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

One of Netflix’s most popular series, The Witcher, is about to return for its highly-anticipated third season. The Witcher season 3 is a momentous occasion for several reasons. For one, it will finally give us the Yennefer/Geralt/Ciri content we’ve been waiting for, and two, it will be the last season to feature Henry Cavill as Geralt of Rivia before he’s replaced by Liam Hemsworth.

Ahead of the third season, which will premiere its first part on June 29 followed by the second part on July 27, we’re recapping the entirety of The Witcher season 2. It has been well over a year since The Witcher season 2 dropped on Netflix. If you haven’t had time to rewatch the second season, you might be very confused headed into season 3. The following recap guide will remind you of all the major events that happened in the sophomore season.

In The Witcher season 2, Geralt learns what life is like with his new Child of Surprise, Ciri. He’s thrust into a new phase of his life as he must protect her from all the people after her. Elsewhere, Yennefer deals with the losses at Sodden and unexpected allies.

The Witcher season 2 episode 1 recap: A Grain of Truth

The second season of The Witcher starts with another adaptation of a short story from The Last Wish, “A Grain of Truth.” It begins with a terrifying cold open as a merchant and two women attempt to find lodgings on a wintry night. Within seconds of knocking on the door of the first house they find, the merchant and his companions are brutally murdered by an unseen creature.

After the title drop, we follow up with Tissaia (MyAnna Buring) in the aftermath of the Battle of Sodden Hill. The bloodied battlefield is riddled with the corpses of thousands of soldiers. A desperate Tissaia is searching for Yennefer by using her gift to witness the final moments of several nearby bodies. Geralt (Henry Cavill) arrives moments later with Ciri (Freya Allen) on horseback. Both Geralt and Tissaia assume the worst about Yennefer, that she died sacrificing herself to buy time until the armies arrived, securing the mages’ victory over Nilfgaard.

Taking refuge in the woods, Geralt notices Ciri having a nightmare while she sleeps. Upon waking, they swap details of their respective night terrors, and Geralt tells her more about the Law of Surprise and how he ended up becoming her protector. Ciri obviously cannot return to Cirilla, but she wonders if Skellige could be an option, as she has connections there. Geralt points out she’d be married off to the first Lord of Bad Breath who comes looking. Another nobody who would be after her for her crown.

Geralt plans to take Ciri to Kaer Morhen, an old keep where witchers used to train. But the road there is treacherous, as all roads seem to be on the Continent. On their way, Geralt notices a bloodied carcass in the road and hears some ominous screeching in the distance.

We saw this place already in the cold open, so we know there is something dangerous afoot, and Geralt’s witcher senses detect it, too. They seek shelter with Geralt’s old pal Nivellen (Kristofer Hivju), but these days he’s more beast than man.

While Ciri relaxes with a hot bath, the old friends catch up over wine. It’s been some 13 years since they last saw each other and given Nivellen’s appearance, he has quite the tale to tell. For starters, Nivellen has some supernatural control over the house, able to summon things like bathtubs, wine, and food by simply asking. Whatever creature is lurking there is in the ceilings, watching Ciri as she bathes and dresses.

Over dinner, Nivellen tells Ciri how he and Geralt met. When he was a boy, Nivellen’s father hired Geralt to take care of a wyvern infestation. A young Nivellen wanted to impress his dad, so he tried killing one himself, inadvertently falling into the creature’s lair. Geralt saved him, killed the wyvern, and let Nivellen take credit for the kill since he got paid regardless. Big ol’ softie.

Geralt presses Nivellen to tell him how he became cursed. Nivellen confesses he fell in with a bad lot, got high on mushrooms, and trashed a temple belonging to a dangerous cult known as the Lionheaded Spider. For his debauchery, a cult priestess cursed him. Nivellen claims he doesn’t remember the details, only something about “love and blood.” Even suicide doesn’t work, whatever curse the priestess cast has kept Nivellen locked in this state.

Retiring to the fireside after dinner, Geralt questions why the neighboring village has been destroyed and abandoned. Nivellen claims it’s just the aftermath of the Battle of Sodden, but Geralt isn’t quite buying that. Then Nivellen alleges the Wild Hunt has been riding around the area, a portent of doom that would keep anyone sane at bay.

Despite Nivellen’s fearmongering about the end of days and the world succumbing to chaos, Geralt is still suspicious. And he has a right to be since we know full well that Nivellen is hiding something, something that killed that merchant and his companions at the start of the hour. Nivellen says the weird sounds in his house are just his cat, Vereena. Geralt doesn’t buy it and decides to scout the property to ensure they’re safe.

Nivellen keeps Ciri company with an elven fairytale while Geralt surveys the area. Ciri asks if he’s ever tried to cure himself, but Nivellen believes he deserves his fate because when he was first turned, he slaughtered all of his servants and buried them in the statue garden. Despite his claims, Ciri doesn’t see Nivellen as a monster, and she would know, considering she saw her home burnt to ash with her family trapped inside. Nivellen says monsters are more than their looks, they’re born of deeds done, unforgivable ones.

Through his investigation, Geralt finds something on Nivellen’s property and challenges his friend to a drinking game. During the game, Geralt laments the loss of Yennefer, the woman who cracked his icy witcher heart. He truly believes she’s dead.

The game takes a turn as Geralt realizes Nivellen has been cheating to avoid answering questions and maintain his secret, which is that he has a monster living in his house, a Bruxa named Vereena. Vereena emerges that night while Ciri is sleeping and having a nightmare. She seems taken with Ciri and relates to her loneliness.

Their conversation is similar to the one Ciri and Nivellen had before, about the true nature of a monster. Ciri realizes that Nivellen loves Vereena and was hiding her from Geralt on purpose to keep her from getting killed. Vereena uses her abilities to put Ciri back to sleep and protect her secret.

It doesn’t matter though, Geralt is already onto Nivellen and further sleuthing helps him figure out that a Bruxa is living in the house. He tells Ciri to wait by Roach and leave as fast as she can if anyone but him emerges from the house.

Meanwhile, Geralt drinks some of his potions and goes into black-eyed monster-hunting mode as he and Vereena face off. Their fight spills out into the courtyard where Ciri is waiting. Vereena warns her not to run because she can’t help but chase her like prey if she does. Then the Bruxa morphs into her flying bat form. Geralt slashes her with his sword, and she falls to the ground, seemingly down for the count.

