By Ever since WitcherCon was announced, fans of Henry Cavill’s fantasy series have been crossing their fingers that the big Netflix and CD Projekt RED event would reveal the show’s first proper teaser trailer. Thankfully, we were not disappointed. Following a lengthy interview with series star Henry Cavill at the end of the stream, Netflix debuted two minutes and twelve seconds of brand new footage from the second season, and (as always) we’re here to dissect it.
First things first, in case you’ve missed it, and in case you want to rewatch it, here’s the teaser. Now, let’s dive in.
The trailer begins with an exchange fans of the books will remember
– So, I’m your destiny?
– You’re much more than that, Cirilla.
This quote comes straight from the books, albeit a bit later than expected. Taken from the final scene in the short story titled Something More, this exchange happened in Geralt and Ciri’s reunion outside of Yurga’s house in the novels (in the show, that would be the scene at the end of season one).
Following the events of season one, Ciri must overcome trauma and tragedy
One scene, likely from the first episode shows Ciri troubled by a nightmare. It is followed by another exchange between her and Geralt, where they discuss the terrible trauma she must overcome following the bloody massacre at Cintra.
Book readers can also recognize the shot above as it is directly inspired by the very opening of Blood of Elves where Ciri is having a nightmare about her escape from Cintra while Geralt is sitting beside her, awake.
Geralt, Ciri, and Roach in the woods
This scene is most likely from the first or second episode, while Geralt and Ciri are on the way to Kaer Morhen. This time, Henry Cavill’s Geralt and Freya Allan’s Ciri are joined by everyone’s favorite mare, Roach.
Geralt and Ciri arrive at Nivellen’s mansion
Perhaps the first or one of the first things we ever reported on Season 2 was that we would see an adaptation of the beloved short story A Grain of Truth, albeit with a slight change: Ciri would be there too. And here we are, almost one a half years later, seeing Nivellen’s spooky wintery garden and his statues.
And speaking of Nivellen…
Is this our first look at Kristofer Hivju’s Nivellen?
At first, we weren’t sure what these shots are showing us. After examining the walls, we’re quite certain that this is the inside of Nivellen’s mansion, and that the furry creature at the center of the frame is indeed Nivellen.
Geralt faces Vereena the Bruxa inside and outside Nivellen’s mansion
You might be wondering what that bat-looking creature flying towards Geralt is. Well, that would be a bruxa, which is a type of vampire. Geralt will fight this monster in the first episode of the second season, and it’s bound to be a memorable confrontation.
If you have read the books, you know how the whole episode ends. With that in mind, Geralt and Ciri can put the Nivellen incident behind them and move on towards their true destination…
A glimpse of the beautiful mountains on the road to Kaer Morhen
As we reported many months ago, The Witcher‘s second season was originally slated for filming in Scotland’s beautiful Isle of Skye, but the Coronavirus pandemic forced the production to remain nearby their home base at Arborfield Studios. The above scene appears to be one that was planned to be filmed at one of Skye’s most beautiful spots, the Old Man of Storr. Instead, the scene was shot in the studio with a very large green screen and the beautiful scenery was added in post-production.
RELATED ARTICLE: The Witcher Season Two set replaces Isle of Skye location
The duo then arrives at Kaer Morhen
This is it! We’ve been waiting to see Netflix’s approach to The Witcher‘s most iconic location, and now we have a pretty good idea. The ruined fortress, drenched in snow, doesn’t seem to make a very good first impression on Ciri. That said, fans of the books should be very pleased, since the courtyard looks very similar to what is described in the novels.
Witchers, Brothers in arms
We’ve been waiting quite a while for a proper look at the new witchers, and now we have it. Yasen Atour’s Coen and Paul Bullion’s Lambert are the first to appear, and they welcome Geralt warmly with a hug. A few other witchers created especially for the show are seen here as well. This sequence of shots is overlayed with a quote we believe is uttered by Kim Bodnia’s Vesemir.
Ciri begins her witcher training with Geralt
Next, we see a series of shots setting up Ciri’s training at Kaer Morhen. Fans of the novels and games know Ciri will eventually become the biggest badass on the Continent. Before that happens, the witchers of Kaer Morhen will need to teach her quite a lot. The next few shots feature a witcher laboratory in Kaer Morhen. The room is filled with swords and monster memorabilia, including what looks like a leshy’s arm.
