Ep. 57 — 204 "Redanian Intelligence" from Netflix's The Witcher (Part 2)
Dallas Wheatley from the US and Emma Sherr-Ziarko from the US join Alyssa for our discussion of Netflix’s The Witcher Episode 204 “Redanian Intelligence”. Very important bits include: story and character comparisons to Blood of Elves, the dynamic of Geralt and Yennefer’s relationship and the space between them, the expanding Witcher Universe, Cahir’s faith, Yennefer’s development, Jaskier’s breakup hair, and finding love in the frat house of the Continent.
This episode is available at Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Google Podcasts, and Stitcher.
In this Episode
[0:00] Cold Open
[1:15] Introduction
[3:24] Discussion
[27:02] “Tidings from Toussaint”
[30:26] “Dear Friend”, Listener Call-in Segment
[32:09] Discussion
[52:38] Outro & Credits
Relevant Links
News: https://redanianintelligence.com/2022/06/10/henry-cavill-and-joey-batey-spotted-filming-the-witcher-season-3
News: https://redanianintelligence.com/2022/06/12/the-witcher-season-3-update-night-shoots-with-ciri-day-shoots-with-geralt-and-more
News: https://redanianintelligence.com/2022/06/14/the-witcher-to-likely-film-in-these-welsh-locations
News: The Witcher Season 3 Leak Reveals Major Ciri Storyline (Comicbook.com)
News: https://redanianintelligence.com/2022/06/17/the-witcher-season-3-composer-confirmed
Transcript
Cold Open
EMMA: I'm on board with the Emhyr reveal. And I like that they–
ALYSSA: Ooh, I'm not. Interesting.
EMMA: Oh, really? Really?
ALYSSA: I just. Emma, can we just, like, find a time to talk separately?
EMMA: Yes. Yeah. Yes, absolutely. I know we’re, we've been going for a long time. We need to, we need to stay on track.
DALLAS: We just all have so much to say.
EMMA: I know.
ALYSSA: I know. No, it's not even the recording time, just like "oh, I just wanna talk about spoilers now".
EMMA: I know I know. Absolutely, like, Witcher dish session. Anytime.
ALYSSA: Yeah. Yeah.
EMMA: Because I have a lot of feelings. I have a lot of feelings.
ALYSSA: I'm all feelings, as a human being.
EMMA: Yeah.
ALYSSA: And Witcher feelings are probably, like, maybe 50% of them, sometimes, now.
EMMA: Yeah. Yeah.
[Breakfast in Beauclair theme music by MojoFilter Media]
Introduction
ALYSSA: Welcome to Breakfast in Beauclair, a global Witcher Podcast. My name is Alyssa from GoodMorhen, and I’ll be your host as you, I, and our international hanza accompany Geralt of Rivia and his destiny, Cirilla of Cintra, across the Continent.
[Patron Announcements]
This episode, we welcome Lauren B. from the UK to our hanza on Patreon! As always thank you to our patrons and our producer-level patrons: Luis of Kovir, The Owner of The Churlish Porpoise, Katie (The Redhead of Toussaint), Jacob B., Ayvo of Gulet, Bee Haven of the Edge of the World, Charlotte from Vengerberg Glamarye, RedKite, The Original Roach, Codringher’s Cat, Libby, Jennidy Mundilovitch, Wolf, Corey from the US, John of Ryblia, Tom from Australia, Jill Cate, The Tabby Witch, Olle from Sweden, James Carson III, Father of Bean, Psilocybe Sorcerer, A Toussaint Knight, Jeanette of Brokilon, Miriam of Temeria, and Softie.
If you’d like to learn more about becoming a patron of the show, head over to patreon.com/breakfastinbeauclair.
[Episode Details]
As for this episode, Dallas Wheatley from the US and Emma Sherr-Ziarko from the US call in for our discussion of Netflix’s The Witcher Episode 204 “Redanian Intelligence”. Join us as we draw story and character comparisons to Blood of Elves, explore the dynamic of Geralt and Yennefer’s relationship and the space between them, and discuss the expanding Witcher Universe, Cahir’s faith, Yennefer’s development, Jaskier’s breakup hair, and finding love in the frat house of the Continent.
In our mid-episode news segment, “Tidings from Toussaint,” Lars from Witcherflix shares production updates from The Witcher Season 3 set. After the break, don’t miss our listener call in segment, Dear Friend.
Without further ado, let’s get to our discussion of Netflix’s The Witcher 204 “Redanian Intelligence” (Part 2).
Discussion
[Breakfast in Beauclair stinger by MojoFilter Media]
ALYSSA (VOICEOVER): Hey everyone! Welcome back from the break. When we left off, Triss Merigold had arrived to Kaer Morhen to help train Ciri as Yennefer and Cahir are on the run in the city of Gors Velen.
In this next scene, Ciri gets to know Triss over dinner and Geralt reveals that he brought Triss to the keep for her training. This entire scene is just references to Blood of Elves. Ciri immediately asks, like, "hey, are there any herbs or mushrooms for me today?", and Lambert chews her out immediately. He's like "That windmill knock your head around princess?" And she's like "What? Like? I don't know."
EMMA: Yeah.
ALYSSA: And that's obviously a reference to the herbs and mushrooms that they continually give her throughout Blood of Elves. And then there's one more reference when Coën tries to get Ciri to go to bed and he tells her, like, "Come on, ya little rat I'll play a few rounds of snaps with you before bed. Maybe I might even let you win." and Ciri says "Yeah, you wish." Coën is always the most playful with Ciri, which is so nice to see that he's still very soft again in the series and that he has a lot of affection toward her and she returns it in kind.
DALLAS: Very familial between them.
EMMA: And I also wanted to point out that one of my favorite first kind of sassy Geralt-Ciri moments is when they're referencing the princes,s which was the Striga.
DALLAS: Yeah.
EMMA: In season one. They say something about, like, how nasty was she and Geralt says to Ciri, like, "Nastier than you even."
DALLAS: Incredible.
EMMA: And it's just like a nice moment and like getting to see some of Geralt's, like, you know? Kind of sardonic but like grumpy dad moments.
ALYSSA: I'm not a regular dad, I'm a cool dad.
DALLAS: I'm a cool dad. Being, being comfortable in his home, like, surrounded by people that he knows really well, you're seeing the layers kind of peel away on him.
ALYSSA: Witchers are like Ogres are like onions.
EMMA: Yeah.
DALLAS: Yeah. It's Geralt, the ogre, the onion.