But when Ciri gets close to her, she springs into action and threatens to rip Ciri’s throat out if Geralt doesn’t leave them alone. Before Geralt can do anything, Nivellen comes flying out the door, impaling Vereena on a scythe. She goes all freaky Exorcist complete with a 180-degree head turn to tell Nivellen she loves him and if she cannot have him no one can.

Before Vereena can kill Nivellen, Geralt decapitates her, finally killing her. Nivellen’s curse is lifted since I guess a Bruxa’s love is still love. I’m assuming the curse demanded that someone Nivellen loved must die. Doesn’t matter if she was a monster or not, she loved Nivellen, and that was enough to rid him of the curse. For Nivellen, it’s an empty victory since the woman he loved is dead.

He also confesses to Geralt that the real reason he was cursed is not for destroying the cult’s temple, but because he raped the priestess and he knowingly turned a blind eye to Vereena’s murder sprees for years. Nivellen pleads with Geralt to end his life. Geralt’s retort is short and sweet: “You’re mortal now, do it yourself.”

At another campfire, Geralt makes it clear they need to go over the ground rules. Ciri needs to obey him when he tells her to run or hide. Ciri confesses she’s terrified all the time because everywhere she goes people die. It makes her want to burn the world. Geralt promises to keep Ciri safe and to be there for her, to help her face her fears.

Inquisitor or executioner?

At Aretuza, things are looking bleak for the mages. They might have won the Battle of Sodden Hill, but they hardly have the resources needed to continue their assault on Nilfgaard or to defend themselves against another attack. Burned badly at Sodden, Triss (Anna Shaffer) starts succumbing to some kind of seizure while Artorius (Terence Maynard) examines her, so Tissaia steps in to assist. Afterward, she, Artorius, and Vilgefortz (Mahesh Jadu) regroup to discuss their next plan of action.

They assume Yennefer is lost to them and Artorius’s niece, Fringilla, too since she was assisting Nilfgaard in coordinating their attack alongside the mage’s Nilfgaardian prisoner Cahir (Eamon Farren). Cahir refuses to give the mages anything they can work with. How long will that resolve last when Tissaia starts magically torturing him?

Tissaia commences her torture of Cahir to find out everything he knows about Nilfgaard and their plans, promising to take his memories and trap him in the eternal darkness of his own mind. “I know you want to scream. But it’s too soon. It’s too soon because I haven’t even started yet. If evolution has traced any groove at all into your brain, I will plough it somewhat deeper. And then you will know what a scream can really be!” I, too, would become absolutely feral and unhinged if I thought Yennefer was dead so I get her.

The refrain of the defeated

Speaking of prisoners, Yennefer (Anya Chalotra) is alive but is now being held as a prisoner of war by Fringilla (Mimi Ndiweni) and several Nilfgaardians.

Behind enemy lines, Yennefer is handcuffed with dimeritium cuffs, meaning she cannot cast any magic. From conversing with Fringilla, Yennefer learns that the mages won the battle and that Fringilla intends to hand Yennefer over at Nilfgaard to be killed.

Yennefer questions if Fringilla really thinks Nilfgaard will let her off the hook for losing the battle by using her as a sacrifice. On the contrary, Fringilla believes her head will roll before Yennefer’s, and apparently, she’s okay with that because now she’s fighting for liberation rather than being used as a pawn like she believes she was at Aretuza. Yennefer tries to convince her to return with her and find redemption, but Fringilla is stubborn in her beliefs.

But that night, their troupe is attacked by unseen archers who pick off Fringilla’s entire squadron one by one until it’s just her and Yennefer left standing alone to face the darkness.

The Witcher season 2, episode 2 recap: Kaer Morhen

Given the name of the episode, it probably doesn’t come as a surprise that Geralt and Ciri finally make it to the fabled Kaer Morhen. Geralt receives a warm welcome from his fellow witchers, and we meet Vesemir (Kim Bodnia) and Eskel (Basil Eidenbenz) for the first time. Eskel arrives shortly after Geralt looking a little worse for the wear after a six-hour fight with a leshy. The set for Kaer Morhen looks fantastic, they chose a great location for the keep.

Not long after arriving, Vesemir takes Geralt aside to discuss Ciri. He’s doubtful of Geralt’s choice to claim her, especially since Geralt previously stated he never would. Obviously, things change, and now Geralt is determined to protect her, hence bringing her to Kaer Morhen. It also serves as a reconnaissance decision so he can learn more about Ciri and her abilities.

Even though Eskel didn’t manage to kill the leshy, he did cut off its arm, which Geralt inspects while an inquisitive and restless Ciri meanders around him. She’s already a bit bored and inquires about training. Ciri wants to kill the “man in the black-winged helmet,” or Cahir. Geralt insists they don’t kill people out of fear, only to save lives.

Their conversation is cut short by a sea of rowdiness in the main hall where Eskel has invited a bunch of prostitutes from nearby brothels. It’s an all-out bacchanal in the room. Witchers are no strangers to brothels, but it did seem a little random and unnecessary to introduce the element in this episode, like an insistence to put sex and nudity where they didn’t need to be.

Geralt and I were on the same wavelength. He pulls Eskel aside, telling him he can drown his pain in whoever he wants, but not here and Eskel gets all surly, mocking Geralt for “playing knight with a princess” before attempting to throw a punch. Geralt tells him to go to bed.

During the party, Ciri sneaks around the fortress and finds a room containing witcher relics and memorabilia. Vesemir catches her there and regales her with stories of witchers like Klef and his own mentor, Deglan. There’s a sense of unease between them as Vesemir tries to figure out what to make of Ciri. It’s hard to protect someone when you don’t know who they are or what to protect them from.

Elsewhere, Eskel and one of the prostitutes start having sex. When she takes his shirt off, we get our first glimpse of his shoulder injury, it’s a nasty wound growing quickly in size. A long tree root emerges from its center, the beginning of Eskel’s transformation.

The Leshy’s creature design is ultimately disappointing, though technically the show’s version isn’t an actual Leshy but Eskel infected by one. Imagine if the creature design had taken its cues from The Ritual. As one of my personal favorite monsters in The Witcher canon (and folklore, in general), I was hoping for more folk horror in the leshy storyline.

Back in the front hall, Vesemir and Geralt get to talking about what it was like for Vesemir when he had to take care of a bunch of orphaned witchers. He remarks that he trained them to fend for themselves, and that’s probably something Geralt should consider doing for Ciri. Then all the witcher medallions start vibrating, indicating a monster nearby. They go into monster-hunting mode.

