The Witcher Season 2 is nearly upon us, after almost a full two-year wait! While it’s very easy to be excited for what’s to come from this new leg of adventures with exiled princess Ciri, white-haired Witcher Geralt of Rivia, and powerful sorceress Yennefer of Vengerberg, it’s also, you know, been almost two whole years since we’ve seen these people. This means that, unless you’ve re-watched all of Season 1 in preparation for the upcoming set of episodes, you may have forgotten some important things about what happened and where we left everyone the first time around.
Not to worry, though! We have for you now a little guide to help you remember the main points of The Witcher Season 1, and what went on in the finale, so that you can pick up where you left off when Season 2 debuts on Netflix on December 17. Let’s dig in!
Ciri Has Powers She Doesn’t Understand!
One of our three storylines for The Witcher in Season 1 involved Princess Cirilla of Cintra having to flee her home once the kingdom was invaded by the Nilfgaardian army. They made quick work of killing everyone they could, and were desperate to find Ciri among the chaos.
Luckily for Ciri, she had an ace up her sleeve which allowed her to survive the entire season, even though she was captured a few times and had a very difficult journey as she tried to find Geralt and have him accept her as his Child of Surprise. That, of course, would be the special powers which have begun to emerge in her. Unfortunately, at the time we leave Ciri in the finale, she still doesn’t really know how to use those powers, isn’t fully in control of them, and probably hasn’t realized her full ability yet, which means she’s going to have her work cut out for her in Season 2.
All Timelines On The Witcher Have Now Converged!
Most fans only had one major complaint when it came to the first season of The Witcher, and that concerned the timeline of the show. We followed the three main characters in mostly separate adventures, and weren’t quite sure when all of the action was taking place. While I did a very thorough breakdown, earlier this year, of The Witcher’s timeline explained to help all the viewers (and, I’ll be honest, myself) figure out when the big events of Season 1 happened in the history of the Continent, there’s even more good news for people who were left feeling a bit confused, as everything will only move forward in time from here on out.
As of the last minutes of the Season 1 finale, all of the timelines have converged. This means that, unless there are obvious flashbacks, the stories of Geralt, Ciri, and Yenn will take place in what is the present day of the show (the year 1263, after the fall of Cintra). And, we know this not just because showrunner Lauren Schmidt Hissrich confirmed it, but because of the big event that happened at the end of the finale...
Geralt Finally Caught Up With Ciri!
He tried to refuse his destiny, you guys. He really, really did. But, Geralt was (eventually) fully on board the Child of Surprise train by a few episodes into The Witcher’s first season, and had begun looking for Ciri, who was on the run after the fall of Cintra.
While both had a tough time trying to find the other (Ciri’s grandmother, Queen Calanthe, had parting words for Ciri that told her to find Geralt), we saw them finally meet and embrace in the end. And, because this is destiny we’re talking about, they managed to make it to the area near the Battle of Sodden Hill at the same time, accidentally coming upon each other in the woods. This prepares us for Geralt taking on his surrogate dad duties, talking a lot more, and leading Ciri to his childhood home of Kaer Morhen so she can get trained up to fight real good.
Yennefer Risked Her Life At The Battle Of Sodden Hill!
Speaking of Sodden Hill. We absolutely can’t forget that that battle was pretty much a nightmare for the townspeople and sorcerers who worked very hard to defend the North from the Nilfgaardian army. Well over a dozen magic users were in the keep to try and stop them, but Nilfgaard had their own team capable of such power (led by Fringilla) and they fought back hard and did not play nice.
After Yenn stopped their many fireballs from doing serious damage to the fort, her side began a very effective magical offensive. But, Fringilla had some major tricks ready, one of which involved sneaking magic worms into the stronghold that infected the minds of those inside and made them turn against their peers.
This broke the front line, and leads Yenn to literally let all of her power explode in a blast of fire that pushes Nilfgaard back and allows for reinforcements to come in. Unfortunately, unleashing all of that causes Yenn to disappear after the fact, so we don’t know how or where her story will pick up in Season 2.
War Is Still Raging And Nilfgaard Is Still Looking For Ciri!
While Yenn will likely be trying to find her way back to her friends at the start of Season 2, Nilfgaard has hardly given up on conquering the North after one loss. So, war is still raging on the Continent, and they (especially the knight Cahir) will still be looking for Ciri.
Not only is Ciri someone of the royal line from Cintra who could, theoretically, challenge their hold of the city, but Cahir knows firsthand about her powers, which she used to get away from him right after her city burned. Hopefully, Geralt and his fellow Witchers will be able to find a way to teach her more about her powers, along with their standard fighting techniques, so that she’ll be better equipped to handle Cahir when the time comes, as it surely will.
Even though The Witcher Season 2 will hit Netflix on December 17, it’s hardly the only thing to look forward to on television. You can check out all of this month’s holiday offerings with our Christmas movies and TV schedule, and see what will debut in the new year with the 2022 TV schedule!