EMMA: It's very refreshing. The whole scene is a nice moment between all these people and Triss fits into it nicely also. Obviously, a lot of this season is about family and found family. I think this is one of the first moments that we really get like that feeling of congeniality between all of them. And it's just really, it's really nice.
DALLAS: Yeah. And also, just shout out to high fantasy puberty blockers.
EMMA: Yeah, yeah, right?
DALLAS: No need to talk about that, let's just move on. In my habit of finding as many things gay in a piece of media as possible, this was one of those moments and probably because I'm being colored by my experience with the game, it is a very real option that you have when you're playing through Ciri's flashbacks is playing her as straight or lesbian. Every time. Every time I see Ciri and Triss on scenes together, I'm like, Ciri's got a crush on Triss. Like, I don't know if that's real. I've decided it is. I'm just gonna stick with it until something different happens.
EMMA: Spoilers.
ALYSSA: I know, like, I can't say anything.
EMMA: Yeah, I know. I know. I know. This is a spoiler for you. So, I'm not gonna, I'm not gonna say anything. But let's just say you're not alone in that fan theory, Dallas.
DALLAS: I know I'm not. Like, especially when you see, like, the tiny little things that are being done on her end, like first she meets Triss and like she's all grumpy and shit. And then like, the second Triss compliments her, she perks up, she comes out the next time she's got a flower in her hair, she's like all combed and pretty. And she's like, "Triss do you like how I look?" Like it's visceral. It's very visceral.
EMMA: I think whether you view it as like Ciri has a crush on Triss, or is just, like, kind of idolizing her as a kind of an older sister figure. That dynamic is really nice, because we really haven't seen Ciri interact with any person like that so far in the show.
ALYSSA: Yeah.
EMMA: Except for like her grandmother a little bit, but Calanthe is a totally different kind of person. And then, and then she's just pretty much on the run, there's the woman at the end.
ALYSSA: The one lady.
EMMA: Yeah, the one lady. But that's a very motherly relationship also.
DALLAS: I think it's also interesting. It's like the first time we see her interact with, like, any aspect of femininity with anything positive.
ALYSSA: Yeah.
DALLAS: So, like, even in the beginning of the show, when she's a princess and she's got all the tools and anything she could possibly want to, like, feel pretty and she absolutely despises them.
EMMA: Yeah.
DALLAS: And when she finally has a moment to interact with another feminine figure in her life, who makes her feel something other than a child. Like, she's a child.
EMMA: Yeah.
DALLAS: She's starting to take those steps. And she's starting to embrace the, you know, what is it like to feel pretty?
EMMA: Totally. The one thing I do miss in the books, we still get a lot more like fun, sassy Ciri.
ALYSSA: Right.
EMMA: We get a little bit of that in this season, but it's more colored by this growing weight of feeling unsure and her purpose and who she is and all that.
ALYSSA: Yeah, yeah. And I feel like that is like a complexity of the way the season was structured, to an extent, just because when I first went and watched this season, I was not expecting them to spend the entire season in Kaer Morhen.
EMMA: Neither was I, yeah.
ALYSSA: That being said, the thing about Kaer Morhen in the books is that it really does feel like the last place of safety and refuge that Ciri has before she, you know, goes on to run her hero's journey, but that time in Kaer Morhen is defined by so much security, growth, learning and joy.
EMMA: Yeah.
ALYSSA: I feel like that's why that character has so much free reign to be sassy and to be silly and to have a lot of fun. Whereas this Kaer Morhen in the Netflix series has a lot more of a haunted past and present.
EMMA: I understand why they made some of the changes, like, from a meta perspective, like it's not necessarily good television to have several episodes of people just kind of hanging out at Kaer Morhen and, and no big conflict really happens because that's how it is in the books. Like, you know, there's interesting things, interesting conversations going on, but there's not like a big conflict. They, you know, obviously brought in the Eskel thing and then the last episode of the series, but like, I understand why. I don't necessarily love exactly how they executed it, but I understand that you need more conflict in order to have, like, a compelling piece of television.
ALYSSA: In the next scene, Cahir and Yen attempt to escape Gors Velen and find themselves in the sewers with two escaping elves, Dermain and Ba'lian. So, Cahir and Yen attempts to escape Gors Velen because they run into some violence on the street and they're like, nope, not about this. So, they go down into the sewers, and bump into some people who are also escaping. I think it's a really fun scene for multiple reasons. Dermain is played by deaf actor Jamal Ajala. He tells Ba'lian, like, "They're on our side. This is the traitorous elven mage and the Nilfgaardian worker mill."
EMMA: Yeah.
ALYSSA: "They're on our side!"
EMMA: I recognize them from the pamphlet.
ALYSSA: Yes, exactly. And Ba'lian's just like " No one's on our side, you trusting idiot."
EMMA: Yeah.
ALYSSA: And that was probably the first time in the episode that I was like LOL.
EMMA: Yeah.
DALLAS: It felt so real.
ALYSSA: Yeah.
EMMA: I love these two characters, because they're totally made up for the show. It is really nice to get a deaf actor in the show. And that's something I really appreciate, with the caveat that Lauren Hissrich and the team are making an effort to do to bring in actors with disabilities and bring that into a fantasy world. That's really refreshing to me, because fantasy can be so–
ALYSSA: Monolithic?
DALLAS: Yeah.
EMMA: Yes! So to speak.
ALYSSA: Haha, monolith joke.
DALLAS: Ahh!
EMMA: Monolith Joke! Hey! But yeah, I thought that was really refreshing. Now we'll talk about why they didn't totally see it through, but this scene itself is delightful. I agree.
ALYSSA: I'm just like, ah, not killing the black deaf actor.
EMMA: I know! Why? Why?
DALLAS: So many decisions that were made there.
EMMA: Yeah, it's like, seriously, seriously, you just bring them in for two scenes? It's really cool that they did it. It's not cool that they decided to just kill them off immediately. But this scene, like, with him, like, flirting with Yennefer and the relationship between the two of them, like Ba'lian and Dermain.
DALLAS: So cute!
EMMA: Talking about this storyline, and the changes that they brought into the show being like one of my favorite things that they did, it just, like, really made the world come alive in a different way.
DALLAS: Yeah, it feels very full. Like, in a lot of video games, especially open world ones, there's a really big struggle to make the world feel alive.
EMMA: Yeah.
DALLAS: That does not seem to be a problem for people in this show. Like this world feels full.
ALYSSA: Yeah.
DALLAS: And it feels very alive. It actually feels almost too full. And I think that's a really big tension that sort of comes across with the political stuff. But like, it feels so rich and full, and I love it. Also loving that moment where Yennefer's once again, sort of pulling some, some training out without having to use a single lick of magic.