A fight ensues between Geralt and Eskel, now fully transformed. Geralt and Vesemir would rather buy time to save Eskel, but it’s too late. When Eskel tries killing Vesemir, Geralt has no choice but to decapitate him.

In the aftermath of his death, Geralt decides the best way to protect Ciri is to teach her how to fend for herself. Nowhere in the world is going to be 100% safe, not even Kaer Morhen. So the ending begins with a pivotal scene as Geralt embraces training Ciri.

The Deathless Mother, nesting in dreams

The second episode opens with a peek into Yennefer’s mind while she sleeps. Her dream is the picture of domesticity, her and Geralt together with a baby on the way. But the dream quickly turns into a nightmare. The baby’s crib and the infant inside catch on fire, and then Yennefer sees a mysterious figure in a red robe.

When she wakes up, things aren’t much better. Yennefer and Fringilla are chained together in the back of a wagon, taken captive by elves. We meet Filavandrel (Tom Canton), who takes the sorceresses to their leader, a female elven mage named Francesca (Mecia Simson). Yennefer tries to catch the elves off-guard by speaking in Elder tongue to show them that she’s part elf, but Francesca is unimpressed. She’d rather kill them both and send their heads to Aretuza as a reminder of elven glory.

Since Yennefer can understand Elder, she learns that Francesca has also been having dreams of a robed figure. It turns out that Yennefer, Fringilla, and Francesca have all been seeing robed figures in their dreams—Yennefer’s in red, Fringilla’s in black, and Francesca’s in white. These shared dreams must have some deeper meaning. Yennefer tries convincing Filavandrel to unchain them so they can work together, but just before he can give in, the elves find something during their forest excavation.

The elves find an underground crypt of sorts, the walls ornamented with runes depicting the Conjunction of the Spheres. Yennefer and Fringilla are taken inside to see Francesca and discuss their dreams. Inside they find a mysterious altar inscribed with elvish runes.

A three-headed skeleton stands atop the altar, surrounded by other skeletons that appear to be kneeling in prayer. Francesca initially claims the skeleton is the elven prophet Ithlinne, who she believes has been calling out to her through her dreams. The Elder runes on the table read, “Behold the mother of forests, the deathless mother, nesting in dreams,” and below that, Francesca notices an incantation referencing a hut with no doors.

Fringilla is reminded of an old tale her father told her about a witch in the woods with a house situated atop basilisk legs (definitely a Baba Yaga reference), though that wouldn’t be the first time humans mistook elven magic for something wicked. Suddenly, the altar is activated. The pedestal moves, revealing a dark staircase and something whispers, “Turn your back to the forest.” Believing they’re being summoned, Francesca instructs Fringilla and Yennefer to follow her below.

Down the steps the trio goes, emerging into the dark woods (I’m so confused by the layout of this scene. Wasn’t the altar underground? And the steps lead down so how did they end up back in the woods, or am I crazy?). While following Francesca, Fringilla and Yennefer get to talking, and Fringilla reveals some important backstory that explains quite a bit about her character arc.

Before Emhyr and Nilfgaard came along, Fringilla was regularly tortured by the Usurper, who put her and all the other mages into a prison. Lots of terrible things happened there, to the point it became known as the “playhouse,” implying the Usurper and his men would “play” with the mages. Ick. It’s no wonder Fringilla feels so much loyalty to Emhyr, he’s the one who saved her from the Usurper’s playhouse.

In the woods, they come upon the doorless hut referenced in the Elvish script. Francesca recites the incantation. The house lifts and turns, inviting the women inside. Each one is trapped inside a strange situation where they come face-to-face with the robed figure of their dreams. Fringilla’s takes the shape of Emhyr, Francesca sees Ithlinne, and Yennefer finds a young girl.

Each woman is told to make an “ask,” not dissimilar to a deal with the devil. Francesca wants to give birth to the first pure-blooded elf in decades, and Fringilla wants to rebuild Nilfgaard’s armies to face the Northern Kingdoms. Dream-Emhyr suggests she help Nilfgaard see that the best way to rebuild is for them to ally with the elves.

Yennefer’s situation is different from the other two. Her entity is more malicious, forcing her to confront the truth: Yennefer lost her magic at Sodden. She’s known this whole time, but hasn’t wanted to admit it to herself and has been using the dimeritium cuffs as an excuse. The girl morphs into Voleth Meir, or the Deathless Mother, taunting Yennefer. “I’m going to let you bake some more. I want your desperation crisp. You will beg me to take it from you. And I will.”

The Deathless Mother slits Yennefer’s wrists and leaves her to bleed out. Later, all three women wake up and appear okay. Yennefer is intact, with no cuts on her wrists. Fringilla asks her what she requested from the witch since she herself said yes to her ask and made a deal. Yennefer thinks the Deathless Mother is evil and that Fringilla is foolish for believing in any of what happened. In response, Fringilla questions why the witch would let Yennefer go if she didn’t make a deal or give in to her ask. That’s a good point, but Yennefer’s interaction with the Deathless Mother hints that she has much bigger plans for the sorceress.

In the aftermath of the interlude with the Deathless Mother, Fringilla and Yennefer realize they are no longer in chains. Yennefer immediately tries to summon her magic and discovers it really is gone. It’s heartbreaking to watch Yennefer drop to her knees and scream out in pain after confirming this, especially knowing what she gave up to get her magic in the first place.

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.

The Witcher season 2, episode 4 recap: Redanian Intelligence

Geralt and Ciri kick up her training a notch as he takes her along the famed “Killer Trail.” Ciri sustains several cuts along the way, leaving splotches of blood in her wake. She runs directly into Triss, who Geralt has invited to Kaer Morhen to serve as a guide for Ciri, similar to what Mousesack was to her mother. Triss heals the cut on Ciri’s face and receives a warm welcome from Vesemir, Coen, and Lambert upon her arrival at the keep.

With Triss’ help, Geralt tests the head of the creature that attacked Ciri in the woods in the previous episode for mutagenic alchemy, which would prove a mage sent the monster after her. The practice of mages controlling monsters is outlawed, but it could still be possible. Triss informs Geralt they’ll get the results back in the morning. They share a tender scene, commiserating about their shared losses, and Triss invites him to stay with her that night. Geralt politely declines.

Under Triss’ influence, Ciri chooses a decidedly more feminine look the following day and gets ruthlessly mocked by Lambert and Coen. Triss tells them off, shaming them for not providing feminine products or being empathetic to Ciri’s needs as a young woman. Later, Ciri points out that her grandmother wore dresses and fought battles, she can do both. Of course, Geralt knows that.

