As someone who complained about the confusing timeline in season 1, I felt personally attacked.
Much improved in comparison to earlier episode this season, many elements from the novels are introduced, and Triss's visit to Kaer Morhen looks almost like in the books, of course except the investigation about the leshen. Triss looks much better this season and resembles the book Triss much more, she is also the person to give the witchers the dressing down they deserve for teasing and humiliating Ciri. I wonder why she never tells Geralt that Yennefer is in fact alive, maybe because she is not sure how long this is going to be the case after Yennefer's escape? There is an emotional scene between Triss and Geralt when they talk about their shared grief and Triss confronts him about his ability to feel real emotions. It is quite enjoyable to watch Triss, Geralt and Ciri work together in the lab to unravel the mystery of Ciri's power. Later on, Ciri's Elder Blood is introduced, something that would be very important in the later volumes, though Vesemir's reaction is really disappointing, as he now sees Ciri as his stepping stone to creating more witchers, thus turning into yet another person that wants to just use Ciri for their own purposes, as if there weren't enough of them. Poor Ciri...
There is Dijkstra and Phillipa Eihard in her owl form - though this is not obvious for those not familiar with the books. He looks totally different from the games, but is rather a convincing character, though I guess I would like to see more of him to really judge.
Finally Jaskier reappears! It seems he had matured a bit since we last saw them, he is more thoughtful and empathetic even towards Yennefer and has another emotional conversation with her after guessing she had lost her magic, saying he really fears losing his poetic talent - he seems to understand Yennefer very well, as his identity is build on his being a poet just like hers was built on being a mage.
The situation Yennefer and Cahir meet Jaskier is totally different from the books, as they are on the run and get in touch with the elven underground in order to get to Cintra. There is some kind of Lord of the Rings callback as they meet some sort of watcher in the water when they are travelling in the sewers. Then they meet Jaskier though who turns out to be some sort of a smuggler helping the elves escape to Cintra, which is now elven city. In the novels, Jaskier got into trouble when he sang the ballad about Gerald, Yennefer and Ciri, and almost got killed before Yennefer saved him from Rience's bandits, but I wonder how it would turn out in the show, since now she has no magical powers and would not be able to rescue him in this way. The ending of the episode suggests Jaskier might be in trouble indeed, I wonder how he would get out of it now. The episodes are getting more and more interesting anyway :)
Kaer Morhen keeps deliver, and the visit by Triss was awesome.
Uhm, who is this red haired doe-eyed nun and why does she bear Triss’ name?!
Please, what are they doing to the characters :upside_down:
I can forgive a chatty Geralt, blame it on the daddy-role, but hummm… at this point it seems like nobody is really true to their character anymore.
very curious on the next episode...
Probably the best one yet, despite the departures from source material. Joey Batey is a treat, and Dijkstra is great too.
Ciri definitely isn't a barbie anymore (not that she was one before but at the start of this season she kinda looked a bit too "pretty").
That was my first thought - until she cleaned herself up and looked like a pretty princess again :D
Those Witchers were really mean to her... :o Sure, you may make a joke, but their reaction was way over the top and they didn't joke. Luckily Triss is there now - that was a great idea from Geralt! She's so kind and sweet :)
And Jaskier's back too <3 He and Yennefer are "interesting" :D Let's hope that both of them will be fine (the ending was a bit concering...).
Dara's also back - but not in a good way, unfortunately... :o Seems like his return to the magical forest didn't work out.
The monoliths seem pretty interesting. I don't really know anything about them so far though...
Seems like even Ciri's "Elder blood" is special (creating those flowers).
But I'm not sure if it's good that Vesemir(?) learned of it. He's smart and kind but his main objective probably changed to create more Witchers now.
Oh well then, 'Fuck the North'!!!
The only element that doesn't work is the "owl scene". I get that it's important, but I was so uninterested in all of it, that my brain "woke up" only when I saw familiar face of a spy. I, literally, don't remember what spy supposed to look for or do.
Political side of the story usually my jam, but not in this show smh.
I really wanna like Triss. I have no wish to read the books, so I can only hope she doesn't turn out to be as bad as she is in the games, but based on her behaviour this episode I guess she will. It's such a shame because it's so stereotypical and such a waste of an interesting character.
