that we see in the books, we see Yennefer post all of this. A little bit of a mix, obviously, with The Last Wish and things like that, but she's a very strong character. And this show does more showing the, the vulnerabilities that Yennefer has and some of the, the things that she struggled with. I really, really liked seeing that aspect of Yennefer. And, yeah, I think Anya did a great job portraying that whole arc for her.
ALYSSA: I think some of the strongest plot points for Yennefer were her interactions with Tissaia. You know, her time at Aretuza, these conversations at the end during battle of Sodden, those felt like a very continuous arc. Unfortunately, the interruptions for me felt, like, actually her two episodes with Geralt. They didn't feel like as continuous of storytelling, I think, as they could have. You know, maybe that is part of her character where those episodes happened at points where she was lost. Emotionally, she left her political position in Aedirn and kind of went rogue for a couple episodes. So, maybe it's because, like, that makes sense in the context of the character’s storyline. But I think I would have liked to have seen the interactions with Geralt be a little less sudden and feel a little less out of character because I loved the journey that she went on with Tissaia.
TRACIE: I'm trying to think if there's anything I wanted to add to that because that was pretty good.
ALYSSA: I don't know. I just like – I think, even in the books, I think there's certain parts of Geralt and Yennefer’s storyline that surprised me. They just feel very sudden. Like, these are characters that we've seen on their own and seen very standoffish from other people. So, I think that there's still a lingering question of, like, what exactly is it that draws them to each other other than just, like, this primal passion or some sort of electricity. We didn't really have the chance to see them actually developed together. Unfortunately, we just saw, like, two small bookends of their relationship. We saw them when they first met. And we saw them after they had fallen apart. And it's kind of up to us, as an audience, to fill in the gap, but it's a little hard. They do feel a little disjointed. So, I would have loved to see that a little more in Yennefer’s storyline, like, really how the two of them connect.
TRACIE: Yeah, we did – we don't get much of that in, in the show. And it leaves the next question of what it's going to be like when Geralt does reunite with Yennefer in later seasons and Ciri because, clearly, you know, Ciri, asking who is Yennefer implies that there will be some sort of reuniting with Geralt and Yennefer. And I'm very curious to see how that's all going to play out.
CHRISTIAN: I don't know. I think that the, the transformation she, she made through the story was incredible. I think that going through being abandoned by her father and, and her mother and transforming to the most powerful mage, I think that it's incredible. I, I miss a little more connection with Geralt and maybe, like, like, she has with Tissaia. I think that the connection between her are – it's incredible. With Geralt, it was like something missing, I think.
ALYSSA: Mhmm.
TRACIE: Yeah.
ALYSSA: But, hopefully, there's a potential to build upon it in later episodes.
TRACIE: For me, to quickly summarize, the big things that I – the big questions that I have for Season 2 is, one, what's going to happen with Geralt and Ciri moving forward. Where are they going to go? With the books, we have an idea of where it might lead us to. But I'm curious what the show is going to do. My number two question is what's going on with Nilfgaard.
ALYSSA: Mhmm.
TRACIE: Because I think we did discuss this earlier and some of the, the themes that Nilfgaard has as a big overlying power in the show. But I'm curious what this means for the show. Are they going to remain to be this evil force? Or are we maybe going to see a little more of Nilfgaard’s side and their point of view of things? And then I think, yeah, my third question is just what's going to happen with some of the other minor characters, if we're going to see them moving forward? Like Tris, you know, even some other characters that we haven't been introduced to yet. I think those are my three big questions.
ALYSSA: I would agree that this season leaves us hanging as an audience in a couple different ways. I’m curious what's gonna happen with Geralt and Ciri because it's, like, they don't actually know each other. This is the first time that they're meeting. So, what reason does she have to trust him beyond just Calanthe telling him to? What's he going to be like now that he's a guardian after he spent, you know, the last eight episodes being this, like, monster of the week body? So, in regards to Nilfgaard, the Nilfgaard in the show does feel different than Nilfgaard in the books. So, I'm really curious to see what happens to the show's adaptation of Nilfgaard. The ideologies are very clear. The mortality of Fringilla and to this Nilfgaardian knight seemed to be very clear, especially considering the numerous massacres that they've overseen.
CHRISTIAN: Yeah.
ALYSSA: So, yeah. So, like, what's gonna happen?
CHRISTIAN: I think that Yennefer’s attack, they really decimated the, the army.
ALYSSA: Yeah, I guess we'll see. Because, even when it comes to things like their ideologies, are those going to get stronger? Are they going to get weaker? Are they going to change into something else entirely? How does the war continue to affect, you know, the Northern Kingdoms but also the Nilfgaardian perception? You know, who knows? And, as I said, we don't see this in the books. In regards to what we can expect in the next season in terms of what's going to happen to other minor characters, we do know about a bunch of castings. And I'm sure that Lars from WitcherFlix has spoken about it on previous episodes of the podcast. As I said, we're recording this in May. So, I'm sure that the insert that he's putting into this episode will have some very interesting things in it. Yeah, we do know a couple of the castings. The Witchers have been cast. Some elves have been cast. We do know that some adaptation of “A Grain of Truth” will be taking place. It’s just a matter of when in the season and in what context. Hopefully, good things to come.
TRACIE: Yep.
CHRISTIAN: Yep.
ALYSSA: Yep. Yep. So, that is it for our show today. And that is the close of Season 2 of Breakfast in Beauclair. Christian. Tracie, thank you so much for joining us for this episode and thank you to our hanza for listening. For you, Tracie, where can people find you online as Miss Magitek? And is there anything that our community can help you with or anything that you'd like to share with them?
TRACIE: Yeah. So, you guys can find me – I do stream on Twitch, twitch.tv/MissMagitek. I also love to upload videos to my YouTube channel. I talk about The Witcher, the Netflix show, and some of the book things. I too am going to be diving into some of my predictions on what's going to be going on in Season 2. So, if you want to check that out, you can go to youtube.com/MissMagitek. But, yeah, that’s me.
ALYSSA: And, next episode, we'll return to the books to kick off the five-part Witcher saga and begin a new season of Breakfast in Beauclair with the opening chapter of Blood of Elves. Yay.
TRACIE: Yay. Awesome.
ALYSSA: Breakfast in Beauclair will return on Thursday, March 4, 2021.
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, Charlotte from Vengerberg Glamarye, RedKite, The Original Roach, AerialKitty, TheOneTrueChef, Dustin, Chris K. of Kovir, and Libby, The Castel Ravello Sommelier, and Clare Odell.
Special thanks to Christian and Tracie for joining us for this episode and our international hanza for their support.
Transcriptionist: Rachelle Rose Bacharo
Editor: Krizia Casil