The results from the alchemy test come back negative. So a mage isn’t responsible for the monsters, but Triss notices something else. She finds traces of stellacite, which comes from monoliths. Geralt recognizes the substance and notes that he found similar on Eskel’s leshy when he dissected its arm. That means the two monsters came from the same monolith.

Ciri touches the stellacite and falls unconscious with another vision. She tells Geralt that she sees a monolith topple in her vision and reveals she was the one to topple it after the black knight took her. Ciri wonders if she’s at fault for the monsters coming and Geralt promises her he’ll fix things, but he needs to see the fallen monolith in person.

Triss portals him to Istredd, since he studies monoliths and would be the best person to ask about everything. Vesemir isn’t thrilled that Geralt is leaving for Cintra again, but it’s not like he has many choices.

Later, Vesemir discovers Feainnewedd blooming in the spots where Ciri bled along the Killer Trail. Feainnewedd only grows where Elder Blood is spilled, and Elder Blood is believed to have been wiped from the Continent. It’s an important ingredient in creating witcher mutagens. That means if Ciri has Elder Blood, she could be the key to making more witchers.

Chaos could never be done with the likes of you

In the Northern Kingdoms, things are getting really bad for elves. We get a glimpse of their treatment in the Redanian city of Oxenfurt where a guard humiliates one of the elves by forcing him to relieve himself in front of everyone. All of the elves we see are being chained up and beaten by guards.

Since fleeing Aretuza, Cahir and Yennefer have been trying to get to Cintra. Cahir promises Yennefer that she will be safe when she returns by his side. They’ve become reluctant allies, more or less, and they’ll need to since the brotherhood releases fliers targeting them as wanted war criminals. Yennefer informs Cahir that under Fringilla’s leadership, the elves have sided with Nilfgaard in a reclaimed Cintra.

Elsewhere, we get our first on-screen glimpse of Sigismund Dijkstra (Graham McTavish). He prevents the Redanian King Vizimir from being assassinated by two undercover advisors. Dijkstra tells Vizimir that now is the time for them to consider taking Cintra back. They would never have succeeded under Calanthe and her armies, but with elves, they might have a chance. We also get our first glimpse of Dijkstra’s mage ally, the sorceress Philippa Eilhart, though she remains in her owl form for the bulk of the season.

Dijkstra schemes a way to get eyes inside Cintra and realizes the best way to do that would be to turn an elf against his people. He visits a cell holding several captive and chooses Dara (Wilson Radjou-Pujalte), the elf who befriended Ciri in the first season.

Cahir and Yennefer take refuge in an elven aqueduct running beneath the city. There, they meet two elves, a deaf elf named Dermain (Jamal Ajala) and an older elf named Ba’lian (Kevin Doyle). Their first meeting devolves into violence quickly, but once the group realizes they’re all trying to get to the same place, they ally together. Ba’lian and Dermain tell Cahir and Yennefer about a mysterious person in town who is known as the “Sandpiper” that can take them to Cintra by boat.

As they trudge through the tunnel, Dermain tells Yennefer about what’s been happening to the elves. Believing all elves to be Nilfgaardian sleeper agents, the Northern Kingdom has been viciously torturing and capturing them at whim. But Dermain has heard whispers of a pregnant elf in Cintra, meaning Francesca’s pregnancy could become a sign of hope for their people.

Dermain is tragically killed by a zeugl, a sewer-dwelling tentacled monster. Yennefer and Cahir try to save him, but Ba’lian just turns tail and runs. Yennefer almost gets eaten too, but Cahir fights off the zeugl with a flaming torch. Upon resurfacing, Cahir realizes that Yennefer doesn’t have her magic anymore. He believes they all have a greater purpose. Outside, they notice Ba’lian skulking around in an alley and sneaking into a tavern. They follow him there and discover that the Sandpiper is actually Jaskier (Joey Batey)!

After he’s done with his song of the night (a bitter song clearly aimed at Geralt), Yennefer is surprisingly happy to see Jaskier and even gives him a hug. She questions him about being the Sandpiper, and Jaskier reveals that there are anonymous benefactors working behind the scenes. He says he was at the great oak Bleobheris, a place called the Seat of Friendship among druids. Jaskier believes that after the elves, the kingdoms will come for anyone they deem different. He agrees to help get Yennefer and Cahir to Cintra.

That night, Jaskier and his latest group of refugees slip out and onto a ship. They almost get caught by a guard, but a guilt-ridden Ba’lian essentially sacrifices himself to the guards to let everyone else escape.

Once they’re aboard the ship, we see that Dara is in the group, meaning he’s now on his way to Cintra and presumably working for Dijkstra. Yennefer and Jaskier say their goodbyes and despite what Yennefer tells him about her losing her magic, Jaskier doesn’t believe chaos is done with her just yet.

Shortly after Jaskier gets off the ship, Yennefer hears him scream. She follows the sound and notices his broken lute on the ground. Will she try to help him or leave to save herself?

The Witcher season 2, episode 5 recap: Turn Your Back

The Witcher season 2, episode 5 opens with an introduction to two new characters, a sorceress named Lydia (Aisha Fabienne Ross) and an imprisoned mage named Rience (Chris Fulton). Calanthe imprisoned Rience over a decade ago for crossing him, and Lydia has been assigned to find Ciri. She frees Rience from his cell so he can hunt Ciri down. We flashback to the night when Jaskier was performing in an Oxenfurt tavern, only this time we see his performance from a new perspective suggesting that Rience is the one who took Jaskier at the end of The Witcher season 2, episode 4.

Yennefer chooses to miss the boat to Cintra to try and find Jaskier. Rience has taken Jaskier captive and tied him to a chair. It’s immediately clear just how dangerous Rience is because he uses illegal fire magic.

Given that she’s still on the run, Yennefer can’t go to the garrison herself, so she hires a prostitute to go instead and find out if Jaskier is in one of the cells. While waiting for the prostitute to return, Yennefer watches as the Northern Kingdom separates an elven daughter from her mother. She tries to use her magic to help, but it’s a fruitless effort. The prostitute returns. She didn’t find anything, but she recommends Yennefer check the taverns.

Poor Jaskier is being tortured by Rience for information on Geralt and Ciri. Jaskier is adamant that he doesn’t know anything, which is probably true since he hasn’t seen Geralt in months. Unfortunately for Jaskier, his songs about Geralt are what made him a target in the first place since Rience assumes he knows plenty that he’s spun into music.

