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

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).