Spoiler report: Netflix to make big changes to Eskel’s role in The Witcher

15 comments

The second season of Netflix’s The Witcher, as we all know, will show us Geralt’s family in Kaer Morhen in the form of his fellow witchers. As it was announced earlier last year, Kim Bodnia, Paul Bullion, Basil Eidenbenz and Yasen Atour would be joining Henry Cavill‘s Geralt of Rivia as Vesemir, Lambert, Eskel and Coën respectively. And while all that sounds lovely, we found out something alarming about the Kaer Morhen storyline.

If you don’t want to know any spoilers for season two, don’t read further. Seriously, even if you have read the books. Major spoilers below:

Back in October 2020 we reported that at the Hodge Close Quarry The Witcher filmed a scene with at least Henry Cavill (Geralt), Paul Bullion (Lambert) and wolves or a wolf. We also mentioned that the wolf appeared to be eating a corpse. We didn’t think of it much back then, but we contacted the source again very recently and they were able to reveal more about the scene.

That corpse is Eskel, played by Basil Eidenbenz. Somehow in the second season of The Witcher Eskel dies and as a funeral ceremony his body is fed to the wolves, likely something symbolic since he was from the School of the Wolf.

Basil Eidenbenz to play Eskel

This raises a lot of questions. How does Eskel die? We did report several times on a major action scene taking place in Kaer Morhen that involves Geralt, Ciri, Vesemir, Eskel, Lambert, Coën and more. We also recall that a long while ago we reported that a witcher would have an encounter with a leshy and that encounter would bear “serious consequences”.

We aren’t stating anything about the exact circumstances of Eskel’s death here, we don’t know all the facts and all of the context in which his death occurs, but if we put two and two together, it appears that these “serious consequences” that our early sources meant were our poor Eskel getting killed by the leshy during this major encounter.

A Leshy or Leshen as seen in The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt

Another question is: why would Eskel need to be killed off in the first place? That never happens in the books and Ciri’s memories of Kaer Morhen are always fond ones, not sullied by such grim events. We’ll probably find out the answer to this question from interviews and AMAs by the writing staff later this year when Season 2 is finally released.

Last question that at least popped in our heads: if this is the funeral ceremony among witchers in the Netflix version of The Continent, what does the School of the Cat do?


In any case, the second season of The Witcher is currently in production at the highly secure Arborfield Studios and is expected to wrap sometime in March.

15 comments on “Spoiler report: Netflix to make big changes to Eskel’s role in The Witcher”

  1. If that is coming to pass in the series then I think it is a big mistake, and reason enough for me to no longer watch the show. There are several other annoying issues already regarding the casting, but Lauren Schmitt is writing her own take on the Witcher, throwing all what is good about it (books and games) out of the window. It is a safe ticket to failing at adaptation. Good luck, and bon voyage. Watching a Witcher 3 walkthrough is far more entertaining and pleasing than season 1 has been, and that is not as it should be, I guess.

  2. I’ll be sad to see Eskel go and I love his brotherhood with the white wolf but he wasn’t in the other books and his death can impact Geralt greatly and his relationships with Ciri and Yen. Now, can they kill Istredd too? His job is done.

  3. This is moronic, beyond moronic, eaten by wolves as burial ceremony what are they 12?! Who writes this? And a character who is minor one all things considered, what’s the point of killing him off? Especially since another witcher has a grim fate in the final book storyline and a witcher that at one point developed bond with Ciri. Ughh I knew the next seasons will be even less connected to the books and would be ‘adaptations’ in name only but never expected this level of stupidity.

    1. It is very likely for balanced homogeneity, main reason for three parallel timelines.
      They had no death for a more significant character for 2. series, so it fell to Eskel.
      In 1. series it was Clanthe (and Mousesack bonus), and in 3. series it will be Tissaia.
      Hopefully Dara will also be killed in the 2. series as a nice bonus or at the latest in the 4. series as a significant distorted original character.

      1. That appears to me be more of a lazy attempt at ripping off the Game of Thrones with the shock value deaths, but narratively it serves no purpose. Blood of Elves which is material for second season was always de facto a set up for later events, as with this novel started the whole overarching story structure. Still Blood of Elves has already some dramatic action and lots of human deaths (but is set in relative time when the biggest havoc is yet to be unleashed, the guerilla warfare of the Scoia’tael adding to the tension etc.), Geralt kills professional assassins the Michelet Brothers so deaths of henchmen of antagonists mimicking the Renfri gang in season 1 (and this fight in Oxenfurt is the chance for most spectacular combat choreography for second season). Mousesack and Calanthes deaths at least served some reason (and Calanthe’s death is part of book canon anyway, though Mousesack fate is left unknown in books). Besides with already so many rumors it seems second season will be bloated beyond capacity and so it will be rushed and poorly done if even half of those rumors are true.

    2. i totally agree, eskel is one of the best friends apart from jaskier and that he dies so soon is total stupid

  4. I was ready to give Netflix a benefit of the doubt after the messy 1st season and hope they learn from their mistakes but this sounds utterly ridiculous…

  5. I’m going to give them the befefit of the doubt as lons as they do my Geralt, Yennefer and Ciri right. The story is an adaptation of the books and not a page to page translation on screen. I love the books, they’re my introduction to the world but minus a few missteps in s1, they did a great gob especially with the characterization of Geralt, Yen, and Ciri. The story is them and their family of choice and destiny. If they do that right I m happy.

  6. Well it makes sense – as sad as it will be to see Geralt’s childhood friend to die – he is not in any of the other books and his death can make a great impact. I hope Istredd is next. He’s characters has run it’s course. He was there to create conflict between Getalt and Yen and now even that is unnecessary. Unless he’ll fill the role for another mage for the coup in Thanned and work for Vilgerfortz to uncover the prophecy of Getalt, Yen and Ciri. If that’s the case I hope Getalt gave a run for his money.

  7. I am afraid I do understand what is going on. At first I thought it mainly about pc agenda, diversity etc. . Now I see what is going on really, it is ego & pure ignorance mixed with self-righteous belief in one’s missions. No matter how shallow is the understanding by writers of A. Sapkowski’s work those writers do D&D stuff – they really believe they re improving AS vision of the world – battle of sodden, eels now witcher eaten by wolves during funeral? who is writing this 10 year old? at least D&D sticked to the books for most of the time. Seriously take diverse writers but at least somebody who is experienced and maybe even experienced in fantasy – like tolkien

    I have bad feeling about this show, season 2 is gonna be truth, linear time will show whether this show is actually good or something trash, it may be just average, but then Henry may just quit, and without Henry the whole ship sinks

  8. I am a fairly recent ‘convert’ to the Witcher, coming to it via the TV show, then the games and finally the books. I think this would be a very bad mistake – like, with the Start Trek films they decided to go completey AU with Vulcan, which is ok but it’s NOT canon and kind of spoils it. I hope this is NOT going to happen.

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