Turn Your Back
Episode 5 of The Witcher Season 2 begins with Jaskier continuing to sing his “Burn, Witcher Burn” song. This singing also means that he’s late in hopping aboard the ship out of port, with Yennefer already there. ..
Jaskier is faced with a prisoner who has struck a deal with Lydia. His ominous finger snapping conjures forth flames in a pretty unnerving sequence.
Geralt arrives at Istredd’s shop to find the fallen monolith as the cause of the unique mutations springing up across the world. Istredd chuckles, believing him to be joking. That is until Geralt drops the severed head of one of those creatures before him. “Will you help me or not?”
Geralt and Istredd head out on the road together and find a large rip in the ground. Istredd realizes how serious this is and decides to go down with Geralt to find out what’s at the bottom. ..
Geralt and Istredd confirm that strange vibrations have been emanating from this spot since the night Cintra fell. Istredd believes that destroying the monolith here has set off a chain reaction across the other monoliths, which appear to be used as gateways by monsters to cross into our world. ..
Elsewhere, Yennefer decides not to travel on board the ship with Jaskier, in order to find answers over his disappearance. She pays one of the whores to find information for her. In her absence, Yennefer tries to use magic but finds that it’s not working either. She also doesn’t find any information about Jaskier from her source either, although she’s given some solid advice to head back to the place he frequents.
Yennefer shows up at the bar and finds Rience holding Jaskier captive. She cleverly keeps some booze in her mouth, when Rience threatens her with a flame, she spits fire back in his face and escapes. ..
Ciri is continuing to impress the other Witchers, training hard. She’s unhappy about not being invited to Cintra though, but she does manage to impress Vesemir. He takes her into the workshop and begins to divulge more about what’s happening here.
An ancient flower known as feainnewedd only grows where Elder blood has been spilled. A beautiful purple flower… that’s been sprouting all over the training course. The place Ciri has been bleeding. Vesemir wants to use a vial of Ciri’s blood to try and protect against the growing threat, although he’s not sure it will actually work. She wants it tested on her first.
“With Triss using her powers, the blood is concocted and turns black. It’s worked. With this done, Ciri prepares herself to become the first Witcher using this potion. She wants to find a purpose, and with the people she loves most dead, Ciri believes this could be the answer.”
She wants to use a form of magic called Dol Durzza, which allows a magic wielder to descend deep into one’s subconscious and find any clues that could be buried deep there. So Triss descends into Ciri’s mind, reliving the moment her parents died. Only, something is amiss. Triss feels it, as Ciri follows a path of flowers to a blinding white light.
With her mother dying, Triss steps up to help her but things quickly descend. The world turns to darkness, the Wild Hunt appears and Ciri is warned that the end is nigh.
Geralt and Istredd continue talking, where their conversation turns to that of Yennefer. It’s here Geralt learns that Yen is still alive and didn’t die in the fires from Sodden. Ciri’s echoed screams pierce through, asking Geralt for help. The Stellacite fragments are also gone too, at least when this vision ends, as another creature steps out thee shadows and flies into the air. Geralt immediately asks Istredd to conjure a portal.
Geralt heads back to Kaer Morhen just in time, stopping Vesemir from injecting Ciri with the serum. Meanwhile, Jaskier tries to save Yennefer, who continues to be taunted by the strange sinister voice bouncing around in her head. Eventually she makes her choice and recites the words… bringing her to the old woman. ..
Yennefer is looking for a way to get access to Chaos, which she believes is located in the form of finding and delivering Ciri. She has decided that the best place to find her is at a black door outside Cintra, which is most likely the portal where the monolith is situated. ..
The Episode Review
The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt is a really solid game, one that leans closer to the games in regards to the Wild Hunt and what this means for our characters. This episode was really well done, with a lot of action and excitement.
The show has a lot of potential but it’s hampered by its lack of comedic relief. Jaskier is a welcome addition and the missing episodes could use some more laughs.
These later episodes have definitely been a step up from what we’ve seen before, and they certainly lean much closer toward the fate of the world balancing on a precarious knife edge.
The different storylines in this book work together to create a well-rounded world that is more fleshed out than what was seen in the first two books. The ending seems to tease a more action-packed series of chapters to come.