Geralt trains himself, and Vesemir watches him
It seems Ciri will not be the only one to train throughout the show’s second season, as the trailer features several shots of Geralt training in the Kaer Morhen obstacle course. During these shots, we also get our first look at Vesemir (from his back), who watches Geralt train.
Trouble in Kaer Morhen
In the above shot, we see Geralt of Rivia and his mentor Vesemir back to back, with their swords drawn. This scene takes place in the witcher laboratory seen earlier in the teaser. We already know there will be a major fight sequence in Kaer Morhen during the second season, and these shots must be part of that. We have speculated in the past that this will involve numerous witchers taking on a leshy, which is a very powerful woodland monster. We’ve gathered all the related shots below.
RELATED ARTICLE: The Witcher Season 2 will feature a familiar monster from the game
A familiar face from season one confirms our earlier report
Here we can see Imogen Daines’ Danica, the sex worker that appeared in season one’s third episode, in a conversation with Ciri. We already know that Danica will arrive at Kaer Morhen with a number of sex workers before the aforementioned Kaer Morhen fight sequence.
RELATED ARTICLE: An Unexpected Character is Returning in The Witcher Season Two
Geralt and Ciri in the woods, with Geralt’s new armor. Geralt yells: “Run!”
In this scene, we see Geralt wearing his new armor set. This appears to be after Ciri undergoes some of her training. Could Geralt have taken her on a monster hunt? If so, the likeliest candidate is the myriapod, a creature mentioned in an earlier leak. This would be another callback to a scene that appeared in the books but did not make it into season one: the scene which introduces Ciri. Geralt originally saves Ciri from a myriapod in the forest of Brokilon and, if this is what we’re seeing here, it will be handled differently in the show. Hopefully, Ciri will play a part in slaying this monster.
RELATED ARTICLE: Pictures from The Witcher Season 2 set suggest that Ciri may enter a monster’s lair
What appears to be Triss’s arrival at Kaer Morhen, and a scene with Geralt
In the book Blood of Elves, Geralt asks Triss to come to Kaer Morhen and help him understand Ciri’s powers. Before she arrives at the witchers’ fortress, Triss runs into Ciri on the road. She finds Ciri full of mud and blood and wearing inadequate clothes, and is immediately angry at the witchers for not taking proper care of her. We hope this is the scene briefly glimpsed in the trailer where a woman is seen approaching Ciri. A set report we published during filming has already confirmed that Triss will be at Kaer Morhen, so this isn’t unlikely.
Another scene pictured below may feature Triss holding Geralt’s hands. The official website for the Netflix show has already teased that Triss has developed feelings for Geralt, and they did have a brief fling (off-page) in the books. We wonder if the show will explore that.
RELATED ARTICLE: Anna Schaffer’s Triss joins the Witcher cast at Kaer Morhen
Nilfgaardians in the brand new armor
An assortment of shots
The above frame was shot at Hodge Close Quarry in the Lake District. Due to a significant (and very spoiler-y) leak, we know more or less what will happen in this scene, and it’s quite a shocking change from what happens in the books.
SPOILER REPORT: The Witcher to make big changes to a character’s role in Season 2
This appears to be a witcher holding a School of the Wolf medallion. It looks rather different from Geralt’s, and we’ve seen multiple different types of medallions in the teaser.
Here we see Freya Allans’s Ciri beneath a beautiful waterfall. The scene was shot at Gordale Scar in the Yorkshire Dales.
RELATED ARTICLE: Henry Cavill captured filming The Witcher at Gordale Scar, Malham
Here we see a Ciri bloody and full of mud. This doesn’t seem to be related to any of the other scenes in the trailer unless this is the result of the fight with the myriapod.
Jaskier makes an appearance, wearing a novel-accurate hat
It looks like Jaskier has been busy in the intervening years between season one’s sixth episode and whenever he appears in the second season. Not only has he obtained a book-accurate hat, but he may have also joined a band. Regardless, after Toss a Coin to Your Witcher and Her Sweet Kiss, we can’t wait to hear his next big hit.