Thankfully, Yennefer arrives before Rience can start using fire on him directly. She pretends to be Jaskier’s drunken wife, spitting alcohol in the mage’s face when he lights his fingers up, causing his entire face to go up in flames. She and Jaskier escape in the ruckus.

Outside, Jaskier tells Yennefer that Rience is after Geralt. He says she owes it to Geralt to warn him, but without magic, Yennefer can’t do much at the moment. They get approached by several men, one of whom harasses Yennefer. She kicks him in the crotch and takes off running. The prostitute from earlier offers Yennefer an escape, or so it seems. In reality, she’s sold Yennefer out to the guards in exchange for money.

The truth about the monoliths

Triss portals Geralt to Istredd while the mage is in the middle of finding a new path on land for refugees to take to Cintra. Explaining the whole monolith and the new subspecies of monster thing to Istredd doesn’t really work. It sounds insane to him, and he thinks the whole thing is some elaborate prank—until Geralt drops the monster’s head on the ground in front of him.

Geralt and Istredd embark on their journey to Cintra to find the fallen monolith. On the way, Istredd questions what could have caused a monolith to fall. They’re supposedly indestructible. A couple of guards give them trouble, and the duo is forced to fight them off.

When they arrive at the monolith site, both Geralt and Istredd are shocked by what they find, which is a massive crevice in the ground. Istredd is stunned by the damage, it’s a scientific revelation that changes everything. It should have taken decades and then some for damage of this magnitude to occur. They realize they must go to the bottom of the pit to learn more.

There aren’t any monster nests or anything in the basin. Istredd theorizes that the monoliths could be the actual conduits between the different spheres, started by the Conjunction.

Istredd tells Geralt he remembers experiencing strange vibrations during a dig at Nazair and the date matches the night Cintra fell. The pit they’re standing in is where the energy source originated. They realize that the monoliths are acting as gateways between the spheres, meaning the monsters emerging aren’t “new,” per se, they’re just new to them because they’re coming from other planes of existence.

Given Geralt’s knowledge of the monolith, Istredd grows suspicious of where he’s gotten this intel. Geralt doesn’t want to tell him about Ciri since he still doesn’t know Istredd that well, but Istredd happily admits he came to Cintra in search of Yennefer, hoping she’d seek refuge there. Geralt is surprised to learn that Yennefer is still alive.

Valley of the Soul

At Kaer Morhen, Ciri continues her physical training. Triss and Vesemir discuss the Elder Blood discovery. Triss is adamant that they won’t do anything unless Ciri agrees to it, she’s a girl, not a tool.

Ciri is somewhat somber about Geralt not bringing her with him to Cintra. Vesemir takes their time alone to begin his pitch about her blood. He starts by telling her about the Conjunction of the Spheres, how it was more than just humans, dwarves, and elves, but monsters were involved, too. Mages weaponized monsters, and then they weaponized men to create the first witchers, who would save humanity from extinction by destroying the beasts.

But when Kaer Morhen was originally destroyed, so was the witcher mutagen. Now they have a chance to make more. Ciri agrees to help and give him a vial of her blood, but only if Vesemir agrees to give it to her first. Vesemir is reluctant since many die during the witcher trials, but she ultimately convinces him to agree to her terms.

With her permission, Vesemir and Triss take some of Ciri’s blood. Vesemir tells Triss that Ciri plans to be the first. Triss is not happy about that and tells Ciri her thoughts on it in no uncertain terms. Ciri hopes that by becoming a witcher, she can help find a new truth and learn more about her origins. Triss offers a different way, a ritual known as Dol Durza, or the Valley of the Soul, which allows Triss to pierce the deepest layer of Ciri’s consciousness, and not just her, but her mother and grandmother’s, too.

In the Dol Durza, Triss notices that something is off. Ciri’s mother, Pavetta (Gaia Mondadori), appears to be able to see Ciri and speak to her, which isn’t how it’s supposed to work. Ciri and Triss walk into a room where Ciri’s parents, Duny (Bart Edwards) and Pavetta, argue about her well-being. Duny is concerned Ciri will be killed when people learn of the “prophecy.” They plan to leave on a boat that night. Ciri realizes this was the night they died. Pavetta suddenly sees Ciri again. Triss yanks her out of the room. Ciri follows the ominous whispering of a woman down the hall.

Ciri and Tress find a woman in a meadow holding a child. She’s dying, and Triss tries to heal her, but the woman suddenly starts choking Triss and calling out to Ciri, reciting a creepy prophecy, saying, “Child of Elder Blood, child of wrath, the time of contempt is nigh, the world will die amidst frost and reborn of the new sun, reborn of Elder Blood, of the seed that has been sewn, a seed that will not spread, but will burst into flame.”

I’m assuming that’s the prophecy Duny mentioned. Then the Wild Hunt rides in from the skies and Ciri cries out for Geralt. Her scream can be heard throughout the keep, cracking the tree of witcher medallions and even all the way in Cintra. Geralt hears her just as all the stellacite surrounding them starts shooting shards everywhere.

Triss is absolutely terrified of Ciri when they emerge from the Dol Durza. She believes Ciri will be the end of them all. Unfortunately for Geralt and Istredd, Ciri’s latest scream summoned yet another monster, some kind of giant dragon-like thing called a chernobog, and into the world. Geralt demands that Istredd open a portal ASAP.

Whatever Triss’ intentions were with the Dol Durza, it has the opposite effect. Ciri immediately goes to Vesemir and tells him to inject her with the mutagen. Geralt arrives back just in time to put a stop to the whole thing. Geralt tells her she doesn’t need to do this, she’s already more than enough. She’s extraordinary. Awe, Geralt, such a sweet moment.

But Ciri wants to be like him, indifferent to the past and the things she’s done. “That is not how it works. Neither you nor I can just forget who we are. We can’t kill our feelings. Our best chance is to kill the hatred that we may hold onto and move on.”

Back in his study, Istredd starts digging through Calanthe’s genealogy, wondering if she and the Cintran family were protecting the monolith and its secrets this whole time.

A seed that bursts into flame

Even though Yennefer is currently in captivity in Oxenfurt, Cahir does make it to Cintra, waking up from an eerie dream just in time to see the boat pull into the harbor. Fringilla and Francesca appear to be getting along very well. They consider each other partners now and Francesca is eager to introduce her people to their liberator.

There’s a bit of kerfuffle near the gateway when Cahir tries to get inside, but Fringilla steps forward and vouches for him, welcoming him home.

