The first season of The Witcher came to Netflix at just the right time. The books were consistently popular and the video games had generated a solid following, plus fans of the Game of Thrones television series were looking for something to fill the empty void left by the show's finale. It wasn't a surprise when the streaming giant announced a second season of The Witcher was coming, and fans waited with breathless anticipation for the next installment in the series.Season 2 of The Witcher did not disappoint. Critics and fans alike wanted the continuing story of Geralt of Rivia in all of its bloody, sexy glory, and they got what they asked for and much more. Toss a coin for a spoiler alert because there are a few ahead.
7 The Legend Of The Deathless Mother
In Season 1, there were some hints at a powerful, mysterious entity that was working from the shadows, something beyond the White Flame or perhaps in league with it. There was some dramatic exposition for this character in Season 2 that involved walking houses and skeletal temple shrines, just enough to set up some interesting storylines and a scary antagonist for Season 3. Her name is Voleth Meir, but she's more commonly known as the Deathless Mother.
What's the nature of the Deathless Mother's connection to Ciri? She's not trying to harm her, but possess her and use her powers. Or do Ciri's powers come from the Deathless Mother? This all seems to be connected with the stone monoliths, manifestations of Chaos. This is a mystery that has yet to be revealed but has been set up as a major plot point, especially after the plot twist of the Medallion Tree not being a tree at all.
6 The Hunt
It's the Nine Ringwraiths from LotR combined with the Four Horsemen of the Apocolypse, and easily just as terrifying. As if the Deathless Mother wasn't enough of an antagonist, she seems to have a connection with these ghastly entities. Gamers who are familiar with The Witcher 3 already know some of these interesting facts.
Who the Hunt is, or are, and exactly what they're hunting for is still a mystery. Hopefully, it will be revealed in Season 3. If they aren't hunting for Ciri, since they declare she's "one of them" and ask her to join the Hunt, then what exactly do they want?
5 A Showdown – Fire Magic And The Brotherhood
They might be called The Brotherhood, but there's not a lot keeping them together these days. Yennefer and her immense power won the Battle of Sodden Hill, but she did it using Fire magic, which is supposed to be forbidden. The forces of Nilfgaard use it as a matter of course, marking them out as villains, so when Yennefer decides to use it anyway, it prompts a moral and ethical crisis in Aretuza. This leads to some in the Brotherhood targeting her with fear and suspicion.
Meanwhile, the White Flame has sent a dangerous fire mage, Rience, to look for Ciri. Yennefer uses some old-fashioned physical comedy to defeat him temporarily, but he'll be back, and probably with his now hideously deformed partner in crime, Lydia.
4 The Return Of The Witchers
It was firmly established in Season 1 that Witchers are going extinct. In Season 2, the plot reveals why that happened and how it might be fixed. Vesemir makes an effort to re-create the lost elixir by using Ciri's blood, and it works, or at least in theory because Geralt stops Vesemir before he can try it on her.
The elixir is stolen by the time the season ends, because of course it is, but that doesn't mean the audience has to wait to see the elixir's power and why Geralt might have saved Ciri's life when he stopped her from taking it. The character who does mess with it, a mage named Lydia in league with Rience, is drawn by the powerful aroma, and as a result, she's left with telepathy as her only means of communication.
3 More Human Versus Elf Violence
It's safe to say that killing babies is crossing a line, and that's exactly what happens at the end of Season 2. It's every bit as awful as it sounds and it gets even worse when Francesca uses her magical power to take brutal revenge.
Combine this with the return of the White Flame, a leader who's been portrayed as a brutal tyrant at the head of a fanatical religious order, and it's not hard to see the cycle of violence is ramping up for Season 3.
2 The Final Boss – Hedgehog Man
The reveal of the face behind the White Flame was the final crushing moment of Season 2, and no matter how evil he is, this nickname is what fans will always call him. Things are a lot more serious now, as it's been revealed that the White Flame is none other than Duny, Ciri's father, who isn't dead after all. He attacked and took over Cintra to get his daughter back, which seems odd, because why not just come home and ask? Things with the mother-in-law were never that bad, were they?
This prompts more questions than it answers. It also sets up a confrontation between Geralt, who has now sworn to protect Ciri, and her father, who has gone through a lot of trouble to find her.
1 Elder Blood In The Family Tree
Why would Duny, now known by the more impressive title of Emperor Emhyr Var Emreis, a.k.a. the White Flame, attack Cintra? Furthermore, why would he have taken over Nilfgaard to do it? Murdering Francesca's baby if he wants an Elven alliance or at least their magical power also seems rather contradictory, but that leads the viewer to believe he was never the good guy he seemed.
That leads to more uncomfortable questions that are set up for answers in Season 3. What happened to Pavetta, Ciri's mother, the girl who apparently saved the knight from a curse using true love? The most chilling questions of all revolve around how sincere "Duny" was in this case. Did he ever love Pavetta, or was it always a deception just to remove that pesky curse?
The Witcher: Season 2 is currently available on Netflix.