I just love the Bard !! its is because of him I fell in love with the show !!
Burn the Butcher :musical_score:
First Time I can see a Rasta Elf ... woke nation ...
Cast fringila big mistake, I hope the character will soon disappear. Line yenefer growth catastrophe. How can someone ruin an entire series with their invention if they already have everything in the book template?
Review by LineageBlockedParent2021-12-28T18:52:15Z
Once again, the best parts were in Kaer Morhen. As much as I like Yennefer and also want to like her plotline, it hasn't delivered as much as the plotline in Kaer Morhen has. But it does seem like it'll become interesting soon, maybe even in the next episode.
This episode also delved more into the political aspect of everything and set up more threads to weave into each other, which is probably an important part; of the novels, but it doesn't seem to be landing right in this season so far. Maybe it's just because that sort of stuff isn't interesting to me, or it could be because of not being written compellingly enough for me to be interested in it.
Dijkstra was introduced. He seems somewhat intimidating so far, and I'm pretty sure that's a huge aspect of his character in the novels/games. Ha! Get it? Huge? Eh, who cares. And I thought his character and involvement in this episode was one of the good things about it, even though all of his scenes had a political aspect.
cont.) And that owl, too, was introduced. I know what "it" is. I'm not sure if there was a big reveal in the novels concerning it. But I think those who've read them would probably consider it a huge spoiler to those who haven't. Well, I know. I don't know anything more than that, though. I'm interested to see what part Dijkstra and the owl will play in the story.
I'm not sure what the monster in the sewers' purpose was. It's like it was only to kill Dermain. It was stupid because Yennefer doesn't have her magic at the moment, but I was expecting there to be a battle, and it gets killed. That can't be the first and only time it shows up. Maybe it'll attack the boat in the next episode.
cont.) And I find it a little weird that Yennefer was dragged down then came back up. She couldn't have broken free while Dermain didn't. It had to have let her go. Am I missing something? Either that, or it was good ol' plot convenience.
Jaskier's back, and I'm neutral towards his return. I know people love him considerably: I, for one, was neither happy nor mad that he's back. He's an alright character. And I'm sure people love his new song, as proven by the number of views it has on Youtube, opposed to the scores in this season's soundtrack. It was alright. I think I liked "Toss a Coin to Your Witcher" better. "Burn, Butcher, Burn" wasn't bad.
cont.) I have no idea what his role will be in the following episodes or moving forward. But I imagine his character ended up being somewhat important in the novels. The show feels like it's reaching points where the story starts picking up. I'm interested to see where everything is heading.
I don't know if it's because of Anna Shaffer's acting or what it is, but Triss putting Lambert and Coen in their place for having "a bit of fun" with Cirilla wasn't convincing. I'm pretty sure something similar happened in the games/novels, as Triss is the only other woman in Kaer Morhen. It just didn't come across as convincing or "natural" in this episode. I don't know.
Damn! The writers went meta and did us all in. I mean, they're still doing a questionable job sometimes, but that exchange tells me that they must at least "care." And that they're self-aware of the writing being questionable sometimes. I liked that exchange.
cont.) Yes, the first season was a bit complicated. Yes, that magic kiss between Geralt and Yennefer was a bit "cheap," although I'd use the word "ridiculous." I don't think I spotted the dragon reveal before it happened, but in hindsight, it makes sense how you'd spot it; it's obvious. Fair play, writers. Fair play.
Something tells me Vesemir wasn't in-line with his character in the novels by his seeming desire to use Cirilla to make more Witchers. In the show, I assume his motivation to do so is because of Eskel's death; the thing is: Eskel never died in the novels. I wonder how people felt about that.
Not just Jaskier, but Dara's back, too. I already knew he'd be back because of that promotional photo with Filavandrel, Francesca, and him. I think his character is exclusive to the show, so it's interesting that being used as a spy for Dijkstra is how he was brought back into the story. And Wilson Radjou-Pujalte looks a little bigger than he did in the first season. Hard to believe he's 19 years old, or maybe I'm blind.
I still think the premiere is the best episode so far, but I think this episode was the closest to the premiere. I seem to be more invested in what's happening; most of it seems to be interesting: as well as getting more interesting. I hope that doesn't cease to be the case.