In restraints, Yennefer hears the Deathless Mother speaking to her once more. She taunts Yennefer, telling her how Francesca and Fringilla are thriving. If Yennefer wants her magic back, she needs to say the words, so Yennefer does, and a portal opens, whisking her away to the Deathless Mother’s (Ania Marson) hut. Jaskier watches all of this happen from outside a window and is caught by the guards.

She tells Yennefer that if she wants to get her magic back, then she’ll have to capture Ciri and deliver her to a shattered black door just outside Cintra.

The Witcher season 2, episode 6 recap: Dear Friend

In pursuit of Ciri, the chernobog has resurfaced near the Temple of Melitele. It swoops down on Ciri and Geralt, fatally wounding poor Roach in the process. Ciri and Geralt remain with Roach in her final moments, until Geralt swiftly kills her to end her suffering.

Working together, Geralt and Ciri kill the creature by using Ciri as bait, though she later comments to Geralt that she doesn’t actually think the chernobog was trying to harm her. That makes Geralt uneasy.

At Kaer Morhen, Vesemir is upset with himself in the aftermath of almost giving Ciri the witcher mutagen. Triss offers some words of comfort, but they’re interrupted by the fire-using mage Rience who attacks them and steals the vial of witcher mutagen containing Ciri’s Elder Blood.

Once he has the witcher mutagen in his possession, Rience returns to meet with Lydia. He won’t just hand it over without the opportunity to meet Lydia’s employer. Lydia gives him a new mission in the interim, to invade Melitele for Ciri.

Geralt and Ciri arrive at Melitele’s Temple to meet Geralt’s former advisor, Nenneke (Adjoa Andoh). Young witchers used to attend the temple to learn how to perform signs, and now Geralt hopes Ciri can learn from Nenneke and others how to control her Chaos. Nenneke introduces Ciri to one of her best students, Jarre (Joseph Payne), to assist Ciri in her journey.

While Ciri chats with Jarre, Nenneke pulls Geralt aside so they can discuss his current predicament. Nenneke is concerned for Geralt and believes that everyone is going to be coming for Ciri. That’s the understatement of the year. Countless people have died in pursuit of Ciri already, and it will only get worse. She thinks Ciri is a Child of Destiny and Geralt will need to find balance to help her.

Jarre gives Ciri an Orbuculum, which is a tool that senses magic, though Jarre doesn’t really know what it’s for. Yennefer has arrived at Melitele in search of Ciri. She follows her in secret and then finds herself face-to-face with Geralt.

The two share a kiss, but are interrupted by Ciri. Geralt introduces them to one another, and that night they share a nice meal together. It’s so sweet to see Ciri, Yennefer, and Geralt together, a hint of what’s to come. Yennefer tells Ciri about her love of unicorns (and how she even had a stuffed one, until it broke). Ciri mentions that she once had a dream featuring Yennefer, a powerful omen.

Once Ciri has gone to bed, Geralt and Yennefer are left alone again. Geralt has noticed that Yennefer’s heart hasn’t stopped beating fast the entire time she’s been there. We know Yennefer is intending to betray Ciri and Geralt, but she covers it up by claiming she’s just got some old wounds that won’t heal.

Rience and his crew invade Melitele that night, injuring Jarre and wreaking havoc in the sacred place. Ciri finds Jarre’s unconscious body and immediately goes looking for Geralt, but Rience gets to her first, trapping her in a circle of fire. Geralt manages to hold off the assailants while telling Yennefer to take Ciri into another room. There, Yennefer teaches Ciri how to create a portal to get them out of Melitele. Ciri manages to make her first portal, and they escape just as Geralt enters the room. He watches as they disappear onto the other side and Geralt asks Yennefer to stop. She tells him she can’t.

Miracle child

Things have changed at Cintra since Cahir’s return. Fringilla and Francesca have become quite close. Francesca believes Fringilla needs to stand up to Cahir because he’s no longer the one in power. Fringilla is the one who negotiated the refuge for the elves, and she’s the one Francesca’s people look to as a leader.

Speak of the devil, Cahir shows up to interrupt their conversation. He tells Fringilla that he believes she is still dedicated to the White Flame’s mission and he understands why she allied with the elves. One must make difficult decisions during times of war. However, now that he’s back, he believes they need to refocus on Emhyr’s primary goal, the whole reason they took Cintra in the first place—to find Ciri.

Fringilla and Francesca might have conflicted feelings about Cahir’s return, but General Hake (Antony Byrne) is very pleased he’s back. Hake is dismissive of Fringilla’s goals and the elves. He wants Cahir to set things right and get everyone back on track, aligned under their true purpose of serving the White Flame. To show off his strength, Cahir chooses to train with Dara and demonstrate how “real” soldiers fight.

Hake ends up throwing Dara to the ground, and Filavandrel draws his sword in retaliation. The ugly skirmish is interrupted by news that Francesca has gone into labor! She gives birth to a beautiful, pure-blooded elf child. Fringilla is pleased to inform all the elves of this, and it’s clearly a significant event for their race.

And speaking of Dara, since relocating to Cintra he has learned what Nilfgaard wants, which is to find Ciri. He tells this to Dijkstra via his owl.

Later, Fringilla and Cahir look on as the elves celebrate the birth of the child. Cahir notes that  Fringilla helped make all of this possible, but he wonders what will become of the alliance when the elves are self-reliant and no longer need Nilfgaard. He informs Fringilla that Emhyr has written and the White Flame is set to arrive in Cintra soon.

A generational weapon

Elsewhere, Istredd visits the detective agency Codringher and Fenn to learn more about the connection between the monoliths and the mysterious girl with Geralt. It’s not cheap to get that kind of information, so once Istredd forks over the coin, Ellis Codringher (Simon Callow), and Fenn (Liz Carr) inform Istredd that the girl in question is Ciri, the princess of Cintra.

Upon further investigation, the trio uncovers an old scroll revealing that Calanthe had kept her elven bloodline hidden all these years because she knew that something dangerous and powerful lurked within, a generational weapon that goes back to the warrior Lara Dorren.

After everything that happened at Kaer Morhen, Triss returns to Aretuza to warn Tissaia about Ciri and the fact she could lead to the destruction of their world.

The Witcher season 2, episode 7 recap: Voleth Meir

Melitele is a mess in the aftermath of Rience’s invasion. Nenneke thinks Geralt is overreacting in his haste to track down Ciri, but he doesn’t trust Yennefer right now and can’t be sure she won’t bring harm to Ciri. He asks her to open a portal for him.

