Get ready for The Witcher season 2 with The A.V. Club’s character guide

The Witcher's second season premieres December 17 on Netflix. Here's everything you need to get ready for the show's return.

By Danette Chavez, Sam Barsanti, William Hughes, Shanicka Anderson | December 10, 2021 | 12:00pm

TV News The Witcher

Get ready for The Witcher season 2 with The A.V. Club’s character guide

Clockwise from left: Henry Cavill, Anya Chalotra, Freya Allan, and Joey Batey in The Witcher (Photos: Katalin Vermes/Netflix) Graphic: Libby McGuire

The Witcher returns December 17 for its second season on Netflix with more monsters to slay, spells to cast, songs to write (we hope), and even a whole new set of armor for the eponymous witcher—and just in time, given that Henry Cavill’s muscles wore out the old leather sets.

In season one, series creator Lauren Schmidt Hissrich played with the light and dark elements of Andrzej Sapkowski’s fantasy book series—which had already been adapted as a mega-popular video game series—to offset Cavill’s taciturn-yet-charming performance with the garrulous ways of Joey Batey’s Jaskier.

Yennefer (Anya Chalotra) and Ciri (Freya Allan), meanwhile, began to come into their own, even as they found themselves inextricably linked to Geralt. Season two promises a deeper exploration of their bond, as well as more epic battles, lush production values, and a bounty of witchers.

Before Geralt takes up his sword again, it’s a good time for The A.V. Club to revisit the events of The Witcher season one, through the eyes of the main characters (and one character who’s poised to make a much bigger impression this year).

Princess Cirilla of Cintra a.k.a Ciri

Cirilla Fiona Elen Riannon (Freya Allen) is the rightful heir to the throne of Cintra (or was until the kingdom was conquered by the armies of Nilfgaard) and has been bound to the witcher Geralt (Henry Cavill) since before her birth. In lieu of payment for saving the life of her father, Geralt invoked a custom called the Law Of Surprise that granted him something from Ciri’s parents that they didn’t know they had—like, say, an unborn daughter. Geralt stayed out of Ciri’s life, though, which forced her to fend for herself when Nilfgaardian soldiers (including the knight Cahir) arrived in Cintra to capture her. Ciri escaped, thanks to some previously unknown magical abilities, and then went on the run. She later found refuge among the elves of Brokilon Forest, but after having a vision and learning that staying in the forest would mean rejecting her destiny, Ciri left to find Geralt. She eventually did, after blacking out during another unexpected display of magic power, with a merchant’s wife finding her and taking her home … just as her husband arrived with none other than Geralt himself. [Sam Barsanti]

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