EMMA: Exactly like, like, I think that's what this episode is, in particular, is seeing just how badass and competent Yennefer is, even without magic. It's not just in this episode, but that's sort of like what we get to see and that moment, at the end where Jaskier says, like, "what do you do if you lose your purpose?" I'm paraphrasing.
ALYSSA: Yeah.
EMMA: And she's like, "Well, you find a better purpose." And I'm like, ah, yes! I love that. I love it. Love it, Yennefer. And she chooses what
ALYSSA: And she chooses what to deploy and when. She's very gentle with Dermain–
DALLAS: Yeah.
ALYSSA: –in the scene, which is something we don't often see from Yennefer.
EMMA: Yes.
ALYSSA: And she seems pleasantly surprised by his demeanor toward her. And his infatuation, even as brief, fleeting, or as surface level as it may be. She seems to, you know, take that in kind and, you know, reflect it back and acknowledging what he says about her and to her.
EMMA: Yeah.
DALLAS: We're seeing a level of competence in Yennefer that she is almost choosing to ignore in herself.
ALYSSA: Yeah.
DALLAS: She comments on this quite frequently in some of these episodes is, like, magic is not the only thing we learned at this school, but it seems to be the only thing that she thinks was worth learning with regards to herself.
EMMA: She definitely, I think, gaslights herself a little bit into believing that magic is all she has, even though she has all these other interpersonal skills and physical skills.
DALLAS: And just reading people.
ALYSSA: Yeah.
EMMA: She's really good at reading people, and that's something that we see throughout the show. You mentioned this earlier, I just really want to give a shout out to Anya Chalotra, because she's so good.
ALYSSA: She's so good.
DALLAS: So good.
EMMA: So, and like you said, like, she's captivating. Everything she does is unexpected, but feels perfect. Just as an actor, like, from an acting perspective, like, if I were given this character, I would play it a totally different way. But I am so glad that she is the person playing this part because there's something kind of effortless about it.
ALYSSA: Yeah. Even in like one of the aftershows that Netflix did about The Witcher. One of them, Henry, Henry Cavill, of course.
EMMA: Oh, Henry. Yeah. Yeah.
DALLAS: Oh him?
ALYSSA: Henry turned to Anya and just said, like, "Anya's performance is brilliant, because of the subtlety that she brings to every single scene." And that's definitely true. And especially in a season in which she has lost her magic. She needs to get by on the context of her character alone.
EMMA: Yeah.
ALYSSA: And that's delightful to watch.
DALLAS: Like, also props to the writers for giving us these moments where Yennefer really does have to let her guard down. Because coming again, from the perspective of the games, you're seeing a very guarded, meticulously crafted side of Yennefer because you're only seeing her from one perspective.
EMMA: Yeah.
DALLAS: And you're not seeing her as she's essentially going through what she goes through to build that facade that she's always putting on.
ALYSSA: That's what happens when you give a character an arc.
EMMA: What?! What? What?
DALLAS: What?! I had no idea.
ALYSSA: Shocking.
EMMA: I know, right? And that's something in the books too, like, for a while, for a long time, we only kind of see that side of Yennefer that you're talking about, Dallas, from the games. Over the course of all the books, we get to see her grow and change and we get to see more of her softness and subtlety. But I really like that the show is bringing that in sooner, and really fleshing her out. It's just a joy to watch.
DALLAS: I love watching Geralt and Yennefer develop independently, like, the more scenes they have apart the better honestly, like yes, obviously endgame.
EMMA: Yeah.
DALLAS: But like the characters, their uniqueness, their, their individuality is so potent.
ALYSSA: And there's something to be said about like, as they come together and come apart. Every time they come together, it's something new, because we don't know where they are anymore.
DALLAS: Yeah, they're their new people.
ALYSSA: Yeah, exactly. They're new people. So, it makes it thrilling. It makes their story thrilling. And their journey is thrilling. I'm coming off of Bridgerton high as we're recording this.
EMMA: Yeah.
ALYSSA: So yeah, I find the tension of romance very compelling.
EMMA: Yeah.
DALLAS: Yeah, it's the on again off again, relationship that actually makes sense.
EMMA: Exactly. Like, they have this on again, off again, thing and when they grow apart and come together, it's this really beautiful thing to watch. And it's not a type of fairy tale romance that you, you know, normally get in fantasy. There's hugely problematic elements to it on both of their parts.
ALYSSA: Oh, yes.
EMMA: But, that's, that's life. Relationships are complicated. Even the best of relationships are complicated.
DALLAS: And I think they're almost necessary as well, because it's those problematic elements that kind of forced them apart again, and then they have to have their own sort of growth and their own arcs thinking about the fact that they fucked up, and they got to fix it now. You want to get back together like it feels, it feels very mature.
ALYSSA: Every meeting they have as a new reckoning, a new come to Jesus, and it's a very, I don't even know if I would say combative, but definitely conflicting.
EMMA: Yeah, I think there's an element of that to their relationship as well.
ALYSSA: Yeah, but it's kind of one sided.
DALLAS: We all know it's very physical.
EMMA: Oh, yeah.
ALYSSA: I feel like Geralt's just kind of takes it.
EMMA: Oh, yeah, he's totally, he's totally a simp for Yennefer.
DALLAS: Nothing wrong with that.
EMMA: No, it's some of my favorite stuff in the books, like–
ALYSSA: We haven't yet had a “Mommy” call out yet.
EMMA: Yeah, no, no.
DALLAS: Oh, Geralt does have mommy issues. That's, that's for damn sure.
EMMA: He does, he does. But in conclusion to this scene, I just really like that we're getting to see her interact with all these different people, because you don't get that as much in the books and the games. You don't get to see Yennefer just kind of interacting with people. So getting her with Cahir and you know, these two random elves that they meet in the sewers ends up being one of the more poignant moments in the episode.
ALYSSA: Yeah, I can think of like one chapter per book where she's with people who aren't Geralt.
EMMA: Yeah, but just interacting with like, normal people. We don't get to, we don't get to see that as much.
ALYSSA: I feel like it's so bad that I can go book by book and being, like, okay, Nenneke, Aplegatt.
EMMA: Yeah, yeah, yeah.
ALYSSA: Francesca, and then everybody else.
EMMA: Right, right.
DALLAS: And the rest.
