Season 2 of The Witcher finally debuted on Netflix in December, meaning that we had a nearly two-year wait to catch up with the trials, triumphs, and additional trials of Ciri, Yennefer, Geralt, and their allies after the big battle that wrapped the first season. Even though this means that those behind the fantasy hit have spent a lot of time thinking about the most recent set of episodes, it doesn’t mean that they haven’t spent any time at all reflecting on what they did in Season 1. Showrunner Lauren Schmidt Hissrich recently opened up about regretting the lack of time spent with Ciri at first, and how they resolved that with Season 2.
There were plenty of viewers who loved The Witcher Season 1, but still voiced some very vocal concerns about the multiple timelines contained within, and how we were left in the dark on when, exactly, everything was happening. While they did take care of that problem by the finale, Lauren Schmidt Hissrich actually had a very different issue with the first season that has now also been solved for Season 2. As she told The Hollywood Reporter:
I have to say that in Season 1, I don’t think that we paid enough attention to Ciri’s story. It’s one of my big regrets watching that season. And so we worked really hard this season to make sure that we felt like we were on the path a lot more with Ciri, with Freya [Allan] and sort of allowing her to fully explore this character. And I also think setting up the fact that Ciri becomes increasingly important in the series as it goes. Any book lover will tell you that she starts to become the center of this narrative. And we also wanted to make sure we were setting that up.
Fans who’ve already watched all of the drama and have gotten through The Witcher Season 2 ending will know that it doesn’t disappoint when it comes to several aspects. There are plenty of monsters, some mysteries to solve, Yen trying to find her place after her heroics at the Battle of Sodden Hill, a number of bloody battles, at least one heart-wrenching death, and even some lovely songs from Jaskier. But, we also get lots of good bonding time between Geralt and his Child of Surprise, Ciri, whom he finally met up with in the Season 1 finale.
Though I don’t happen to agree that we didn’t see Ciri enough in Season 1, as Schmidt Hissrich said, we absolutely get more with the exiled princess this time around. Geralt took her to his childhood Witcher home of Kaer Morhen, where he began training her so that she could do more than run or accidentally open up holes in the ground / eviscerate men the next time she’s threatened.
And, seeing as how Ciri is now driven by a fierce need for vengeance against Nilfgaard, she was more than eager to pick up a sword and embrace all of the training challenges she could. Luckily, this led to a sequence with Ciri and her portrayer, Freya Allan, that dazzled Lauren Schmidt Hissrich so much that she’s already declared herself to be “in love” with it, so beefing up Ciri’s role in Season 2 really worked out.
You can revisit all of The Witcher right now on Netflix as you await more info on Season 3, but for more to watch soon, be sure to check out the 2022 TV premiere dates!