Ciri’s portal takes Yennefer and Ciri to Zola’s house. Unfortunately, there are no signs of life in the vicinity. Ciri remembers it was at Zola’s she first had her dream about Yennefer and met Geralt. That’s why the portal took them there. In the wake of the attack, Ciri is distraught and concerned for Geralt. Yennefer convinces her that they should go to Nilfgaard’s nearest port, Cintra, as that would be the most likely place they would take Geralt if they captured him. Little does Ciri know, Yennefer intends to betray her and bring her straight to Voleth Meir.

Recalling what Yennefer told him about Jaskier, Geralt tracks him down and breaks him out of his cell in need of assistance from the bard to track down Yennefer and Ciri, who are continuing their trek to Cintra. The two women get to discussing Geralt and Ciri reveals she sees him as the father she never had. Ciri can tell that Yennefer still loves him, too.

Jaskier and Geralt stop at a lake so Jaskier can wash up. He tells Geralt what happened in Oxenfurt, specifically that Yennefer saved his life and lost her magic. Jaskier also tells Geralt about how he saw Yennefer magically disappear and the incantation she recited. Geralt recognizes the incantation and realizes that Yennefer is in league with Voleth Meir, possibly intending to sacrifice Ciri to get her magic back.

They’re interrupted by the arrival of the dwarven warrior Yarpen Zigrin (Jeremy Crawford), the dwarf who we met in season 1 when they were hunting dragons. Yarpen gives Geralt a horse.

Ciri and Yennefer reach a broken bridge. There doesn’t appear to be a way to cross, but they don’t have a choice. Yennefer decides now is the time for a second lesson in using Chaos and helps Ciri raise the bridge to fix things. But Ciri can’t quite keep everything under control and strains herself too much, to the point that blood pours from her eyes. Yennefer tells her to stop, but Ciri screams in frustration, causing her power to manifest and portal them both across the river.

Once they arrive near the shattered black door, things start to fall into place for Ciri as Yennefer’s betrayal is revealed. But by this time, Yennefer has realized just how important and special Ciri is, so she no longer wants to hand her over to Voleth Meir. But it’s too late, Ciri knows what Yennefer did and her magic manifests in a massive ripple that causes destruction at the walls of Cintra.

The guards rush out to attack them both, and they do their best to defend themselves. Luckily, Geralt, Jaskier, and Yarpen’s crew arrive in time to save them, defeating the Nilfgaardian soldiers and rescuing Ciri. But things turn ugly when Geralt and Yennefer come face-to-face again. He pulls his sword on her, telling Yarpen and Jaskeir to get Ciri back to Kaer Morhen. Geralt intends to stay behind and force Yennefer to assist him in killing Voleth Meir. She utters the incantation to deliver them both to her hut.

However, when they arrive, the Deathless Mother is gone. Geralt realizes she might have had her fill of pain and desperation, which would have given her new life. Freed, the demon flies through the forest to Ciri and takes possession of her.

A lesser light

In Aretuza, Tissaia and Vilgefortz are enjoying some post-coital bliss when Tissaia informs Vilgefortz that they have a surprise guest: Dijkstra. Tissaia suspects that Redania is up to something.

Dijkstra arrives to bring news of the baby born to an elven mage to the Brotherhood of Sorcerers. As expected, Stregobor is immediately pissed and believes the elf is a serious threat. Tissaia thinks they’re being ridiculous, as a baby is hardly a threat to them. The men believe the child could grow to become a serious threat years from now and the start of the elves creating countless threats as they extend their lineage.

Attempting to throw Tissaia off her game, Dijkstra makes a snarky comment about how he knows Triss, King Foltest’s mage, is at Aretuza, suggesting Tissaia might have sympathies with the Northern Kingdoms. But Tissaia throws it right back in Dijkstra’s face, reminding him she knows full well he’s working alongside King Vizimir.

Tissaia tells Triss she recalls seeing Ciri with Geralt at Sodden. They were looking for Yennefer, believing her to be dead at the time. Triss says no one knows about what she saw in the Dol Durza besides the other witchers and Tissaia, but Tissaia told Vilgefortz, and he comes marching in demanding she tells him everything. Triss feels betrayed by Tissaia. Vilegefortz doesn’t think they have time to dilly-dally because Ciri could end the war for them all unless she falls into the wrong hands.

Unbreakable bond of blood

Tensions are growing in Cintra as Emhyr’s arrival grows closer. Cahir and Hake are frustrated with the elves, as they refuse to fall in line exactly how they want them to, and many didn’t show up to that morning’s training. If Fringilla cannot get things under control, then Cahir will do things his way, which can only end badly. Hake is already going off the rails, believing that a Redanian spy has infiltrated his ranks. While we know he’s right (Dara), he’s going about it like a madman, hanging people over the side of the castle walls if he suspects them of anything.

Filavandrel and Francesca are basking in their bedroom with their newborn baby when Fringilla walks into the room. She tells them they need to get back on track and fight with them, but Filavandrel has no interest in fighting for Nilfgaard. They would rather focus on reviving their numbers than fighting someone else’s war. The arrival of the baby has changed things, putting Fringilla and Francesca’s partnership at risk.

Rience presses Lydia to let him meet her employers. She continues dodging, claiming he didn’t fulfill his deal since he failed to capture Ciri. Rience is beginning to doubt Lydia has as much sway as she claims. Hoping to meet her master, Rience allows her to test the vial he found at Kaer Morhen. Unaware that they mixed Ciri’s blood into a witcher mutagen, Lydia is horribly disfigured when she tries testing it.

Fringilla portals to Aretuza to speak with her uncle, Artorius. She tells him she might need to leave Nilfgaard due to the changing circumstances with the elves. Artorius realizes that Tissaia was right, the birth of the elf has helped their cause since it weakened Nilfgaard’s forces. He questions if Fringilla knows anything about why Triss suddenly returned. Artorius says if she wants to return, she’ll need to plead her case to the brotherhood for a chance of forgiveness.

Back at Cintra, Hake is telling Cahir his plans to overthrow Fringilla and remove her. Cahir isn’t as concerned about Fringilla, he just wants everyone to get realigned so they can focus on their real goal of hunting down Ciri. Suddenly, everyone at the table freezes, and Fringilla enters the room, revealing she paralyzed them all with nightshade. She systematically murders every general at the table, leaving only Cahir alive so he, as Emhyr’s most trusted advisor, can tell the White Flame that they were killed for treachery.