ALYSSA: Okay. And at the end of the scene, Dermain asks if they're going to the Sandpiper, who helps elves get to Cintra by way of Oxenfurt. As we pan away from the group receding deeper into the sewer, we see something lurking in the water, and we hear a growl, and then we cut back to Kaer Morhen, in which Triss learns more about Ciri's powers from Geralt and the two attempt to decipher her relationship to the recent monster attacks. This is a continuation from the previous scene in which they finished their meal together. And at the end of that scene, Triss was like "How do you know her?" And while everything else has been going on, presumably Geralt has been telling Triss the entire story of season one.
EMMA: Right, right.
ALYSSA: And we cut back to them in time for Triss to be like, "Ah, okay, so she was a princess who you got. Okay, cool."
DALLAS: Okay, so “Previously on The Witcher”.
ALYSSA: Yeah, that's basically what happens here.
EMMA: A lot of surprises. I'm up to, I'm up to speed. Okay.
DALLAS: It's a good thing I'm smart and pretty.
EMMA: Yeah, exactly.
ALYSSA: You can rarely be both.
EMMA: It's true, It's true.
DALLAS: Exactly.
ALYSSA: You know, we learn from Geralt that Ciri may have the power of foresight that she felt a pull toward the Leshy, she'd she felt a pull toward the Myriapod. And at this point, Triss uses alchemy to attempt to find traces of mutagenic alchemy and involvement by mages in these monsters.
DALLAS: And I love that they brought in the actual, like, physical component of alchemy.
EMMA: Yeah.
DALLAS: Especially with that ancient centrifuge. I saw that and I, like, fucking cheered in my bedroom
EMMA: Yeah.
DALLAS: 'Cause I worked with centrifuges in grad school and I was like, "Yes! Science!"
EMMA: Science?! Science!
DALLAS: So, I had a science moment. It was amazing. It's nice to see the sorcerers in this show doing, like, more than just like conjuring shit. Like they're actually putting in hard work, which I feel like is left out in a lot of fantasy.
EMMA: There's definitely a certain scientific element to, so to speak, to the magic in the show. It exists in the, in the books too, but to a lesser extent, but it's really being made very explicit by the show, like, I feel like their rules of magic are much…they don't always follow them necessarily. But like the idea that for you to create something, something has to die like that setup in season one, episode two. And like having a certain element of, like, this alchemy, which I feel like this is also a fun nod to the game because you get to do some cool mutagenic alchemy stuff.
DALLAS: Potion making and stuff.
EMMA: Yeah and–
DALLAS: And that's the thing, is it also felt a lot more connected to the magic of Witchers, because I feel like they missed out on that a lot in the games. They would tell you, you know, that Witchers do magic and that they were made by mages, but then that's about the extent that you would get like–
EMMA: Yeah.
DALLAS: –you'd have to call on mages to come do things to0, which like, it feels a lot more connected and grounded in like the same sort of magic in this show, which is what I feel like it's supposed to be.
ALYSSA: Yeah, canonically Witcher's magic is like a lesser version of, of magic, but it's a more accessible version than a full-fledged sorcerer. So, one of the interesting things that they say here in the exchange between Geralt and Triss is Geralt asks, like, "Could have a mage have made this?" and Triss says you know, "Theoretically, but generating monsters has been outlawed for centuries." And Geralt makes a quip of like "Oh outlawed, so definitely not a mage then" and this is pretty much a reference to, you know, Nightmare of the Wolf, which they were much more explicit about mutagenic alchemy in both, quote unquote "canonical content" with the creation of Witchers, as well as content that was created for Nightmare of the Wolf with Kitsu, the Elf-Mahr hybrid, it's nice to see that little bit of history sneaking in.
DALLAS: That little snarky, like, oh, yeah, mages never commit crimes I've never encountered that in my life.
EMMA: Yeah, yeah, yeah.
DALLAS: I certainly haven't dealt with the repercussions of that personally.
EMMA: Right, right. It is nice though, that they pulled in that little reference to Nightmare of the Wolf, bringing the cinematic world of The Witcher, The Witcher Cinematic Universe together, the WCU.
ALYSSA: I'm sure we're going to be so exhausted of references–
DALLAS: Oh, man.
ALYSSA: –between all of the shows that they're making.
EMMA: I'm sure.
ALYSSA: But in the meantime, while we're here, Geralt and Triss leave the laboratory. And as they're leaving, Triss tells Geralt that she says the names of those who died at Sodden every single night before she goes to sleep. And as she's saying the names, Geralt stops her because as a reminder, he still thinks Yennefer died at Sodden. And this does track with the books in which he couldn't bring himself to learn more about Sodden because he feared Yennefer's death. We still see that here, that he's still mourning it. It doesn't feel like he's grieved or processed anything really. And then there's this moment between Triss and Geralt in which she asks him to spend the night with her. But she's rejected, which is also a reference to the books.
EMMA: Yes.
ALYSSA: Albeit, I think, as we spoke about, like one that's not as ethically concerning, I think as what happens in the books.
EMMA: Yes. For some context, Dallas, and those who haven't read the books, basically, in these chapters from Triss' perspective, she just really wants to bone Geralt. And there's some problematic stuff that has happened between them previously, that we don't necessarily get, and I liked the choice of the show to be like, she propositions him and she asked him, he says no, and they move on. And like, that's sometimes how life works.
DALLAS: Yeah.
EMMA: Now, listen, I can't blame her for being fixated in the books. Who, who could who could. But I
DALLAS: I certainly don't have a picture of him on my wall.
ALYSSA: She's in the frat house of the continent. There are options.
EMMA: Yes, exactly. Exactly. And it's not necessarily like, it didn't bother me hugely in the books, but it was definitely a repetitive thing of like, she just wants to sleep with Geralt. She wants to sleep with Geralt. She wants to sleep with Geralt. And I liked that the show was like, yes, she wants to sleep with Geralt.
DALLAS: Reining it in a bit.
EMMA: Yeah, exactly. He said no. And there we have it.
DALLAS: Yeah, that was, that was something that led me to dislike her kind of heavily with the games was because I only started with The Witcher 3, was learning about the events in The Witcher 2 essentially, which is kind of like…magical date rape situation. Very unpleasant and yeah.
EMMA: And that yeah, that is essentially what happens in the books as well. Or it's referenced. We don't actually see it. But yeah, that's super problematic. Not great. Not a good look, Triss. If they had brought that into the show, they would have had to do it in a very delicate way. I think because also, this Triss in the show is a little bit different than the Triss of the games on the books. And I like this Triss a lot. I like this version of Triss. And I also liked that part of what we're getting with Triss, you know, in previous episodes, and in this scene a little bit is she's processing trauma. You know, she's aware that she's processing trauma as well. And so, it's kind of refreshing in a way to see a character kind of handle their trauma for lack of a better word in a pretty healthy way.
