The Witcher season 2 arrives on Netflix on December 17 – here’s our spoiler-free review of its first six episodes.
There’s something oddly comforting about The Witcher season 2 being released during the festive season. Maybe it’s the fact that the live-action fantasy show’s next instalment arrives almost two years to the day after the series first launched on Netflix. Or maybe it’s because we visit snow-capped mountains and icy-cold locations as part of this season, which is in keeping with the wintry time of year. Perhaps, though, it’s due to TV fans wanting a top-quality show, which is equally compelling and entertaining, to enjoy during the winter months – in the Northern hemisphere, at least. And boy, does The Witcher season 2 fit the bill. Not only does it supersede what came before, but the second entry in Netflix’s adaptation of Andrzej Sapkowski’s literary works is a spellbinding sequel that delivers a magical, action-packed drama that’ll delight and surprise fans. Picking up straight after the season 1 finale, which saw Geralt (Henry Cavill) and Ciri (Freya Allen) finally meet, season 2 opens with the duo searching for Yennefer (Anya Chalotra) in the aftermath of the Battle of Sodden Hill. After Geralt finds out that his former flame has supposedly perished, he takes Ciri to the safest place he knows – Kaer Morhen, his childhood home and training ground for all Witchers. And with good reason. As the Continent’s humans, elves, mages and monsters fight for supremacy beyond Kaer Morhen’s walls, Geralt doesn’t just strive to keep Ciri safe from these outside forces: he also tries to protect her from own mysterious powers, which have the potential to destroy the world if Ciri doesn’t learn to control them. It’s this father-daughter style relationship that The Witcher season 2 is largely built upon. Fans have waited long enough to see Geralt and Ciri cross paths in the show – the duo weren’t united until season 1’s final scene – so it’s not a surprise that the pair share plenty of scenes this time around. And the wait has been worth it. Geralt and Ciri’s burgeoning relationship is one born out of their polar opposite natures; Geralt’s stoicism complementing Ciri’s fragility, while her humanity pushes back against his cold, at-times feral disposition. It’s these contradictory forces that make the pair’s interactions highly enjoyable to watch. Though she often agrees to follow Geralt’s rules, Ciri also challenges her elderly protector over his stubborn ‘safety first’ and ‘kill at all costs’ policies. Such verbal confrontations bring a pleasing undercurrent of tension to their embryonic bond and place Geralt in an unusual position, too. He’s still the archetypal anti-hero that Witcher fans adore but, with Ciri occasionally questioning his motives, he’s forced to reckon with his methods and deeply entrenched worldview. This soul searching makes Geralt a more complete, multidimensional character than the one we saw in season 1: yes, Ciri learns plenty from her more experienced bodyguard, but it’s arguably Cintra’s exiled princess who teaches Geralt to be more than the ‘butcher’ that he’s known as. That isn’t to say there aren’t other hugely important and unusual character exchanges in season 2. We’re introduced to Geralt’s mentor Vesemir (Kim Bodnia) and his Witcher brethren when Geralt returns to Kaer Morhen. Instantaneously, the arrival of a female – women can’t be Witchers – leads to a straining of relations between Geralt and his surrogate brothers, leading to numerous instances where Ciri must prove her worth to her now-adoptive family.