Seeing the newborn elven baby has given Dara a change of heart. He tells Dijkstra’s owl that he doesn’t care about Dijkstra, Ciri, or Redania anymore. He wants to focus on his people. Surprisingly, Dijkstra isn’t all that concerned about the loss of their spy because Redania is still in a pretty good spot for the moment. He and King Vizimir discuss their options, which, like everyone else in this show, is the desire to find Ciri.

Late that night, tragedy strikes at Cintra as assailants come in the night, murdering Francesca’s baby.

The Witcher season 2, episode 8 recap: Family

The real Ciri is trapped inside a dream of sorts, transported back to her days as a princess at Cintra when Mousesack and Calanthe were still alive. Here, things are as normal as they can be, a banquet is ongoing, and Mousesack informs Ciri she needs to get a move on to prepare for a night of dancing and her royal duties.

In reality, Yennefer and Geralt have returned to Kaer Morhen. Geralt is pissed at Yennefer, but they’re more or less working together to defeat Voleth Meir and keep Ciri safe, at least for now. Yennefer tells Geralt she now understands why Ciri is so special, that being around her makes her feel the same spark she once did when she had Chaos.

Things are worse than they can imagine inside the keep. A possessed Ciri has started killing off the witchers one by one. Geralt arrives just before she can kill Vesemir and Voleth Meir tries to fool him, but he sees through her bluster. Voleth Meir attacks Geralt and runs off. Vesemir drinks an elixir and tells the others to prepare for a battle. He intends to kill Ciri until Geralt stops him. Geralt pleads with Vesemir to give Ciri a fighting chance. If Geralt can convince Voleth Meir to leave Ciri’s body, then they can trap and kill her.

Yennefer wakes Jaskier for his assistance in creating a potion to remove Voleth Meir from Ciri’s body without killing Ciri in the process. She instructs Jaskier to give Geralt jasper, which can provide balance, while she concocts her potion.

Geralt finds Voleth Meir in the front hall and asks what it will take for her to give up Ciri. Then she screams, cracking the giant medallion tree and revealing a monolith inside. Voleth Meir summons two basilisks from another sphere. The witchers fight them while Geralt and Vesemir try to contain the demon. As they fight, Geralt tries to get through to the real Ciri inside, who is still trapped inside her dream world, dancing and partying with her loved ones.

Vesemir goes into a rage and tries to kill Ciri, but Geralt defends her while still attempting to call out to Ciri in her dream. From within, Ciri can hear Geralt, and the world around her starts to shatter, Mousesack turns into a monster and then back into himself. But just as Ciri begins noticing something is off in this dream, her parents, Duny and Pavetta, arrive.

At Kaer Morhen, Voleth Meir makes things more complicated by summoning yet another basilisk, this one even larger and more ferocious than the other two. While Geralt fights it, Vesemir tries killing Ciri again, stabbing her in the stomach. Geralt notices the jasper on the ground, dropped by Jaskier and he realizes that Voleth Meir is growing stronger because she’s feeding off of their hatred and pain. Once again, he tries to reach the real Ciri. They all call out to Ciri, including Vesemir and the other witchers.

But it’s not working because Voleth Meir needs a vessel to exist in this sphere and her hut has burned. Realizing this, Yennefer sacrifices herself by slitting her wrists and allowing Voleth Meir to enter her and become the new vessel.

This time, when Geralt reaches out to Ciri, she is able to return to the real world. The new plan is for Ciri to send Voleth Meir, who is now possessing Yennefer, through the monolith and into another sphere. Ciri, Geralt, and Yennefer are all pulled through the monolith where they come face-to-face with the Wild Hunt. Voleth Meir leaves Yennefer to join them, and Ciri returns them all to Kaer Morhen in the nick of time. Geralt tells Ciri they’re safe, for now, thanks to her.

What has been, need not always be

Dara tells Filavandrel and Francesca everything he knows about Redania and Dijkstra’s plans. They think their daughter was targeted specifically because they allied with Nilfgaard. Francesca believes it doesn’t matter what they do, at the end of the day, their hatred toward elves is what made them act. She doesn’t blame Dara for what he did trying to save himself.

With Francesca and the elves intending to storm Redania to take revenge for their slain child, Cahir takes Fringilla aside and suggests they form a plan of what to tell Emhyr. He suggests lying to the emperor and claiming they killed Francesca’s child but staged it to frame Redania for it to strengthen their alliance with the elves against the Northern Kingdoms. It will make Fringilla look like a truly formidable leader.

In Redania, Francesca leads the charge, slaughtering all of the Redanian infants in the village with her magic.

Somehow, the trip to another sphere has given Yennefer her magic back, so she heals all of the wounded witchers. Geralt tells Vesemir that he and Ciri have to go. She’s marked for something, and everyone is coming for her.

He’s not wrong, at Aretuza, Tissaia tells the brotherhood that Dijkstra is after Ciri because it will give him the rightful claim to Cintra, they intend to put a bounty on the girl and anyone who protects her. That will soon pit Tissaia and Yennefer against one another.

Rience and Lydia speak to their master, intending to go after Cintra. And Istredd is captured by the elves. He tells them that Ciri is Hen Ikeir, meaning Elder Blood, meaning one of the elves, albeit different. Francesca realizes that Ciri is the one Ithlinne prophesized. Add another group of people after Ciri!

And Dijkstra’s owl, aka the sorceress Philippa (Cassie Clare), overhears the entire incident. She finally transforms into her human form and tells Dijkstra that word is officially out about Ciri. Dijkstra instructs her to bring him Jaskier since it’s about time he paid back his benefactor. It looks like Dijkstra is the anonymous benefactor Jaskier had been referring to.

At Kaer Morhen, Geralt tells Yennefer that while he doesn’t forgive her, he wants her to come with them to help train Ciri because Yennefer is the only one who has been able to successfully help her. Ciri is the “something more” that will keep Yennefer and Geralt destined to be together. Geralt tells Ciri that the monoliths might be gateways to other spheres and her scream may have woken Voleth Meir. She knew Ciri would be her key to returning home. But Geralt wonders how Nilfgaard knew what Ciri was and what she was capable of before anyone else.

Well, the answer to that is soon revealed. The White Flame finally arrives in Cintra, and he’s pissed at Cahir and Fringilla, who he deems utter failures. It was Emhyr who ordered the death of Francesca’s child, to set a plan in motion that would help him find Ciri, his daughter. Yes, as fans of the books know, Emhyr is actually Duny! He orders Cahir and Fringilla to be taken away.