DALLAS: And to name it as well.
EMMA: Yes.
DALLAS: The way that she literally explicitly said to him the next morning, like I am in pain, and that made me attracted to your pain because things have happened.
ALYSSA: Yeah, although that line even gave me heebie jeebies. Like, I was, like, ah, ooh, no, I don't like that.
EMMA: It's definitely a problematic thing, if she's recognizing it as a problematic thing.
ALYSSA: Sure.
EMMA: I like that. And I think she is in the show.
DALLAS: I do think it lends to the complexity of her character, though. Like, if she was perfetc goody goody, like, she'd be boring.
EMMA: Yeah.
DALLAS: And she would also just kind of flatten out the entire experience, I feel like. Like, I do appreciate that they're still keeping some element of flaw in her.
EMMA: Yeah, definitely.
DALLAS: As gross as the flaw is.
EMMA: Yeah, yeah. And, but, but again, like. Yeah, a little bit of heebie jeebies, but nothing compared to what was in the books. And, and that's just also something that's not really dealt with in the books, either.
ALYSSA: No.
EMMA: It's like mentioned and she keeps trying to sleep with Geralt. And he keeps being like, “no”, you know? I mean, it's a nice little touch of learning about consent within this world.
DALLAS: Yeah, yeah.
EMMA: So, I liked the way they handled it. I liked the way they changed it.
DALLAS: I think it's probably the only way they could have.
EMMA: Yeah.
DALLAS: And they did. They did a very, they did a very good job.
EMMA: Yeah.
ALYSSA (VOICEOVER): Before we continue our discussion, we’re going to hand it over to Lars from WitcherFlix for recent news on the Netflix show. When we come back, Dallas, Emma, and I will continue our discussion of “Redanian Intelligence”.
“Tidings from Toussaint”
[“Tidings from Toussaint” theme music by MojoFilter Media]
LARS FROM WITCHERFLIX: Hey, it's Lars from WitcherFlix and this is "Tidings from Toussaint". Welcome back everbody! It still quiet on the sets of The Witcher season 3 at the moment - but this is a good sign. Everything seems to be going well. But fortunately there are still some interesting things to report. So, let's jump right into it. In the last two weeks the filming for Season 3 mostly took place in-studio, but for some scenes it briefly moved out into location. According to Redanian Intelligence, director Gandja Monteiro filmed some scenes with Henry Cavill and Joey Batey in Surrey for her episodes, 3 and 4. At night, she continued to film more scenes, this time with Freya Allan. These scenes included a camp with stunt people, horses and extras. What exactly they were filming is not known unfortunately. Other actors that were filming around this time (and that we know of) are Royce Pierreson (who plays Istredd), Tom Canton (who plays the elf Filavandrel), and Cassie Clare whose role as Philippa Eilhart will definitely be bigger in Season 3.
Moreover we know that the Witcher crew will move to Wales to continue shooting. Redanian Intelligence again reports that the crew is gearing up and preparing to go to Wales where some scouting had taken place previously. Witcher producer Steve Gaub is already in Swansea in Wales. While we don't know yet where exactly the filming will take place, thanks to Redanian Intelligence, we do know where the crew did their location scouting. The filming could happen in any of these places: they scounted Trefil Quarry, an abandoned limestone quarry in South Wales, the scenic Llantwit Major Beach and Nash Point and Three Cliffs Bay that is located a little bit more to the west, but is as gorgeous as the aforementioned places. We will learn more about this in the coming weeks.
In other news, we have learned about an exciting new casting for Season 3 that hints at a storyline from the book "Time of Contempt" that is being adapted for the next season. According to Redanian Intelligence actor Stuart Thompson will play the character of Fabio Sachs. He is a young boy from Gors Velen who is tasked with showing Ciri around the city. During their tour they stumble upon a wyvern on Gors Velen marketplace and it gets very wild. At this point Ciri gets the chance to show her fighting skills that she had learned back at Kaer Morhen. Fabio Sachs by the way will appear in one of Gandja Monteiro's episodes, which means Ciri will arrive in Gors Velen in episode 3 or 4. Beside Stuart Thompson Redanian Intelligence has learned about three more castings: While Lucas Aurelio (known for The Power of Heroes and Villains) will play a character named "Antony", actors George Wigzell (who was in Bridgerton) and Abe Jarman (who played a role in The Inside Man) will play characters we do not know yet.
Last but not least, we know who will be in charge of season 3's soundtrack (and hopefully various new Jaskier smash hits): Composer Joseph Trapanese will return for the new season. He was already entrusted with the music for season 2.
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 MojoFilter Media]
“DEAR FRIEND…”: LISTENER CALL-IN SEGMENT
[Music by MojoFilter Media]
ALYSSA (VOICEOVER): Hi everyone! Welcome to our listener call-in segment, “Dear Friend…”. Keep on listening as members of our international hanza share their thoughts on what we’re discussing in this episode:
CHARLOTTE: Transcript to come.
MICHELLE: Transcript to come.
LINA: Transcript to come.
MINDY: Transcript to come.
ALYSSA (VOICEOVER): Thanks to Charlotte, Michelle, Lina, and Mindy for sending in their thoughts on Episode 204 “Redanian Intelligence”! Hear your voice in a future “Dear Friend…” segment by emailing greetings@breakfastinbeauclair.com or DMing the podcast on social for more information.
[Music by MojoFilter Media]
Discussion
ALYSSA (VOICEOVER): Hey everyone! Welcome back from the break. When we left off, Yennefer and Cahir had joined forces with two elves as Triss begins to investigate Ciri’s powers.
In the next scene, after Dermain is killed by a monster in the Elven aqueducts, Yen and Cahir follow Ba'lian to the Sandpiper, who is revealed to be Jaskier. In the scene, we're back with Yen and Cahir, they're going through the aqueducts and Yennefer asks about Dermain's cut ears, which was something that I didn't pick up on my first watch because it is So. Dark. In these shots.
EMMA: Yeah.
ALYSSA: But apparently she's referencing his cut ears. I guess they cut off the tips of their ears so that they could, you know, sneak around slightly more unnoticed. And this is when they tell the story. I wouldn't have seen it had I not been watching on my on my laptop instead of, like–
EMMA: Right.
ALYSSA: –on an iPhone three inches in my face.
EMMA: Right.