Our first look at Tissaia in season two takes place immediately after the first season
MyAnna Buring’s Tissaia de Vries, the Rectoress of Aretuza, appears in a couple of frames throughout the trailer where she is seen searching for Yennefer on the battlefield of Sodden Hill. Tissaia looks heartbroken over the supposed loss of her favorite student. Fortunately, Tissaia has nothing to worry about. Yennefer is very much alive and we see her (briefly) at the end of the trailer.
And finally, some Yennefer content, the immediate aftermath of the Battle of Sodden Hill
The only good-quality shot we have of Yennefer comes at the end of the trailer. We see Yennefer’s hazy point of view as she wakes up to find Nlfgaardian sorceress Fringilla has captured her. Though she survived the fiery finale at Sodden Hill, the powerful use of magic seems to have drained Yennefer and left her weakened.
If you’re worried about the lack of Yennefer content in this trailer, you shouldn’t. Yennefer will remain a main character in the second season and is likely to have just as much screentime as she did in the first season, if not more. The reason Netflix is keeping her storyline under wraps is likely because they want to keep it a surprise.
That being said, Netflix has also finally released the Yennefer teaser, albeit with a poorer image quality and if we dare to say, two weeks later than expected. In it we have a few more glimpses of the main sorceress of the show and the first look at Francesca Findabair.
And to add to that we saw a good shot in another video, featuring Ciri and Yennefer, but more on those videos later.
First look at Francesca Findabair in The Witcher Season 2
Well, there she is, Francesca Findabair, Queen of the Elves in the flesh, played by Mecia Simson.
Well, that was an exciting first teaser trailer for The Witcher season two! Besides this trailer, WitcherCon has provided us a number of other exciting reveals, including a brief Yennefer teaser, a reveal of season two’s episode titles, interviews with the leading cast, and a sneak peek at the anime film The Witcher: Nightmare of the Wolf.
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Both swords are directly from The Witcher 3 game. The nice reference.
Just some comments on the changed looks which are immediately noticeable. Good things first: Yennefer’s make-up is improved quite a bit. Actually, the toned-down make-up in one of the interview appearances of Anya Chalotra was even better. Also her costume as Yennefer seems to be better than in season one. Now the set-back: The new make-up of Freya Allen is next to horrible. It seems that the showrunners felt compelled to make her more look like the W3 game Ciri. Or they thought she should look more like Emilia Clarke or Anya Taylor-Joy. I really wonder what is going wrong in the make-up and styling department. Frey Allen looks quite like Ciri is described in the books. It might be that her naturally blonde eyebrows are not helping her acting on camera and need some make-up highlighting with a darker tone, but what they have done now is terrible – the artificial augmentation of her eyebrows, now looking like dark brushes, looks completely unnatural. Similarly, it seems that her lips have been artificially enhanced and filled. Again that looks awful, and why did they do that at all? Moreover, the thick, absolutely overdone make-up is very much visible in every of Ciri’s scenes in the trailer. The make-up people don’t seem up to their job, what is going on?
Jaskier looks awesome – with hat and all! Everything is shaping really nicely. Set designs are top notch – getting a leshen, bruxa, AND wild hunt?? Gonna be an epic next season.
Obstacle course equal thigh injury?
Really exciting to see all the places from the books which comes “to live”…
There are especially 2 aspects which I don’t like:
– The adaption of the story “Something more/etwas mehr”. For me that’s the most emotional story in the books and somehow the key between the relationships Geralt/Ciri/Yennefer.
Maybe it’s to early but what I can see (Dialoge between Geral/Ciri) has nothing to do with the books…
– The relation between Geralt and Yennefer is somehow a “teenager-love”, there is no depth, no tragic, no complexity. I really hope that it’s getting better in S2…
I think the scenes in the trailer are not presented in the chronological order as they will appear in the show. My guess is that Geralt takes Ciri to Nivellen’s mansion on the way to Khaer Morhen as otherwise I can’t fathom where Ciri got the pretty white dress from (which magically stays spotless white despite her sleeping rough while wearing it). But then there seem to be scenes in the trailer that aren’t fully consistent with such a course of events. That mentioned, the make up for Ciri appears much different from what it was in season 1. When I saw the trailer, I first thought they had hired another actress. However, I suppose Ciri’s new look is unrelated to Geralt and Ciri possibly visiting Nivellen together.