The Witcher season 3 is officially over. Sadly, that means Henry Cavill’s run as Geralt of Riveria is also over. Long before putting on the white wig, Cavill was a big fan of The Witcher novels and games. I loved how much passion and nerdy knowledge he brought to the role. It remains to be seen how Liam Hemsworth will fare as the replacement witcher. However, no one can fill out Geralt’s pants quite like Cavill. At least we’ll always have those bathtub scenes.
Several slow-building plot points finally exploded in season 3. The Witcher broke up our found family, ruined the school of mages, and changed the lives of the elves. Everything seems scattered and the future of the Continent is uncertain at the moment. Let’s go over how the dust settled around everyone at the end of season 3 because there is a lot of drama to unpack.
Redania
The Kingdom of Redania became more of a power player in season 3. Spymasters Sigismund Dijkstra (Graham McTavish) and Philippa Eilhart (Cassie Clare) fail their main ploy at Aretuza, but that doesn’t mean they’re out. When King Vizimir wants to have Philippa killed for their failure to end the mages and attain Princess Cirilla (Freya Allan), the duo has other plans; Philippa has her lover kill King Vizimir. Just as Prince Radovid thinks he’s leaving to live a vagabond lifestyle with his beloved Jaskier, he’s crowned King of Redania.
The White Flame and Nilfgaard
Emperor Emhyr var Emreis (Bart Edwards) searches relentlessly for his daughter Ciri while trying to take total control of the Continent. The emperor and his partner in crime, Vilgefortz (Mahesh Jadu), stand triumphant in front of Nilfgaard to welcome Princess Cirilla to the kingdom. However, the Cirilla they present is an imposter molded and brainwashed by Vilgefortz. This is soap opera-level drama. Emhyr isn’t telling anyone Ciri is his child, and it’s not even the real Ciri!
Meanwhile, Fringilla (Mimi Ndiweni) is back in the emperor’s good graces while she plots her next power play. Her alliance with the elf queen Francesca (Mecia Simson) backfires. The two had planned to double-cross Emhyr, but the emperor foresaw the betrayal and offers Francesca a safe haven for the elves in the abandoned kingdom of Cintra in exchange for leaving her fighting forces in Nilfgaard. It’s an offer Francesca can’t refuse. But after finding out the truth about who killed her baby (and who tried to take credit for it), Francesca may still seek revenge.
Yennefer and Aretuza
After Vilgefortz’s rebellion, Aretuza and the mages are left with a mess to clean up. The remaining mages find Vilgefortz’s hidden hellhole where he performed horrible magic on girls in an attempt to turn them into Ciri. Losing the school and many of the mages while also being betrayed by her lover Vilgefortz, Tissaia (MyAnna Buring) reaches her breaking point. She writes a goodbye note to her surrogate daughter Yennefer (Anya Chalotra) and ends her life. Tissaia’s death is a huge blow for Yennefer, but it also pushes Yen’s personal growth. She picks up where Tissaia left off as the leader of the mages. Rallying the others, they have promised to rebuild their ranks and bring the mages into a powerful new era.
Cirilla
Cirilla spends the last part of season 3 on a spiritual journey. She walks the desert with a unicorn and eats poisonous lizards while hallucinating about her ancestors. One of the spirits who visits her is named Falka, someone who caused a huge rebellion generations ago. Falka cursed the people who stole her crown and executed her, promising to make their descendants pay. In the real world, Ciri is captured by a bounty hunter. She escapes her captors and kills one of them alongside a group of criminals known as the Rats. They say she can join them because her fighting skills are intense. When they ask her name, she doesn’t say Ciri. Instead, her eyes shift color and she says to call her “Falka.”
Geralt and Jaskier
The battle between Geralt and Vilgefotrz leaves Geralt at death’s door, so he goes for a rejuvenating spa weekend with the Dryads in the woods to heal with Jaskier. After healing and making friends with the super cool archer Milva (Meng’er Zhang), Geralt trains with his freshly made potions. Jaskier and Geralt hit the road to Nilfgaard in search of Ciri. Going across kingdoms they meet a group of guards checking papers and charging people to cross the border.
As they don’t have papers showing who they are, Geralt bribes the guard with the amulet he took from Renfri in the very first episode of The Witcher. But Geralt can’t stand the injustice of the guard turning away families, so he takes on the host of guards. During the epic fight scene, Milva shows up to save Geralt. And now Geralt, Jaskier, and Milva are off on a best friends road trip to find Ciri. It’s a solid send-off for Henry Cavill’s turn as Geralt, bringing one chapter of the character’s life to a close.
(featured image: Netflix)
