The Witcher season 3 recap guide: All 8 episodes explained

The Witcher season 3 episode 6 recap: Everybody Has a Plan ’til They Get…

The Witcher season 3 part 2 picks up right where we left off: Dijkstra holding Geralt at knifepoint, just as the Thanedd coup begins. Geralt’s life isn’t in danger, and considering he also wants Vilgefortz exposed, they’re working toward a common goal for now.

Dijkstra and the Redanian soldiers have rounded up most of the Brotherhood and any other mages standing in their way, binding them in dimeritium to prevent them from fighting back or escaping. Thankfully, Yennefer escaped through a secret entrance before they could take her. Vilgefortz and Artorius are among the captured mages, while Sabrina stands with Philippa and Dijkstra.

They summon Tissaia to plead their case and expose Vilgefortz, leaving her unbound as a show of respect. The Rednanians want to prove that he is in league with Nilfgaard, but Tissaia doesn’t believe them and unbinds all of the mages, leading to a deadly fight.

Hanging back near a window, Geralt notices thick magical fog creeping across the ocean, meaning someone is using magic to hide their approach by sea. Dijkstra assumes it’s the Northern armies he summoned for backup courtesy of Aplegatt’s message. But we know his messenger never made it, meaning the people arriving at Thanedd are not allies of Dijkstra and Philippa.

Realizing they’ve got serious trouble on the way, in addition to the magical fight raging around them, Geralt makes haste to find Ciri. Dijkstra makes the foolish mistake of trying to stop Geralt, suggesting Ciri has already been apprehended by the newly arriving Nilfgaardian army mixed with Scoia’tael fighters there to retrieve her. Geralt beats Dijkstra to a pulp, breaking several of his bones in the process.

In the tunnels beneath Aretuza, Yennefer runs into a pissed-off Lydia, who tries to kill her in the name of her master, Vilgefortz. Triss arrives just in time to save Yennefer, and they leave to find Tissaia.

Elsewhere on Thanedd island, Jaskier wakes up to find Radovid has slipped out to kidnap Ciri now that Yennefer’s magical wards have disappeared. Jaskier is disappointed but not all that surprised by Radovid’s actions. However, they’re both too late anyway. Ciri fled the cabin earlier after a disturbing dream showing both Geralt and Yennefer dead.

Ciri and Yennefer catch up outside the walls of Aretuza. They make haste for the ferry to get Ciri off the island. Rience catches up with them, trapping Ciri in a circle of fire. Thankfully, Geralt has already found them, and in a nifty trick, Yennefer tosses him her sword so he can decapitate the fire mage, finally! Geralt confirms with Yennefer that they were right about Vilgefortz. He’s at the center of everything.

Back at Aretuza, all hell has broken loose. After freeing the mages, Tissaia realizes she’s made a terrible mistake. Vilgefortz reveals himself as a traitor and opens the doors for the Nilfgaard and Scoia’tael army, led by Francesca, Cahir, Fringilla, and Filavandrel.

A vicious battle ensues between the defending mages and the Scoia’tael, who use dimeritium-tipped arrows to kill mages. Tissaia launches a deadly spell at Francesca, but Filavendrel jumps between them and takes the brunt, getting blown to smithereens and soaking his wife in his blood. Francesca is devastated and vulnerable to an attack from Artorius. Fringilla intervenes, murdering her uncle.

Fringilla then persuades Francesca to fight through her grief, so Francesca channels her magic, locks all the doors, sets the giant floating ring above Aretuza on fire, and drops it down on all the mages in a scene that could have been straight out of Carrie.

Sensing an incoming loss, Tissaia prepares to summon a spell of last resort called Alzur’s Thunder. On her way to the upper floors of Aretuza, Tissaia runs into Sabrina, Keira, and the other mages. They plead with Tissaia to let them fight despite being part of Dijkstra and Philippa’s coup. But technically, they were only doing it to expose Vilgefortz, not to hurt the mages. Tissaia lets them pass.

Triss and Istredd are also present, conferring over the Book of Monoliths. Istredd rushes to retrieve it but mistakenly walks right into Vilgefortz’s trap. Once Istredd has the book, Vilgefortz throws him and it through a portal together for safekeeping.

MORE: What happens to Istredd in The Witcher season 3?

Amid the skirmish, Fringilla and Cahir are briefly reunited. He’s surprised to see her still alive. They discuss Ciri, wondering if she’s even still on the island. Francesca tells them to leave Tissaia to her. She’s seeking revenge for Filavandrel’s death. But then Tissaia summons Alzur’s Thunder, turning the tower of Tor Lara into a massive lightning rod to rain down electricity on everyone below. Fringilla uses her magic shield to protect herself and Francesca.

From where she’s been reunited with Geralt and Ciri, Yennefer realizes what Tissaia is doing when she sees the darkening stormcloud above Aretuza. The effort of summoning such a powerful spell could kill her. Knowing how deeply Yennefer cares for Tissaia, Ciri convinces her to go to her before it’s too late. Yennefer says goodbye to her family, telling Ciri she loves her and will find her again.

She arrives at Aretuza just in time to face off against Francesca. However, before she has to do anything, Stregobor shows up, and he’s tapped into forbidden fire magic. He’s been itching for a chance to kill elves, so he tells Yennefer and the others to go, and he’ll buy them time.

Unable to move due to the injuries inflicted by Geralt, Dijkstra is taunted by another Brotherhood member, Artaud. Philippa makes quick work of the mage in her owl form before escorting Dijkstra out of Aretuza so they can portal away.

Before Ciri and Geralt can get to the water, they come face-to-face with Cahir. Ciri immediately attacks him, but it’s not a hard fight because Cahir surrenders to her. He apologizes for his part in sacking Cintra, pleading for her forgiveness and pledging his life to hers. Before Ciri can decide his fate, some elves arrive for her, so Cahir tells her and Geralt to run while he handles them. He promises to find her again.

Vilgefortz finds Geralt, and they have an epic battle that leaves Geralt broken and bloody. Vilgefortz gives him a brutal beatdown on the beach, breaking Geralt’s back and countless other bones. He intentionally leaves Geralt horribly injured but alive as his “lesson to the Continent.”

Once he’s dealt with Geralt, Vilgefortz turns his attention to Ciri, who has escaped into Tor Lara. While trying to outrun the mage, Ciri accesses a portal within the tower, but given its unstable nature, she has no control over where it will take her, and by using her magic on it, she causes the portal and the surrounding tower to explode. The force of the magical combustion blows Vilgefortz outside. He’s not dead, but if the show continues following the books, he might look more like Rience the next time we see him.

Across the island, Yennefer reaches Tissaia, whose hair has turned completely white from the magical exertion demanded by Alzur’s Thunder. Yennefer escorts her outside Aretuza alongside the other surviving mages, including most sorceresses we’ve met, like Margarita, Sabrina, and Keira.

On the beach, Triss finds Geralt’s broken body floating in the ocean. She pulls him out before he can drown, and everyone watches as Tor Lara collapses, unaware Ciri is the reason behind its downfall.