“Much More” | Around The Table: The Lore, Culture, and History Behind The Witcher
The world of Andrzej Sapkowski and Netflix’s The Witcher draws inspiration from real life history, folklore, and culture.
Join Alyssa from GoodMorhen, the host and producer of Breakfast in Beauclair, and Witcher content creators Anita and Karolina of Witcher Kitchen, Brett from Whispers of Oxenfurt, Charlotte from Vengerberg Glamarye, Cyprian from Berlin, and Lars from Witcherflix in this episode as they share facts and tidbits about “Something More”, the basis for Geralt’s storyline in this episode, and the locations behind The Battle of Sodden.
Transcript
ALYSSA: How did the final episode adapt important plot points from the books? Where can you go to visit the locations that were used in the Battle of Sodden? Welcome to Breakfast in Beauclair’s “Around The Table,” a segment where we go around the Beauclair breakfast table with other Witcher content creators sharing facts and tidbits about the production and real life history, folklore, and culture behind an episode of Netflix’s The Witcher. This week we’re diving into Episode 108, “Much More”.
LARS: Hey, it’s Lars from Witcherflix. Did you know? The spectacular Battle of Sodden Hill was filmed at Egri vár másolata in Hungary and at Ogrodzieniec Castle in Poland. The castle they filmed at in Hungary is actually only a copy of another Hungarian castle called Eger Castle. This copy was built as a movie set in the 1960s for a Hungarian production. Ogrodzieniec Castle in Poland, on the other hand, is as real as it gets. These dramatic castle ruins from the 14th century were used for the establishing shots for Sodden Hill and they served as a stand-in for the elven fort that had been erected there. On the show, the castle is surrounded by a canyon, a bridge, and beautiful mountains. In real life, the area around Ogrodzieniec Castle, with its rolling fields and white rocks, is beautiful too. But there are also many tourist shops and even an amusement park for children. Despite this, Ogrodzieniec Castle is more than worth a visit.
BRETT: Hey, this is Brett from Whispers of Oxenfurt. This episode leaves out one of my favorite scenes from the entire series: when Geralt hears about the Second Battle of Sodden in the obelisk marking the deaths of fourteen mages. He visits it, expecting to learn that Yennefer has perished. At the landmark, he is joined by the personification of death in the form of a woman, who taunts him about the final name he can’t bear to look at. He asks for her just to get it over with: lead him into the nothingness of death. She forces him to say the name on his mind, and when he does, she informs him that she will come for him eventually, but today is not that day. Geralt wakes up and we are made to decide whether or not it was a dream… and if that matters at all.
CHARLOTTE: Hey, this is Charlotte from Vengerberg Glamarye. While Geralt is fighting the zombie-like monsters at the beginning of this episode, I couldn’t help but remember how much fun it was to slay necrophages in The Witcher 3; it really reminded me of the game. I enjoyed Geralt’s flashbacks and I was extremely happy to see they included Geralt’s mother, the wandering medic sorceress, Visenna. Whether a dream or not, this scene in the books was really powerful. Vesemir’s name is finally called! Geralt yearns to go home to Kaer Morhen and I can’t wait to see it. I hope that next season we get inside Kaer Morhen, that we see Vesemir, that we see Ciri in witcher training, and see Yennefer really come into her power.
ALYSSA: Thanks for sharing breakfast with us in this installment of “Around The Table.” The Witcher Universe has so much to uncover! Let us know in the comments below what you found interesting from today’s segment and if you have something new to share with our hanza about this episode. We’ll see you after the next episode of Breakfast in Beauclair.