“The Witcher” Season 2 – First Look At Ciri Training At Kaer Morhen!

No, Geralt of Rivia’s fresh new look and upgraded suit of armor wasn’t a fluke: the entire cast of The Witcher has been absolutely thriving, as evidenced by our first look at Geralt’s apprentice/child of surprise, Ciri, in the new outfit she’ll be wearing in season two of the hit Netflix fantasy series. The Witcher‘s season one finale left off with Ciri and Geralt finally reunited after being linked to each other by a mysterious bond of destiny long before Ciri’s birth, and now we can see where Ciri’s destiny has led her: to the isolated castle of Kaer Morhen, domain of Vesemir and his small brotherhood of monster-hunting Witchers. Here, as in the books and video games, Ciri will train to become the first female Witcher in history while learning about her own magical powers.

The Witcher
Ciri | forbes.com

And that’s, of course, why the new images of Ciri revealed today on Netflix’s social media accounts show the usurped Princess of Cintra looking particularly stoic and grim while donning a practical suit of lightweight leather armor, wielding a small wooden practice sword, and tying her hair back into a braid because long hair whipping in your face and obstructing your vision probably isn’t a great idea in the heat of battle (*glances meaningfully at Geralt*). Unfortunately, since only a side-view of her costume is available to us, it’s impossible to see if any cool detailing or ornamentation has been worked into the front of Ciri’s new armor. My first thought was that this is unlikely, considering that the Witchers of Kaer Morhen seem like a relatively simplistic lot, but then again, Geralt did come out of there with a whole set of abs sculpted into his armor, so anything’s possible, I guess?

What’s immediately clear is that this particular outfit, at least, is only loosely inspired by the video game version of Ciri, and even that’s a stretch. In The Witcher games, Ciri’s look has become iconic: the choppy silver hair, the loose, long-sleeved white shirt and assortment of extremely large belts…many fans of the games have been hoping to see some version of this adapted to live-action, but it looks like they’ll have to wait a while longer. The Netflix version of Ciri’s Witcher outfit appears to be more armor than travel wear, and it would be rather bizarre for her to be wearing thin shirts in the middle of winter while snow is falling. The behind-the-scenes photos revealed recently did show Ciri wearing what could have been an outfit more directly inspired by the games, but this seems to be that same outfit (the long, gray-green sleeves are identical), and these high-quality images confirm that this is not going to be much like The Witcher video game version of the character.

The Witcher
Video game Ciri (right) | pcgamer.com

Instead we can be certain that this season, like the first, will draw most heavily from the original books by Andrzej Sapkowski. With the books as our guide, we can predict that Ciri will be trained by Vesemir, despite suffering from recurring nightmares, hallucinations, and visions of impending death. She’ll encounter the Mage Triss Merigold (who had a small role in season one), and the kind-hearted sorceress will also aid in her training, teaching her the Elder Speech (the language of most magic users in The Witcher universe). Throughout season one of The Witcher, Ciri would randomly cause outbursts of chaotic and destructive magic whenever she felt threatened, usually triggered by her screams, and I thoroughly believe that the show will delve into the explanation for that a little bit more in season two: in the books, Ciri’s incredible power derives from her being a “Source”, a person born with untapped resources of magic due to their Elven heritage. The first official synopsis for season two, released yesterday, mentioned that it’s Geralt’s responsibility to protect Ciri from her own power, and it also intriguingly referenced wars between elves and humans in the world outside Kaer Morhen’s walls. In season one, there were a couple of Elven characters and a handful of times that we actually got to observe their ways, but season two might do a better job of exploring the Elven societies that exist within this universe, and how Ciri fits into their delicate political situation.

Another important event in Ciri’s character arc is her first meeting with the Mage Yennefer of Vengerburg. In the show, Ciri hasn’t met Yennefer yet (although she has had some sort of vision of her: her last line in season one was literally “Who’s Yennefer?”), and Geralt currently believes the Mage to be dead following her disappearance at the Battle of Sodden Hill, which suggests to me that bringing Ciri and Yennefer together will be a main plot-point in season two. Personally, I’m hoping that they meet sometime before the season two finale, but it’s probable that, no matter when or how it happens, it will be a life-changing event for both characters: Yennefer has always wanted a child, and in the books she becomes like a mother figure to Ciri, while also acting as her mentor and traveling with her across the Continent. Ciri, for her part, never really had a chance to know her own mother, and so Yennefer will begin to fill a void in Ciri’s life. As much as I’m excited to see how Geralt and Ciri interact, I’m even more curious to see what kind of dynamic will exist between the two women. The Witcher has done a great job fleshing out its female characters and making them complex and interesting, and I expect that to continue as more women join the mix and begin to form more compelling relationships.