ALYSSA: But yeah, so they they mention that they used to work at a dwarfen-owned bank, but then were attacked by villagers a week ago and then ever since the elves took refuge in Cintra, the North has been claiming that all elves are sleeper agents for Nilfgaard.
EMMA: Right.
ALYSSA: And this is certainly something that we've seen in our own history you know, throughout history. The thing that comes to mind for me is, like, Japanese internment camps in, in World War II and, you know, many others as well. But yeah, we continue on through this scene. Dermain monologues about the life that he's going to have in Cintra, about the wife and the chickens and he's going to have so much fun and it's going to be a rich and fulfilling life and he's gonna have his own little plot of land and immediately dies.
EMMA: Immediately dies.
ALYSSA: This man is gobbled and disappears and understandably everyone bugs out.
EMMA: Yeah.
ALYSSA: Cahir and Yen go to help him immediately and just try to grab him through the gates, try to wrestle him from this creature. Ba'lian freezes completely and bolts.
EMMA: Yeah.
DALLAS: Which is, like, props to Cahir for, for trying to save him instead of just reverting to military, like, response where it's like "I'm with Yennefer, we're leaving" like–
ALYSSA: He is the first person to try to, like, snap her out of it though.
EMMA: Yeah.
ALYSSA: He tells her to leave and she doesn't and then he tries to help and then he has to shake her out of it, like, he's gone. But yeah, this is a very emotionally taxing scene to watch.
EMMA: It is. Especially given how lovely the previous scene with these characters was. We mentioned this briefly, but, like, how problematic it is to introduce a deaf character of color and then immediately, immediately kill them, like, like all the props you got. Ugh, so close, so close.
DALLAS: It's something that's kind of bothered me since season one as well, because we get Dara. We get, like, a first prominent, like, specifically dark skinned character, who is kind of pushed again to the wayside after like, what? two episodes?
ALYSSA: We do have Fringilla, however.
EMMA: Yes.
DALLAS: Then we get Fringilla as you know, then she becomes our next prominent black, but specifically dark skinned character, and she's kind of the only one that remains at this point. You know, at the end of season one it was like I assumed I'd never see Dara again, because he's in Brokilon. You know, we get Dermain, this, this beautiful, like sweet. The, the sweetness of this character is really shining through in this dingy, disgusting cellar and in less than 30 minutes he's gone. It was, like, whiplash, and it left a really bad taste in my mouth and not in a good way.
EMMA: Again, from, like, a story perspective, I get the, like, trick of revealing a really likable character and then killing them like, like, that's a, that's a thing that a lot of shows do. I think the thing to keep in mind, though, is like the optics of bringing in one very few, as you said, like dark skinned black characters.
DALLAS: Yeah. Played by deaf actor as well.
EMMA: Yeah. And so it's just like, just to bear in mind, you know, when you're, when you're writing these things out, when you're outlining these things, like, just be aware that if you make these choices, it matters and, and people are going to notice.
DALLAS: Yeah, especially considering that with the way that season two at least is being framed. It's framing Fringilla as a, as a complex and perhaps likeable, yet still antagonistic character.
EMMA: I mean, we don't get Fringilla in this episode, but I just want to mention, I have no idea what they are gonna do with Fringilla next.
ALYSSA: Yeah, I don't either.
EMMA: She is totally different than, than what is in the books, and or her story rather. And so like, it could go anywhere. And I'm excited for it, because I think the actor is terrific.
ALYSSA: Mimî Khayisa, I believe?
EMMA: Yes.
DALLAS: She's incredible.
EMMA: And the way they're building up her story is really interesting. And I'm excited, given what we see at the end of this season for what's next for her, and just wanted to shout out to her even though she's not in this episode.
ALYSSA: After all of this, Yen and Cahir leave the sewer and Yennefer is in a state. She is so frustrated about, presumably everything, the loss of her magic, the fact that she's run away from the council, the fact that she's with Cahir, the fact that Dermain just died in their presence, and she unleashes all of this in an outpouring, and it's an excellent monologue. "You're born helpless so, find strength, then that's all they want you for, to use you and then you find love, but it isn't real. It's a wish that someone made once before they even knew who you were, and you find power, and then it turns to ash in your hands." And Cahir kind of has to snap her out of it. And he says, "You were incredible that day at Sodden, that fire", and then he realizes that she lost her magic, the fire is what did her in. And then he like, turns it into like this weird, like zealoty kind of thing, yet again, as he’s wont to do.
DALLAS: Evangelists, man.
ALYSSA: And then he brings it back to like the Great Sun and the White Flame. And he's like, “we all have our time in the sun, your magic has served its purpose. Perhaps there's a bigger plan for you out there now.” And it's one of those things were, like, kind of thinking about it on a meta level. Like, there's a bigger plan for you out there now. Is it religious? Is it like a nod to the fact that she is destined for motherhood to be Ciri's adoptive mother? Or is it just him being like, no, your magic is gone, as we heard in the last episode, like what's lost is lost do something else. So it's something that, like, especially reading it back, it's interesting to try to decipher the intent.
DALLAS: I really liked the way the actor delivered that as well because it didn't feel 100% pandering, it almost felt like the way that he was delivering it. It almost felt like he was trying to find something nice to say but also not knowing how to say nice things just in general.
EMMA: Yeah, it's just not in his, not in his toolbox. I also love the actor, Eamon Farren.
DALLAS: Oh my god, he's so good.
ALYSSA: He's a delight.
EMMA: But he's also like, really scary looking.
DALLAS: It's the cheekbones!
EMMA: Without the beard. Yeah, it's the cheekbones. But I liked this moment for him of trying, you know? And I think you're right, like, I'm not necessarily sure what the intent is, either his intent or the writer's intent in this moment, but it is a really great scene. It's a great back and forth. And now that I'm thinking about it, it might be kind of like a nice foil to the conversation that Yennefer has at the end with Jaskier. I think the benefit to what he's saying, you know, like, religious fervor aside, is like, it's not in your control anymore.
DALLAS: Don't worry about it, 'cause why worry?
ALYSSA: That's a very stoic response.
EMMA: Yeah. And it's very practical, and that's very, you know, his style either inherently or what he was kind of raised and what was beaten into his head to believe. Given that, like, he was able to resist Tissaia breaking into his brain, like, he's someone with incredible mental willpower, that's just an interesting thing. This is all sort of new and creating these dynamics between these characters is, I don't know if I have an answer for what exactly the purpose is of it, but it's it's fun to watch.
