The Witcher Recap: Swamp Things

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Geralt and his friends are facing a tough choice. One path means continuing through the dangerous lands they’ve been traveling all season – areas devastated by war and filled with refugee camps. The other leads them through the eerie Ysgith swamp, which is free of people but teeming with monsters. After a quick discussion, they decide to risk the swamp. That’s what you have a witcher for, after all!

With the season of The Witcher nearing its end, this episode feels more like a setup for the finale than a truly satisfying story. It focuses more on positioning characters for the ending than on compelling events. However, the episode is saved by its central story – a classic Witcher tale of a dark, fairytale-like monster hunt with a clever surprise at the end, which is exactly the kind of story this show does best.

As Geralt and his companions venture into the swamp, they fall prey to a strange creature that begins to stalk and torment them. The creature taunts Geralt with a haunting giggle that only he can hear, and the situation quickly worsens as Geralt begins to experience terrifying hallucinations – visions of Yennefer and Ciri offering each other solace as they succumb to the dangers of the swamp, even as he desperately tries to reach them.

The creature Geralt faced wasn’t one monster, but two – a pair of rusalka, spirits tied to the water where they perished. All along, the child had been tricking him. The swamp creature, the mother, wasn’t malicious – she was lonely and desperately wanted affection, pleading with Geralt for a hug.

Geralt, as a witcher, understands the only way to truly calm a rusalka is to ask it a riddle and then solve it. The rusalka presents this challenge: “I cherish what I don’t possess. I cultivate what I don’t nourish. My life and death depend on something that isn’t solely mine. What am I?”

I’ll pause while you guess.

I finally understand it! The mystery of that vision Geralt kept having? It all comes down to family. It turns out the image of Yennefer and Ciri was a haunting echo of a tragedy – a mother and child who died waiting for their father in the swamp. It was like some unfinished business needed to be resolved. Now that it is, they can finally rest, and Geralt and his friends can move forward without that weight holding them back. It really fits with Geralt’s journey – he’s becoming a father figure, and that vision was a key part of that.

After experiencing too much bloodshed, Yarpen and Percival choose to leave the group. Yarpen’s decision is partly influenced by Geralt’s strong relationships with Yennefer and Ciri, prompting him to return to Mahakam and seek a similar love with a woman from his past. Milva also decides to step away from the upcoming conflict, revealing that ‘Milva’ is just a name she created to protect herself. She hopes her pregnancy might allow her to shed the ‘Milva’ persona and reclaim her original identity as Maria.

The episode feels somewhat safe, which fits with the show’s focus on the importance of family. After discovering the girl they found isn’t Ciri, Yennefer magically appears to Geralt, and they reaffirm their dedication to reuniting their chosen family. Luckily, Regis offers a convenient solution: a previously unmentioned group of local druids who, because of the timing of the equinox, might be able to cast a spell to locate her.

Okay, seriously, they need to find Ciri quickly! We catch up with the Rats through Hotspurn, and he spills the beans to Ciri – they kidnapped that rich guy on orders from Emhyr himself! It’s awful realizing she’s been helping the very man who destroyed her home. She corners Hotspurn and gets him to admit his next lead was actually a trap – designed to push the Rats right into Leo Bonhart’s path, who Emhyr will torture until he finds out where Ciri is. The episode ends with her rushing back to her friends, but I’m on the edge of my seat wondering if she’s going to make it in time!

Stray Arrows

Liam Hemsworth is getting into character as Geralt of Rivia – and apparently, that includes mastering the art of relaxing in a large wooden bathtub! It’s another challenge met for any actor taking on the role.

This episode really highlighted the difference between Liam Hemsworth’s portrayal of Geralt and Henry Cavill’s. I especially missed Cavill’s voice – it had a similar rough quality to Doug Cockle, who many fans loved in the role. Hemsworth’s more relaxed delivery works for casual scenes, but it didn’t quite capture the urgency and pain of Geralt facing loss and a terrifying vision of Yennefer and Ciri’s potential deaths.

I generally don’t mind when Netflix changes things from the original Witcher stories, but I really don’t like their portrayal of Emhyr. In the books and the game The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt, the Emperor of Nilfgaard is a truly intimidating figure – he doesn’t appear often, but always feels like the most powerful and ruthless person present. The show’s version is much less impressive; he’s younger, seems weaker, shows his emotions more, and is easily manipulated by Skellen, who is clearly plotting something.

So, Regis transformed into a bat in this episode, which proves that at least some vampire stereotypes are actually true!

Want to see the Ysgith swamp firsthand? You can explore it in the video game Thronebreaker: The Witcher Tales.

After spending the night with Geralt, Yennefer remarks on how different he seems. This moment, whether planned or not, highlights the show’s tendency to draw attention to the actor’s transformation and makes it hard to focus on anything else.

• “Fucking destiny.” “Fucking destiny.”

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2025-10-31 01:55