Two years have passed since the release of the first season, which turned out to be a great financial success, finding an audience not just among fans of the book. As a reminder, Season 2, similarly to the first season, is based on Andrzej Sapkowski’s book series (specifically Blood of Elves) and not CD Projekt Red games. That being said, the trailer is full of easter eggs and monsters, such as leshens, that fans will instantly recognise from the games.
The show mainly focuses on the story of the witcher Geralt, the sorceress Yennefer and the powerful granddaughter of the queen of Cintra, Ciri. In the trailer, we can see Geralt and Ciri arriving at Kaer Morhen, an old keep, where witchers are trained. I’m excited to see Ciri learning how to fight and control her powers, and I'm hoping that the show will not only present her as a badass warrior but also a morally ambiguous character as in the books. I think the casting of witchers is promising, although it is a shame that Mark Hamill won’t appear as Vesemir, as rumours had it.
What we can guess from the released materials, is that this season will focus more on elves, their history and their plans. In the trailer, we see an elven queen, Francesca Findabair. A mysterious character for many as, despite being one of the most powerful sorceresses, she doesn’t appear in games. The heavy makeup of Nivellen didn’t prevent fans from recognising that he is played by Kristofer Hivju, Tormund from Game of Thrones. However, it is probably the change of the Nilfgaard armour that excited viewers the most. Fans made fun of the weird black armour we saw in the first season, and showrunners clearly listened to criticism. Now we see Cahir in an impressive armour, which is a considerable glow up.
As a fan of both the book series and games, I can’t wait to see season 2 of The Witcher. I’m still a bit sceptical about Yennefer’s plotline, which was the biggest letdown for me in the previous season, but I still believe that the show won’t disappoint me this time.
Premiere - 17th December