DALLAS: There's a very strong, like, loyalty and faith in this character, like, for as practical as he is, I think that practicality comes from the loyalty that he has, where, from his perspective is a lot of: I shouldn't worry about X, Y, or Z. Because if I did, I couldn't do A, B and C. And I'm supposed to be doing A, B and C, you know, so like, you just take a page out of my book. If you worry about X, Y, and Z, you're not gonna be able to do A, B and C and right now A, B, and C is getting on this boat.
ALYSSA: I feel like we've spoken about key here's kind of a one track mind and one goal, one vision–
EMMA: Yeah.
ALYSSA: –on the podcast before, but it's like season one: I have to get the princess. That's his whole MO throughout the whole season anything.
DALLAS: It's very militaristic.
ALYSSA: Yeah, and yeah, this, this as well, I gotta get to Cintra. Anything beyond that is completely indifferent and I will get to Cintra and I will take my place as Commander General.
DALLAS: And you are coming with me because this is the pact that we made. And like it's happening, like, I don't care if I don't like you. You're coming to Cintra with me.
EMMA: Exactly. Yeah, he's very, like, dispassionate, in a way, which is a little different from how he is in the books, yeah.
ALYSSA: Yeah.
DALLAS: The sad sigh.
ALYSSA: I have no spoiler face on camera.
EMMA: Again, that's sort of like Fringilla. I am very excited to see where his character goes next, because…
ALYSSA: Yeah. I haven't got a clue.
EMMA: I don't either, because he's got to end up somewhere if they want to remain, like, at least a certain loyalty to the books, but he's got to go through some stuff to get there.
ALYSSA: Yeah. So I was watching behind the scenes of this tavern scene and Joey Batey was talking about how that they filmed this on an exterior scene so you can kind of see his breath, see everybody's breath, and they all had to pretend like they were warm.
EMMA: Yeah.
ALYSSA: All the extras and Joey.
EMMA: Yeah, I wonder. I wonder why.
DALLAS: I wonder if it might just be a logistical issue with, like, the space of crews, you know? Especially because taverns are very dark.
EMMA: Yeah.
DALLAS: And if you, if you were, like, completely covered, you wouldn't be able to, you'd have to have bring in, like, artificial lighting, essentially.
ALYSSA: Yeah.
EMMA: But I did. I did notice it because I hadn't noticed it before, but you can see his breath in the scene, which is just kind of a nice touch.
DALLAS: I just assumed it's because buildings were terribly built.
EMMA: Yeah, yeah, yeah.
ALYSSA: Yeah, and also that. No insulation whatsoever.
DALLAS: No insulation.
EMMA: Nope, nope.
DALLAS: Who can afford firewood?
EMMA: Yeah, come on.
ALYSSA: So after Yen and Cahir, go at it in the street and after Yennefer reveals that she's lost her magic, Cahir reveals the extent of his torture at Aretuza, they see Ba'lian on the other side of the square and they immediately follow him because this dude is a little rat who ran away at his friend's death.
EMMA: Yeah.
ALYSSA: And they discovered the Sandpiper. They go into a tavern, and Yennefer recognizes that voice from anywhere, the Sandpiper that smuggles people to Cintra is revealed to be Jaskier. And at this point, he is singing one of the songs of the season Burn Butcher Burn, which is a delight.
EMMA: Taylor's Version.
DALLAS: It's a Taylor Swift breakup song is what it is.
EMMA: Oh, 100%.
ALYSSA: Oh, 100%, yeah.
DALLAS: 100%.
EMMA: And it slaps. I downloaded it, like, immediately and–
DALLAS: Joey Batey is part of a band called The Amazing Devil–
ALYSSA: Yes.
DALLAS: And I didn't realize that they are the same person for a while, like I've been listening to The Amazing Devil for a while now, listening to Joey Batey for a while now. And the quality of the songs in The Witcher are very reminiscent of The Amazing Devil so like, The Amazing Devil songs have that very, like, lyrical poetic-ness about them and the instrumentation and the harmonies. They're all very bardic.
ALYSSA: So it's interesting because Sonya Belousova and Giona Ostinelli were the composers on season one and then they left before season two, presumably I'm assuming that it's so that they could work on The Thing About Pam, with one of the previous writers of The Witcher as well, but for this season, they got a new composer Joseph…
EMMA: Trapanese, I think?
ALYSSA: Trapanese. I was like it's not trapeze.
EMMA: Yeah, but it's close. It's close. It's close.
DALLAS: The Italian trapeze. Trapanese!
EMMA & ALYSSA: Trapanese!
ALYSSA: So, they got Joseph and when I was listening back to some of, like, the behind the scenes of season two apparently Joey got a little bit more free run to actually, you know, create and write a lot of the songs on his own.
EMMA: Oh, nice.
ALYSSA: Which is, I believe probably the connection that you hear between Burn Butcher Burn, a couple of other songs that he put on the soundtrack as well. I think at least one or two more that aren't as spotlighted as Burn Butcher Burn, but they're there.
DALLAS: So, he has a very distinct style when it comes to songwriting, it's a very good one.
EMMA: I need to listen to The Amazing Devil, I haven't yet.
DALLAS: The Horror and the Wild is the first one that got me.
EMMA: Okay.
DALLAS: And oh, there's, there's like yoiking and stuff in it, it is so good. Oh my god. It's that one that you put on when you want to, like stand in the woods naked and yell at the moon.
EMMA: Perfect. Yes.
DALLAS: Just me?
EMMA: Oh, oh no.
ALYSSA: It's a mood.
DALLAS: Certainly.
ALYSSA: It's a shade of existence, yeah.
DALLAS: It's its own emotion.
EMMA: I think that this moment, I think that this reveal of Jaskier is maybe my favorite moment in the whole season, and it was so good that they did it twice. And I'm on board with it. Because you get, we get the same scene but from, but from a different perspective in the next episode, but I just love this and it's such a g–reat song. It's so fun seeing him in his like new coat and like interacting with the audience and
DALLAS: The terrible hair.
EMMA: The terrible hair.
DALLAS: The terrible hair!
ALYSSA: It's breakup hair.
EMMA: It's breakup hair! Yes!
DALLAS: He gave himself bangs. Of course, it's breakup hair. It's so beautiful seeing that, like the soft vulnerable core of what we mostly know as the Playboy–
EMMA: Right?
DALLAS: –that is Dandelion, like, I feel like most of our interactions in the game and at least from what I've read of the stories is that very–
ALYSSA: He's a womanizer.
DALLAS: He's such a womanizer. Like, even if he isn't, he puts on the show that he is.
EMMA: And he is also.
DALLAS: And he is. Yeah, he is to see him there. And to see him taking down that, that shield essentially when he's talking to Yennefer, coming down onto her level and being like, we're both in very bad places right now, and now is not the time to be a dick.
