Soon The Witcher Season 2 will soon be airing on the Netflix streaming channel. Season 2 will continue the adventure story of Geralt of Rivia (Henry Cavill), Yennefer of Vengerberg (Anya Chalotra), and Princess Cirila (Freya Allan) who were previously very bloody in Season 1. Kaer Morhen to protect her, while Yennefer is seen being held captive by the Nilfgaardian for reasons that are still mysterious.
Before watching The Witcher Season 2, there are several important moments in Season 1 that have a correlation with the continuation of the story of Geralt, Yennefer, and Ciri. At what point they will start their adventures, and what will happen in Season 2 later, everything relates to their story in The Witcher Season 1. To find out more what these important moments are. The following is a recap of The Witcher Season 1 series which was released in 2019!
Geralt of Rivia’s Motivation
As a Witcher, Geralt is a mutant who can drink a variety of potions to help him fight monsters, as well as sometimes evil humans. Basically Witchers like Geralt are hated by normal humans on the Continent, the reason is simple, because Witchers are “different” like Elves and Witches. Racism is an issue that is often raised in the story of The Witcher . However, when a monster annoys humans, they shamelessly kneel down to Geralt begging for his help, as he is one of the most famous Witchers on the Continent.
Geralt who knows and feels that humans and monsters are no different, always agrees to help humans, as long as they pay the appropriate “coins”. Yes, Geralt does every monster and sometimes human hunt, just for the sake of gold coins. And almost all Witchers have the same motivation as Geralt. But everything starts to change, when Geralt meets Yennefer whom he loves so much, and Ciri who he desperately wants to protect. For the first time, Geralt begins to find a path in his life that has absolutely nothing to do with coins.
Continental Politics
Besides monsters, humans were a dangerous threat to Geralt, Yennefer, and Ciri. This is because humans are greedy creatures who will do anything to get what they want, sadly, they do this without the slightest sense of guilt. One form of human greed in The Witcher series can be seen in politics on the Continent. In Season 1, there are two great kingdoms that have been told, the first is the Nilfgaard Empire and the second is the Northern Kingdom.
The main political conflict in Season 1 takes place between the Nilfgaard Empire and the Northern Kingdom. Nilfgaardian is said to have begun to enlarge his power by attacking several kingdoms that were part of the Northern Kingdom. In the war that occurred, both sides often did everything they could to achieve victory. They didn’t care how many civilians were victims, they also often killed Elves and Magicians who were “considered” blocking the way, at least for their personal gain.
Yennefer and Aretuza Magic Academy
On the Continent, there is one wizard academy called Aretuza. The magicians of Aretuza are famous for being able to cast powerful magic such as manipulating fire and manipulating the enemy’s mind. One of the strongest magicians from Aretuza is Yennefer of Vengeberg who initially has an ugly appearance. Yennefer’s early appearance depressed her deeply and even made her want to commit suicide. In the end in Aretuza, Yennefer agrees to change her body in very painful ways, including removing her uterus.
After becoming a beauty, Yennefer’s exam is still not over. As a magician, he also has to go through a series of tests, and the last one is Aretuza’s graduation exam which can turn a would-be magician into an electric eel if he fails. Fortunately, Yennefer was included in Aretuza’s successful wizards, along with Triss Merrigold and Fringilla. When the war on the Continent heats up, the Aretuza wizards are then hired by each kingdom which forces them to be loyal, but on the other hand, the Aretuza wizards must swear to remain neutral.
Geralt “Break Up” with Jaskier
Geralt and Jaskier’s initial meeting in Season 1 takes place at a bar when Jaskier asks Geralt for his opinion on his singing. Jaskier’s song lyrics are about the monsters that exist on the Continent, as Witcher of course Geralt tells Jaskier that most of the monsters he sings don’t exist. Jaskier, knowing that Geralt is a Witcher, decides to “forcefully” join Geralt so he can write real lyrics based on Geralt’s adventures.
Although at first he refused, in the end Geralt agreed after Jaskier helped him find a job to kill monsters for coins. Since then they have gone through many adventures together, starting from hunting wheat stealing monsters, fighting with elves, having problems with djinn, and finally hunting dragons with Yennefer. However, in the hunt for the dragon Geralt begins to blame Jaskier for all the bad things that happened to him, including when he was abandoned by Yennefer. Geralt then shooed him away.
At this heartwarming farewell, Geralt tells Jaskier that if he were given one wish, he would ask not to see Jaskier again. Jaskier, whose heart was broken, then left and was never seen again. Interestingly, in Season 2 later, Geralt and Jaskier will have a reunion, where Jaskier is seen with his new appearance with longer and stronger hair. But keep in mind also, basically Jaskier is still a singer, so it’s possible that in Season 2 later he will continue to support Geralt from behind, by hiding.
Cintra Traits and Battles
One of the biggest battles in The Witcher Season 1 is the war between the Cintra Kingdom which was attacked by Nilfgaard. Although Queen Calanthe strongly believed in the strength of her kingdom and her troops, in the end Nilfgaard managed to break into the kingdom and kill the Cintra Royal family one by one. As the sole successor of the Cintra Kingdom, Ciri is shown to have managed to escape the Nilfgaardian pursuit.
His own characteristic is the child of Princess Pavetta and a human hedgehog named Duny. At first Queen Calanthe did not agree with Pavetta and Duny’s relationship, and ordered her guards to kill Duny, before finally Geralt intervened and dared to guarantee their relationship. This makes Geralt indirectly have a destiny relationship with Ciri. At the end of Ciri’s story, it is revealed that she has some kind of powerful magic power which is very mysterious. At the end of Season 1, Geralt finally meets Ciri who manages to escape the evil Nilfgaardian pursuit.
Yennefer’s Disappearance at the Battle of Sodden Hills
Most of the events in Season 1 depict the Nifgaard Empire as antagonists in The Witcher series. After the Cintra Kingdom collapsed, the various kingdoms in the Northern Kingdom began to work together to fight against Nilfgaard, they were the Kingdoms of Temeria, Kaedwen, Redania, and Aedirn. One of the efforts of these various kingdoms was to hire many wizards, including Yennefer.
Unfortunately, Nifgaard also has a powerful magician, Fringilla, which causes the royal coalition to almost lose. However, at the last moment, Yennefer goes on a rampage to save the people she cares about. Yennefer cast a powerful fire magic, burning all of Nilfgaard’s troops and weapons. As payment for the victory of the Northern Kingdom’s royal coalition, Yennefer mysteriously disappeared because he had issued a very powerful power.
Those are the important moments in The Witcher Season 1 series that you must remember if you want to enjoy Season 2 later. These events will be the bridge that will connect the story in The Witcher Season 2 which will discuss the adventures of Geralt and Ciri to Kaer Morhen, as well as the reappearance of Yennefer who was immediately captured by the Niflgaardian troops who would take her to the Nifgaard Empire. The Witcher Season 2 itself is scheduled to premiere, on December 17, 2021.