I love awesome fantasy shows, and one of those that I adore with all my heart is The Witcher. While there is much to love about the worlds that fantastic fantasy movies create, like Harry Potter or Lord of the Rings, there’s just something about fantasy novels turned into TV shows that get me excited, and The Witcher has been doing that for some time.
From its first season, there have been some fantastic scenes, from Jaskier’s best moments to awesome magic from Yennefer, but my personal favorites are always the fight scenes, featuring the legend himself, Geralt of Rivia. Every episode always features pretty intense fights, whether it be against humans or monsters. Today, we are going to go through six of the most intense fight scenes from the first two seasons of The Witcher.
And, obviously, a big spoiler alert for those who still haven’t finished the show yet.
Geralt Vs. Renfri (And Her Men) (Season 1, “The End’s Beginning”)
It’s how he got the nickname “The Butcher of Blaviken,” isn’t it? In Season 1 of The Witcher, in the very first episode, we see the story between Geralt and Renfri, a former princess who was hunting down Stregobor, who believed her to be evil. However, Geralt soon realizes that if he leaves, Renfri will not stop until Stregobor is dead. So he takes on her men, and then her.
I can’t tell you how many times I’ve rewatched this scene on YouTube. It’s one of my favorite scenes, not only of the fights, but of the whole series for how brutal Geralt gets. He really does slaughter everyone from the very beginning, and his fight with Renfri almost seems less intimidating because of it, but it just shows how skillful he is to be able to take on that many men as well their leader. It's even more fun to see Henry Cavill break down the scene shot by shot.
Geralt Vs. The Bruxa (Season 2, “A Grain Of Truth”)
The opening story of Season 2 of The Witcher, “A Grain of Truth,” featured Ciri and Geralt taking shelter at the home of Nivellen, who was an old friend of Geralt’s. He soon realizes that a beast called a Bruxa (which is basically a vampire) is residing in Nivellen’s house, and when he sees the monster drinking his friend’s blood, he goes to kill it.
The fight sequence that occurs after is truly terrifying. Not only is the Bruxa scary as hell with its bending body and rows and rows of teeth that look like they could shred you to bits, but seeing it get so close to Ciri is intense as heck.
Geralt Vs. The Striga (Season 1, “Betrayer Moons”)
In Season 1 of The Witcher, in the episode, “Betrayer Moons,” Geralt investigates a monster called a Striga, a creature that is born from a curse. This whole sequence of him hunting it down is tense from beginning to end. Using Ostrit, a courtier, as bait, he fights this monster until his very last breath, trying his hardest to subdue it until dawn, which will lift the curse.
What makes this even more intense is that the Striga almost kills Geralt several times. We’ve seen him easily strike through foes without a second thought, and even kill monsters very easily, but we see him pretty close to his death here and the thought of that alone is so scary.
The Banquet Brawl (Season 1, “Of Banquets, Bastards And Burials”)
This whole scene was just fantastically done from start to finish. As someone who was looking forward to the potential spinoffs that could spring from The Witcher, this episode gave me so many ideas as to who those could follow, mainly because of the awesome banquet scene in "Of Banquets, Bastards and Burials" in Season 1. Geralt and Jaskier go to the betrothal feast of Princess Pavetta, and there, chaos begins to break out when Calanthe (Pavetta’s mother) refuses to let her daughter marry someone she does not approve of, and a battle ensues.
Geralt fights for Duny (who was the man who wanted to marry Pavetta), trying to protect him, but even without Geralt at the very start, this scene in general is just so well-done. From the moment the fight begins, to when Geralt joins in, to when he and Calanthe almost fight, it’s a non-stop sequence of brilliantly choreographed movements that make the fight that much more enjoyable and enthralling. I could re-watch something like this over and over.
Geralt Vs. Rience (Season 2, “Dear Friend”)
Okay, let’s not talk about that heartbreaking death in this episode, as I will cry. Let’s instead talk about that sick fight between Geralt and Rience. Rience, a mage who has the power of fire sorcery and has been on the hunt for Ciri, finally catches up to her and Geralt in “Dear Friend,” the sixth episode of The Witcher Season 2.
Geralt sends Ciri and Yennefer to try and get to safety while Geralt easily takes out all of Rience’s men, barely without a sweat, just before he nearly kills Rience with his sword before the fire mage teleports away once he realizes he can’t get to Ciri and Yennefer. While their one-on-one doesn't last for a long time, I love that Geralt just slices through all of his men like butter. It just shows that if Rience didn’t have his magic, he’d really be nothing against Geralt's sick fighting skills. I’m going to need to see a rematch with these two in the upcoming The Witcher Season 3.
Geralt (And The Other Witchers) Vs. Ciri (Voleth Meir) (Season 2, “Family”)
Lastly, we take a look at the final fight in Season 2 of The Witcher, during the episode, “Family.” Ciri, who is now possessed by Voleth Meir (the Deathless Mother), the woman that Yennefer was working with to try and regain her chaos magic, is fighting against Geralt and the rest of his remaining Witcher buddies, constantly throwing beast after beast against them so that Geralt can’t get to Ciri, and Voleth Meir can fully use her body.
This fight is expertly done, from the moves to the magic to the visual effects used for the Basilisks they must fight, but what really makes this fight that much more enjoyable and tense is that it’s Ciri they’re fighting. While Voleth Meir is the one controlling her, Geralt has accepted full responsibility for Ciri and thinks of her as his daughter, and the idea of having to hurt Ciri is something he cannot accept, so he tries everything to try and get Voleth Meir out of the girl’s head without harming her.
It makes you wonder what he would have done if Ciri was completely gone, and how the show could have changed. But, with that Season 2 ending and Voleth Meir now being close to The Wild Hunt, I have a feeling this won’t be the last we’ll see of that witch. Poor Ciri - literally everyone is after her.
With Season 3 confirmed for The Witcher and plenty of fantasy storylines to come, I’m sure this list will only continue to expand. But, until that season comes out, I’ll stick to watching these amazing fight scenes on repeat, thanks.