EMMA: One thing that I do love about Dandelion/Jaskier, despite the fact that he is a womanizer. The thing about him, you know, he's presented as this kind of foil for Geralt throughout the stories, throughout the books, throughout the show, but he is brave as hell. And that is something that I just always keep coming back to with him. I love in this season that they have him being like this kind of Underground Railroad facilitator, while still being himself. But, like, the conversations that he has with Yennefer are some of my favorite because he's, like, come into this awakening in this realization of, like, social justice.
ALYSSA: What I like about his bravery on top of that is how earnest he is as a character. He's always so earnest in his interactions with other people with Geralt with the tenderness he shows Yennefer in the scene and throughout the scenes that they have together. But it's also that thing of just, like, he has no practical skills, but he happens to find himself in the most dangerous of situations always on Geralt's tail with no, no self defense whatsoever.
EMMA: Yeah.
ALYSSA: But, but he tries so very hard and he is so caring about being there. So yeah, that's one of the things that I enjoy about his character.
EMMA: Absolutely, absolutely.
DALLAS: Jaskier is a baron, right?
ALYSSA: He's a viscount. Oh my God. Now I'm going back to Bridgerton. Wait, that's a big deal.
EMMA: Oh, yeah.
DALLAS: I would say because, because he sort-of waltzes through a lot of these interactions with that poise and that privilege of well, I'm, I'm so rich and and titled that like, no one would dare.
ALYSSA: Yeah, his full title is Julian Alfred Pankratz, the Viscount de Lettenhove, I believe? So, wait, yeah, now that I've watched Bridgerton, and I, like, get it. Oh, fuck, that–wait, that is a big deal.
DALLAS: That is a big deal.
EMMA: Yeah. And yet he's chosen to live this life as a bard.
DALLAS: Like that, in itself is a very brave decision.
ALYSSA: Ehhh, yes. It's one of those things where I wonder if you have the financial stability and means in order to do that and to be educated and still have an inheritance to go back to, I wonder if it gives him the means with which to live a life like that.
DALLAS: That's a really good point.
EMMA: Definitely. Like he definitely strikes me as a character who, like, has a lot of privilege and like, never got in trouble for anything he did. And that's why, like, he keeps getting in trouble now.
DALLAS: He's a little shit.
EMMA: Yeah.
DALLAS: He's such a little shit.
EMMA: Absolutely, and so I like that story for him and that like now he's like, suddenly having a, as you said, “come to Jesus moment” of like, oh, shit, these people around me are being treated terribly. I can do something about that. And so that's, this is a nice moment for him and his character.
DALLAS: Making you wonder who those anonymous benefactors are that are funding the Sandpiper.
ALYSSA: It does, it does. You know, speaking of, in the next scene, Dijkstra sets his plans to take Cintra in motion by planting an elven spy in the city, Dara. I had an entire theory about when and why we would see Dara which you've probably heard about in episode 203 whenever we cover it. So, I was interested to see him here for the first time because my conspiracy theory did not come to pass. That being said, we get such an interesting insight into Dijkstra and the politics of the Northern Ningdoms in relationship to Nilfgaard, especially, in this little monologue he has with this owl and I will read out some of it because it's genuinely interesting. When he talks about Emhyr, he says "That's the problem, no one knows his proclivities." For the record, he's debating planting some sort of sex worker, either female or male, and this is why he brings that up. "No one knows his proclivities. No one knows anything about him, who he is, what he is, where he is what he wants, and nothing he does makes any fucking sense. We need to get as much information as possible. Whoever we use needs to be inside the city walls for a while, but that narrows down our options considerably. Now, that is an out of the box idea, getting an elf into Cintra won't be a problem. But it needs to be the right one, someone malleable, distrustful in all the right ways." As we've said, Dijkstra is very politically adept. And he has the support of this owl, who both gamers and book readers will recognize. But yeah, it's, it's interesting to see the perception of Emhyr of the, of the Great Sun, the White Flame, on the north. They don't know anything about him, which is fascinating.
EMMA: Yeah, I liked that that’s said explicitly, because Emhyr is this kind of nebulous character in the books. I like that it’s said explicitly, like, no one knows what this guy fucking wants. And that's like part of what makes him so scary and so powerful. I also like just on top of that, like the decision to have Dijkstra, like, half naked, like muttering to himself seemingly, like, you're like what's going on with this guy? Which is just very fun. It's just a fun choice. I think.
DALLAS: I think it was a great, a great look into his psyche, and like his thought process too.
EMMA: Yeah, like someone as you said, Alyssa, like, he's so politically adept. So, the way his mind works is, people who are good at politics, they're smart as hell. And so their minds are like always going and so this is just a fun little scene.
ALYSSA: It's incredibly interesting to see where they're going to take all three of these characters.
EMMA: Yeah.
ALYSSA: Dijkstra, the owl, and Dara as well. And we'll certainly find out but it's a nice little, like, snippet for the moment.
DALLAS: Yeah, I loved that scene. I love when we have those moments where the scene is like, all in all, probably less than two minutes long. And it's just this the briefest little snippet into someone's mental state or current state. Like, it's like watching somebody play three games of chess at the same time, realizing that they're also winning and kind of having to deal with that but then not having the time for that because you just jump right into the next thing and you're like, well, that's gonna come back later.
ALYSSA: To haunt us, yes.
ALYSSA (VOICEOVER): Before we get to the rest of the discussion, we’re going to take a break here. Next episode, join me, Dallas Wheatley from the US, and Emma Sherr-Ziarko from the US as we conclude our discussion of Netflix's The Witcher 204, “Redanian Intelligence.”
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 music by MojoFilter Media.
Breakfast in Beauclair is produced by Alyssa in New York City with Luis of Kovir, The Owner of The Churlish Porpoise, Katie (The Redhead of Toussaint), Jacob B., Ayvo of Gulet, Bee Haven of the Edge of the World, Charlotte from Vengerberg Glamarye, RedKite, The Original Roach, Codringher’s Cat, Libby, Jennidy Mundilovitch, Wolf, Corey from the US, John of Ryblia, Tom from Australia, Jill Cate, The Tabby Witch, Olle from Sweden, James Carson III, Father of Bean, Psilocybe Sorcerer, A Toussaint Knight, Jeanette of Brokilon, Miriam of Temeria, and Softie.
Special thanks to Dallas and Emma for joining us for this episode and our international hanza for their support.
Transcriptionist: AJ Sarong
Editor: JM Sarong