WitcherCon premiered for the first time yesterday and if you were wondering like I was how much Witcher content was there actually coming out. Well, there’s a lot. The Witcher based on the books and the game of the same name was picked up by Netflix in 2019, to wild acclaim. Season 2 will be coming at the end of the year with more of your favourite monster-hunting action.
Like everything that got stuck during the Covid-19 pandemic, it got delayed. But now The Witcher: Season 2 is set to release on December 17th 2021. We’ve got a brand new poster and trailer for the season with hints about Geralt’s next chapter. In this article, we break down everything we see as well as highlight some Easter Eggs you might have missed!
The Trailer
Before we break down the trailer let’s actually have another look at it here. The trailer is focused on what we assume will be the main arc of Season 2 – protecting Ciri.
Princess Ciri & Geralt
“So, I’m your destiny?”
Cast your mind back to the weird hedgehog knight of Season 2. Where he claimed the Princess Pavetta with ‘The Law of Surprise’. Interestingly even after hearing the story and watching the whole thing fold out, Geralt claims the law for himself.
The Law dictates that as payment for a great deed like saving someone’s life, one can lay claim to something which the indebted does not yet possess. “Whatever windfall the indebted came home to find would be mine.” Some people get some crops or a new goat, but the “windfall” that Geralt got was Princess Ciri. Dude literally learned nothing.
Geralt was told in Season 1 that Ciri was his destiny. Despite multiple attempts to keep the two of them apart, they finally united in the final episode. Now Geralt is making good on his promise to keep the Princess safe.
Princess Ciri – Some Background
“You’re much more than that, Cirilla.”
Cirilla or Ciri for short isn’t just important to the Witcher but to numerous other factions. She is the heir to Cintra. As well as a Source – someone capable of extremely powerful and destructive acts of magic. We’ve already seen some of what happens when Ciri’s power is unleashed and it’s devastating. A Source doesn’t have control over magic the way a sorcerer does, but can destroy an entire town if they panic.
Easter Egg: “Much More” – was the title of The Witcher‘s season 1 finale.
Being heir to Cintra means that she is also in danger from the Nilfgaardian Empire who mean to have her and control the city. Riding on Roach, Ciri and Geralt Ciri journey to Kaer Morhen, the mountain stronghold where Geralt and the other witchers of the School of the Wolf trained.
Kaer Morhen – New Characters
In the book, Geralt brings Ciri to his former home to enlist his brothers’ help protecting her and to train her to protect herself. But here we go to Kaer Morhen. Kaer Morhen, is the fortress of the Witchers who (like Geralt) belong to the School of the Wolf. This is where children are brought and subjected to the trials that will determine whether or not they have what it takes to become a witcher. Here we get our first look at many of the new characters this season that include Eskel and Paul Lambert. Another witcher of note who is present to greet Geralt is Coen.
The white-haired man who is not Geralt is potentially our first look at Vesemir, played by Kim Bodnia. Geralt mentions that Vesemir says that the world outside these walls is a dangerous place and that certainly seems to be the case judging from what follows.
Some of the training montage is reminiscent to tutorial training in The Witcher 3. Where you learn the game’s controls through a training session at Kaer Morhen.
Easter Egg: Blink and you’ll miss it but there are two very familiar swords that Ciri spots in the fortress. Both are from The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt. The sword on the bottom is Geralt’s steel sword, as seen in promotional materials for The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt. While the sword on top is the silver Viper sword (recognizable by the snake on the pommel).
Geralt
This trailer has been a bit Geralt light and I’m not that happy about it. But I guess that just means more Geralt for us later on. One of the brief images we get of him is one of him getting ready for battle, black-eyes and all.
Like all Witchers, Geralt is able to enhance his body through the use of herbs and potions, in order to be more evenly matched again supernatural threats. The trailer for The Witcher season 2 shows a pale and black-eyed Geralt, similar to how he appeared in his very first fight of the Netflix series. While under the influence of this potion, Geralt has enhanced strength, speed and healing abilities.
In this particular shot it looks as though he’s defending Kaer Morhen itself from a monster attack. Couple this with the shaking medallions and it seems likely that Nilfgaard has tracked down Ciri to Kaer Morhen. Where they’re using their considerable forces of magic to try and capture her.
Where’s Yennefer?
After the Battle of Sodden Hill we see Tissaia De Vries and Geralt looking for Yennefer. Who disappeared after unleashing the full force of her chaos to protect her fellow sorcerers from being annihilated by Nilfgaard.
At the end of Season 1 it was unclear whether Yennefer would have survived. I mean she has to have. But it’s not until the end of The Witcher season 2 trailer that her fate is finally revealed. Yennefer has been captured by Fringilla, the sorceress who serves Nilfgaard and leads the magical branch of their armed forces. Though Nilfgaard has suffered a defeat, it’s unlikely to slow the relentless march of the empire down for long, and with Yennefer in their clutches they could attempt to use her powers for their own purposes.
Jaskier / Dandelion’s New Look
Jaskier is Geralt’s old friend and bard that follows him around on his adventures. He’s seen only once in this trailer, but that shot is enough to confirm that he’ll finally get to wear one of his most iconic fashion pieces from the books and games. A hat with an egret feather in it.
This jaunty cap and purple outfit makes him look much more like his game equivalent. By The Blood of Elves, Jaskier aka Dandelion has become a pretty famous bard trading off tales of Geralt, Yennefer, and Ciri.
