Netflix The Witcher season 2 recap guide: All 8 episodes explained

The Witcher season 2, episode 3 recap: What Is Lost

Ciri continues her training until Geralt makes her take a break and get some rest. Inside Kaer Morhen, Lambert (Paul Bullion) makes some snarky comments regarding Ciri and Eskel’s death. Geralt clearly feels guilty over having to kill Eskel as he has a flashback to a time when they were young and just beginning their training. He and Vesemir are determined to hunt down the leshy responsible for Eskel’s demise.

Eager to prove herself a capable fighter, Ciri convinces Lambert to take her to an old witcher training course. It’s a dangerous set of obstacles that include spinning blades, swinging pendulums, and more. Ciri almost immediately falls off but gets right back up to try again. Lambert says she belongs in a castle, not a keep, which only makes her try harder. Meanwhile, Vesemir and Geralt lay Eskel’s body to rest in a cavern.

Ciri does eventually make it to the end of the course, just in time for Coen (Yasen Atour) to bring Geralt by to see how she’s doing. It seems like Ciri is slowly winning over the other witchers.

While patching up her various scrapes, Geralt tells Ciri that her desire to be a great fighter is fine, but she needs to keep in mind that she doesn’t have witcher mutations to protect her. Once she leaves, Geralt discovers her sash tucked into the wall, nestled in the roots left behind by Eskel.

Seeing her sash seems to remind Geralt of something, so he asks Ciri to describe her visions to him. She says she feels a certain pull and if she followed it, it would take her to the woods. Geralt and Ciri follow that pull and come face-to-face with Eskel’s leshy. Well, sort of, it’s more like it’s carcass because then a giant centipede-like creature emerges from it and charges after them. The creature goes directly for Ciri, and it corners her against some rocks. Thankfully, Geralt gets there in time to decapitate it.

Stumbling through darkness

At Aretuza, Tissaia is finalizing the plaque to honor the 14 fallen mages at Sodden, adding Yennefer’s name to the bottom. At the head of the Brotherhood of Sorcerers, things have fallen into disarray as the leaders try to discern how the battle happened. Since they’re cozied up to the Northern Kingdoms, Stregobor is leading the charge against the elves, while Istredd (Royce Pierreson) believes that further studying the monoliths holds the key to their future. In the midst of their arguing, Yennefer makes her grand return.

She and Tissaia have an emotional reunion as they discuss the tumult in the brotherhood. Artorius and Stregobor are growing desperate as they strive to hang onto their power. Even though Tissaia recognizes that Yennefer was the true hero of Sodden and helped them win the battle, she asks Yennefer to lay low and let Vilgefortz play victor for now as Tissaia intends to make a play for power.

Speaking of Cintra, Francesca and Fringilla meet again to discuss their new alliance. In the aftermath of their meeting with the Deathless Mother, Francesca has agreed to side with Nilfgaard, inflaming tensions with the Northern Kingdoms who have now turned completely against them. In return, Francesca is now pregnant with what will become a pure-blooded elf, the first in decades. If Fringilla can promise a home and a future for her people, then Francesca is willing to ally with her.

Yennefer reunites with some of her fellow sorceresses, Triss and Sabrina (Therica Wilson-Read). They go for a late-night swim, though Yennefer stealthily avoids revealing she lost her magic. Triss politely declines an invitation to go swimming as she’s still recovering from her burns.

The following day, Stregobor teaches a class about Falka, an old tale about a powerful young girl who allegedly incited a rebellion after the King of Redania insulted her elven mother. Falka slaughtered many nobles and preyed on people.

Stregobor is clearly trying to draw parallels between Falka and Yennefer, as he believes Yennefer is a traitor and a possible Nilfgaardian spy. Istredd interrupts the class to argue that Stregobor is wrong and Falka was only trying to reclaim the throne that was rightly hers. Moreso, Stregobor removes the glamor from his hands to show two stumps, claiming they are a reminder of Falka’s violence. Istredd argues that Yennefer would never do that.

That night, Yennefer finds herself face-to-face with Cahir. She tells him he won’t be killed unless there is a legitimate reason for it, as mages are practical. Afterward, she runs into Stregobor who chains her up in a cell and forcibly enters her mind to extract her memories of Sodden and try to prove she’s hiding something. Tissaia intervenes and swears to make him pay.

Tissaia accuses Stregobor of committing treason, but Stregobor argues that Yennefer is a threat. She used illegal fire magic and somehow survived her captivity with elves and Nilfgaardians. He is convinced that she’s an internal threat to them all. Tissaia tells Yennefer she needs to kill Cahir to prove her loyalty. But maybe killing him is just Stregobor’s way of proving she’s a killer.

Tissaia suggests she tell the truth then, that she lost her magic. Of course Tissaia knows, she knows everything about Yennefer. Yennefer reveals she’s been traveling the Continent for the past month looking for some way to get it back. Tissaia sadly tells her that what is lost, is lost.

Things aren’t looking good for Yennefer at Aretuza, so she tries to sneak out in the middle of the night, only to run into Istredd. She might not be a spy, but apparently, Istredd is. He intends to leave Aretuza and join the elves soon. He warns Yennefer to be careful because Stregobor has spies stationed everywhere. Yennefer reconsiders her plan to leave and hears the Deathless Mother calling to her once again.

In exchange for her absolution, Yennefer prepares to kill Cahir during an elaborate ceremony meant to honor the 13 mages killed at Sodden. They intend to send Cahir’s head to Cintra as a message. Even King Foltest (Shaun Dooley) and King Vizimir (Ed Birch) are present, and we get our first mention of Dijkstra. However, instead of killing Cahir, Yennefer breaks his chains to free him and takes off running. She and Cahir escape on horseback as chaos erupts at the execution ceremony.