After almost two years, The Witcher is about to return to our screens and we couldn’t be more excited! Season two will stream on Netflix on December 17 and will explore Geralt and Ciri’s entwined destinies as well as Yennefer’s fate in the hands of Nilfgaard.
Season two will pick up right where season one left us: Geralt and Ciri have finally been reunited, and Yennefer has gone missing after ending the Battle of Sodden. While season one jumped between storylines and timelines at a frantic pace, everything lined up in the final episode, and season two will focus on the single, connected story that was set up in the finale.
The Netflix show is adapted from the books by Polish author Andrzej Sapkowski, but there are still a few things we can learn about season two from the games by CD Projekt Red. From new characters and monsters to major storylines, there are lots of clues about what’s awaiting Geralt, Yennefer and Ciri in The Witcher season 2 to be found in games and books. Here’s everything we know about The Witcher season 2 from the games and books.
The Witcher Season 2 Episode Titles
There are clues about each episode hidden in their titles, but you’ll only pick up on them if you’ve read the books. All of the direct references are explained below:
Episode 1: A Grain of Truth — this is also the name of a short story in the book The Last Wish. In the book, Geralt meets Nivellen, a man turned into a monster by a curse. Geralt doesn’t kill him, since he doesn’t think he’s actually a monster at heart.
In season two, Nivellen will be played by Game of Thrones actor Kristofer Hivju, although judging by the conversation they have in the trailer, it looks like this episode might be set after the short story.
Episode 2: Kaer Morhen — in the season two trailer, we see Ciri training with other witchers at their base, Kaer Morhen. This is also how The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt game started, so we might see some easter eggs to the game in this episode.
Episode 4: Redanian Intelligence — in the books, the Redanian Intelligence is led by Sigismund Dijkstra, who recruits Jaskier into the service and is played in season two by Graham McTavish. It seems logical that episode four might introduce Dijkstra and, more importantly, be the first time we see Jaskier again!
Episode 5: Turn Your Back — episode five doesn’t have any clear ties to the game or books, but the symbol for “Turn Your Back” is a set of scales, which is normally associated with justice. In the books, Codringher and Fenn, are friends of Geralt who run a law firm and detective agency. They’re being played by Simon Callow and Liz Carr in season two, and they might be introduced in episode five. That would be a big deal, because they help Geralt find Rience, a mage tasked with hunting Ciri who’s being played by Chris Fulton, as well as information about Ciri’s mysterious past.
Episode 6: Dear Friend — this is likely a reference to a letter Geralt wrote Yennefer in the books. We just hope Netflix also includes her sassy response, where she calls him out for basically ghosting her for three years.
The exception is the last episode, which Netflix is keeping secret. But based off the rest, it would make sense for the final episode of season two to deal with Nilfgaard and the mages — who are both hunting Ciri.
New Characters
Season two will introduce new characters from The Witcher books, and we’ve already gotten a glimpse at a few of them from the trailer. One of the most significant is Nenneke, played by Bridgerton‘s Adjoa Andoh. In the books, Nenneke is a priestess of Melitele and nurses Geralt back to life after his fight with the striga (which we see in season one, episode three, “Betrayer Moon”). Geralt visits Nenneke a few times in the books, and even brings Ciri to her at one point to learn about magic. He might do the same thing in season two, since we know Ciri’s going to be in training.
We also see Francesca Findabair, an elven sorceress and the queen of the elves of Dol Blathanna. The tension between humans and elves plays a huge role in The Witcher games and books, and it looks like we’ll see more of this conflict in season two.
There are also the new witchers, who play a huge role in the books and games and are finally joining Geralt in season two. The witchers of Kaer Morhen are led by Vesemir, who’s being played in the show by Kim Bodnia. We’re also meeting Lambert (Paul Bullion), Eskel (Thue Ersted Rasmussen) and Coën (Yasen Atour).
New Monsters
Season two already looks like it will have more monsters than season one, and we can spot a few from the games and books in the trailer. Geralt fights a bruxa —a form of higher vampire that can appear as a woman or a bat — in what looks like Nivellan’s courtyard, which happens in the books.
We also see a leshen, a forest monster that appears as a living tree. Leshens feature in the books and the games — but more so in the games, where they’re a considerable threat to even Geralt. It looks like the leshen in season two will be just as dangerous to Geralt and Ciri.
We also might be getting a version of the Crones from The Witcher 3 in season two. Towards the end of the trailer, we see a house on thin legs, which fits with the description of the Baba Yaga from Slavic folklore. The Crones from the game were heavily inspired by Baba Yaga, and although they didn’t live in a house like this in the games, it wouldn’t be surprising to see some reference of them in season two.
The Witcher Season 2 Release Date
The Witcher season two will release on Netflix on December 17. The full eight episode season will be available to watch when it releases. We’ll know more once December 17 comes around — until then, we’ll just be pouring over every details from The Witcher games and books for more clues about what’s in store for Geralt, Yennefer and Ciri in season 2.
