The Witcher Recap: With Friends Like These

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What happens when you’re completely cut off from your family? Geralt, Yennefer, and Ciri find themselves in that situation, far apart and struggling to succeed on their own. They’re forced to rely on the help of others, but they can’t always be sure if those people have good intentions.

Geralt and his companions are traveling towards Nilfgaard and choose to take a quicker route through Fen Carn, an ancient elven graveyard. It’s not surprising when they encounter a furious wraith – though Jaskier accidentally summoned it! Geralt views the fight not as a typical monster hunt, but as an act of kindness, explaining the wraith suffered a lifetime of sadness.

Strange things are happening in Fen Carn, so it’s odd—though not surprising, considering Jaskier—that the group repeatedly accepts the offer of lodging from Emiel Regis. He’s a quiet man who invites them to stay the night and enjoy unlimited amounts of his excellent homemade liquor.

Laurence Fishburne plays Regis, and anyone familiar with his work in shows like Hannibal knows he’s a fantastic addition to any cast. Fishburne clearly enjoys playing Regis – a quirky “barber-surgeon” with a large hairstyle who lives in a cemetery. There are plenty of reasons to be wary of him – the most unsettling being his dedication to studying pain – but Geralt is the only one who doesn’t immediately trust him. (If you want to avoid spoilers about Regis before they’re revealed in The Witcher, it’s best not to search for information about him online.)

According to this episode, Regis’s motivation seems to be simply being kind and helpful. After everyone else falls asleep from a spiked drink—which Regis admits to giving them to find out what Geralt and his friends truly desire—he cares for Geralt’s injury sustained in the fight with Vilgefortz. He claims to sympathize with Geralt’s mission to protect Ciri and decides to join them on their journey. However, the final scene shows Regis secretly enjoying the smell of Geralt’s blood, hinting at a potentially darker side and leaving viewers with unanswered questions.

Geralt is lucky to have Jaskier, even though Jaskier often messes things up – his dedication is always certain. Meanwhile, Ciri feels like an outsider among the Rats, and even struggles to trust Mistle after they became intimate. While the Rats attempt a complex robbery of a tax collector addicted to fisstech, Ciri is mostly kept on the sidelines, riding in the getaway wagon. Predictably, the heist goes wrong, but the Rats escape thanks to Ciri, who throws all the stolen gold into the street, creating a distraction and blocking their pursuers with the resulting crowd.

The Rats weren’t thrilled with Ciri’s hasty escape plan, but they got a surprise the next day. The townspeople believed the Rats had intentionally returned the stolen money, transforming them into local heroes. This positive outcome was enough for the Rats to officially welcome Ciri into their group, requiring her to pledge loyalty to her new friends and forsake all else. It makes you wonder if Ciri would have joined knowing how much Geralt and Yennefer were searching for her.

Regardless of what really happened, this event clearly shows Ciri’s newfound family isn’t trustworthy. The final scene, showing Kayleigh – the Rat who attacked Ciri before – looking at a scroll offering a large reward for Ciri’s capture, is particularly unsettling. Ciri might be too valuable to remain safe with this group of con artists, any of whom could betray her for money – especially now that the Nilfgaardian emperor, Emhyr var Emreis, has realized the girl he thought was Ciri isn’t actually her.

Yennefer is trying to gather allies to fight Vilgefortz, so she reaches out to two sorceresses she used to know, Philippa Eilhart and Fringilla Vigo. She anticipates they won’t be thrilled to hear from her, and she’s correct. Philippa dismisses Yennefer’s plea for help, reminding her that Yennefer always acts independently. Fringilla acknowledges she’s no longer working for Nilfgaard, and Yennefer points out that if they defeat Vilgefortz, they’ll also be defeating Emperor Emyhr.

Is Yennefer justified in trusting either of these sorceresses? Currently, opinions are divided, and betrayal remains a possibility from both sides. While trapped by Vilgefortz’s forces, Yennefer is unexpectedly rescued by an owl, which turns out to be Philippa after attacking one of her enemies. They seem to be allies for the moment, but this is countered by Fringilla’s quick decision to join Vilgefortz, aligning herself with whoever appears to be winning.

Is it possible for a former enemy to become a true ally? While the episode raises many complicated questions involving Regis, the Rats, and the sorceresses, it ends with a hint of optimism. Cahir, once a dedicated soldier of Nilfgaard, now seems to be watching over Geralt and his companions with a protective gaze. If someone so loyal to Nilfgaard can switch sides and become a strong supporter of Geralt and Ciri, perhaps it’s not so easy to determine who will ultimately win.

Stray Arrows

We see another example of a character being used by someone they trust – or think they trust. Istredd is tirelessly researching portals and monoliths, believing he’s helping Yennefer, when in reality, he’s unknowingly working for Vilgefortz, who can magically transform himself to perfectly imitate her.

Regis mentions living through “a time of contempt,” which is a nod to the title of the second book in Andrzej Sapkowski’s Witcher series – the source material for the show’s third season.

Yennefer gifts Fringilla a knife crafted from dimeritium, a metal known to cause unpleasant effects in magic users.

It’s funny how many strange people we encounter in life, isn’t it? Jaskier always seems to acknowledge the audience with a little wink.

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2025-10-30 15:55