The Witcher
Ciri’s sword | Twitter @witchernetflix

Thankfully, we won’t have long to wait before we see what Yennefer herself has been doing ever since she vanished in a burst of fire and smoke at Sodden Hill, because more first look images are coming tomorrow, and will probably reveal the Mage in all her glory. The question of what exactly happened to her has weighed heavily on the minds of all The Witcher‘s fans ever since the season one finale: but the likelihood, in my opinion, is that Yennefer was able to weakly manifest a portal and make her escape while everyone was distracted by the flames she summoned to obliterate the Nilfgaardian army. But why? And where did she go? These are the questions I hope to have answered sooner rather than later.

So what do you think? How do you feel about Ciri’s new look? And which character from The Witcher are you most excited to see return in season two? Share your own thoughts, theories and opinions in the comments below!

“The Witcher” Season 2 First Look – Geralt Gets An Upgrade!

The Witcher is back – and apparently, a couple of months in quarantine and self-isolation have done him wonders, as he’s emerged with a fabulous new look and a costume upgrade. I can’t say the same for the rest of us, but I’m excited to see some small signs of normalcy returning: it’s been months since The Witcher and virtually every other film and TV production around the world got delayed due to the sudden advent of the coronavirus crisis, and only just recently has filming been able to resume, with new safety protocols in place on set. Thankfully, the team at work on The Witcher‘s upcoming second season have been unusually generous, and have already gifted us two first look images of our fan-favorite protagonist, Geralt of Rivia, the Witcher himself.

The Witcher
Geralt of Rivia | geektyrant.com

Henry Cavill is returning as expected to the popular role, but The Witcher costuming department has received a bit of a shake-up, with Lucinda Wright replacing Tim Aslam as lead costume designer. Wright, known best for her work on Doctor Who and a multitude of fashionable period pieces, has already brought a fresh, eye-catching new style to the fantasy series’ clothes, putting Geralt into a practical suit of armor. For much of season one, Geralt traveled around the Continent wearing loose-fitting or comfortable clothing: such as the now-iconic baggy shirt/tight leather pants combo (the subject of many a meme), and the padded leather pauldrons and breastplate, but season two appears to be heading into darker, grittier territory – Wright’s new design for Geralt’s outfit features almost Greco-Roman sensibilities, with armor sculpted around Henry Cavill’s muscles (a wise decision, since in season one, his muscles actually wore down his leather armor), and covered all around in studs and straps. He strikes an imposing figure, with his distinctive new silhouette.

My only complaint is with his new set of plated pauldrons: the armoring which covers his shoulders and upper arms. Even in season one, they didn’t look great, but these ones are slightly more unattractive, if I’m being honest. Then again, I’ve never been a big fan of pauldrons in any form: it’s an aesthetic thing. They’re usually too big and too bulky. Unfortunately, they’re also usually the first thing that I notice when I look at any suit of armor, as is the case here. Thankfully, a closer observation turns up many interesting little details on Geralt’s new costume that I do find genuinely exciting: for instance, his new thigh belts come with a whole bunch of sheathes, which I suppose are meant for knives and daggers. The sculpted detailing has already gone over very well with the fandom, which never misses an opportunity to lavish praises on Henry Cavill’s physique. As a side-note, Cavill’s silver wig also looks a lot better this time around: the long, tousled mane can be hit-or-miss depending on circumstances, but these photos caught it in a perfect state of realistic disarray.

