For anyone who found The Witcher's intersecting timelines throughout season 1 confusing, there's now a website that clarifies pretty much every time or geography-related question that fans can ask. Netflix has created an interactive map of The Witcher's world, complete with timelines for Geralt, Yennefer, Ciri, and the Continent at large.
The Witcher's first season made its debut mid-December, and it's been a big hit among audiences, but one common complaint was the show's multiple timelines. One episode would often depict three or more events, each happening at a different point in history, and until episode 4 it's hard to tell whether or not the timeline is changing at all.
Netflix's map of the Continent--which is, very simply, the name of The Witcher's world--shows off the entire, large chunk of land that appears or is mentioned in the show. Not only that, but its four interactive timelines show off the most important parts of the Continent's history, including the Conjunction of Spheres (which is the cataclysmic event that delivered monsters and magic to the world), the births of each of the three main characters, and the years in which each character's arc in every episode is set. Fun fact: based on Netflix's timeline, Geralt of Rivia is 103 years old by the time he finally meets Ciri, his entire story arc beginning about 32 years prior when he battles Renfri and earns the moniker "The Butcher of Blaviken."
Click the image below to access the Interactive Witcher map:
Chronologically, the next significant thing to happen after this is Yennefer's escape from the assassin mage sent to kill Queen Kalis, as her introduction and subsequent transformation into a sorceress actually happens over 20 years before Geralt's story begins in Blaviken. It's also clear why Geralt and Yen don't meet until the 5th episode; their crossing paths only happens about 7 years before the show's present-day. Needless to say, the map clearly defines each timeline in The Witcher easily enough for the most confused viewer to make sense of things, and even gain a little more insight into the events of the show after watching. While fans are divided over whether or not they liked The Witcher's season 1 story layout, people on both sides of the argument could still learn a thing or two from Netflix's map.
Hopefully, the map will be able to satisfy those who didn't understand the show's timeline, since it looks like that problem was exclusive to season 1. Fans can breathe a sigh of relief over the fact that The Witcher season 2 is already planned out and much more linear in structure.
The Witcher is available to stream now on Netflix.
Source: Netflix