The Witcher
Geralt of Rivia | ign.com

Along with the new look, Netflix has also given us a brief synopsis for season two, which confirms a little bit of what we already knew: in their words, “Convinced Yennefer’s life was lost at the Battle of Sodden, Geralt of Rivia brings Princess Cirilla to the safest place he knows, his childhood home of Kaer Morhen. While the Continent’s kings, elves, humans and demons strive for supremacy outside its walls, he must protect the girl from something far more dangerous: the mysterious power she possesses inside.” In the books, Cirilla (or Ciri, the name most people know her by at this point) is raised at Kaer Morhen to become the first female Witcher, and behind-the-scenes photos have already shown the Cintran princess sporting what looks to be an almost video-game-accurate outfit while training in the forest. This short synopsis also indicates that we won’t see Yennefer and Geralt reunite until later in the season, although we’re all pretty certain Yennefer isn’t dead despite expending all her chaos magic in defense of Sodden during the season one finale. Hopefully this just means Yennefer will have her own independent subplot happening simultaneously with the Geralt and Ciri arc: I would hate to have to wait throughout most of the season to see her again, after she was the best character in season one.

The Witcher
Geralt of Rivia | gameinformer.com

Netflix’s social media accounts have already hinted that we’ll get further material in the coming days: probably first look images for both Ciri’s armor and Yennefer’s new look (unless they’re keeping her resurrection more of a surprise, which I hope is not the case). There’s also a chance we might see Jaskier the bard again – in-universe, it’s been years since he was last seen, so it’ll be interesting to see if he’s aged at all, or if The Witcher really is just going to ignore that entirely. And with new spinoffs being considered and greenlit (a new one, focusing on The Continent’s order of Mages, was unofficially revealed just a few days ago), it looks like we’ll have much more Witcher content coming our way in no time. This first look is just the beginning.

What do you think of Geralt’s new suit of armor, and how do you feel it compares to his season one look? Share your own thoughts, theories and opinions in the comments below!

First Look At “The Witcher” On Netflix!

The war to fill the fantasy-adaptation void that Game of Thrones left has begun: HBO is racing around the clock to get Bloodmoon, a Game of Thrones prequel, up and running, while their adaptation of His Dark Materials will debut later this year (and has already been confirmed for a second season); Amazon Prime will drop Carnival Row, a moody Victorian-era paranormal thriller, in August, about the same time they’re supposed to start filming their five-season prequel to The Lord of the Rings – their Wheel of Time series has already cast Rosamund Pike in the lead role of the sorceress, Moiraine, and should go into production soon, while Conan the Barbarian is still in early stages of development, and the Ringworld project has been silent for a year or two now; BBC America will start adapting some of the works of late author Terry Pratchett, which is something I am very much looking forward to; Apple TV’s adaptation of the science-fiction epic, the Foundation Trilogy, is still…maybe…on its way to being greenlit. Netflix’s The Witcher, however, will arrive on screens sooner than most of these adaptations – the first look arrived today.

The photos and official poster that have been released are really exciting, so let’s check them out. First of all, we’ve got Henry Cavill, formerly known as Superman, in the role of Geralt of Rivia, scarred monster-hunter and Legolas look-alike, sporting the silvery wig that had him being ridiculed all over the internet just a few months ago: it looks…better now, even though it’s hard to believe that could be possible.

First Look At "The Witcher" On Netflix! 1
playstationlifestyle.net

A pretty good wig, if you ask me. I’m not a big fan of Cavill’s, but he looks better here than he ever did during his short-lived run as Superman in the DCEU: he looks gritty, weathered, harsh. He’s also, I believe, the only real star-power that Netflix can rely on for The Witcher: besides him, we have Anya Cholatra as the powerful sorceress Yennefer, looking stylish in a heavy fur-coat:

First Look At "The Witcher" On Netflix! 2
thewrap.com

The outfits look to be very high-quality. Finally, we have Freya Allan as the secretive Princess Ciri, all shadowy and mysterious, lurking in the forest while the others are all posing dramatically by the sea.

First Look At "The Witcher" On Netflix! 3
Twitter | @Wario64

The images look quite good, and give me hope that this might be a pretty decent adaptation – granted, I’ve never read the Witcher novels, so I won’t be able to give you in-depth analysis of what’s different between the books and the show, but I know someone who can: check out Elliot Brooks on YouTube if you want to know more about the show, and the novels, and the accompanying video games that actually made the novels as popular as they are (her channel is awesome, but especially for stuff about The Witcher).

What do you think? Do you like these images? Netflix has announced that they will be heading to San Diego Comic Con with The Witcher, so expect many more updates – and probably a trailer! – there.