The Witcher Week: Explainers, Interviews, and Features for Season 2
Things are heating up on the Continent
The Witcher Season 2 arrived on Dec. 17 and picked up right where Season 1 left off, with Geralt (Henry Cavill) and Ciri (Freya Allan) finally fulfilling their destiny and meeting each other in the woods. While Season 1 informed us of how Geralt and Ciri's fates were entwined, Season 2 digs a lot more into why they are fated together and gives an idea of what obstacles they are going to face going forward. Yennefer (Anya Chalotra) had a tougher start in Season 2, since she disappeared in the Season 1 finale after a brilliant display of fire magic. We'd love to say things got easier for her from there, but that doesn't really seem to be the case for our favorite troubled mage.
Whether you began watching The Witcher because you were a fan of the novels or the video games, or you just wanted to dive into a new fantasy show, we're all here because we are fans of the Netflix series. TV Guide is celebrating the return of the series, alongside sister sites GameSpot and Metacritic, with The Witcher Week. For seven days, we'll be posting content about the show, getting you ready for the new season, and breaking down Season 2 as it drops this weekend. We've got explainers, essays, and interviews with the cast and showrunner Lauren Schmidt Hissrich.
If you need a refresher on Season 1, have already watched Season 2, or are just ready to throw down with Geralt of Rivia in any way possible, this is the place to be. We'll be hosting all of our Witcher Week content here, so make sure to bookmark and come back each day as new stories are released.
TV Guide
Before You Watch
The Witcher Season 1 Timelines, Explained — The Witcher Season 1 played with a lot of people's heads by interlacing timelines that were decades apart but seemed to be happening simultaneously. A quick look at a painting in Episode 3 tipped people off they were working with a generational story, but it was difficult to keep track of what was happening when. We unfolded the timelines in chronological order to help you keep things straight.
Everything to Know About The Witcher Season 2 — Catch up on all of the Season 2 trailers, released clips, and first look photos. Find out which new cast members are joining the fray, and get teases from Schmidt Hissrich about what stories will be coming in the new season.
Henry Cavill and Freya Allan Tease Geralt and Ciri's Relationship Development in The Witcher Season 2 - We saw maybe 30 seconds of Geralt and Ciri together in The Witcher Season 1, but destiny will make them peas in a pod in Season 2. The stars elaborate on how their relationship grows in real time in the new episodes.
What The Witcher Season 2 Might Tell Us About Blood Origins and The Conjunction of Spheres - It's theory time! TV Guide contributor Shiri Sondheimer breaks down what the new episodes could tell us about the upcoming Witcher prequel series according to Slavic cosmology and ancient myths.
After You Watch
The Witcher Season 2 Finale Delivered a Jaw-Dropping White Flame Twist - Spoilers ahead! The Season 2 finale ended with a big reveal about the White Flame that inspires a lot of questions about Nilfgaard, Ciri, and the future of The Continent.
8 Shows Like The Witcher to Watch If You Like The Witcher — If you have already binged Season 2 of The Witcher and are looking for more fantasy content to consume, check out these picks from our recommendations team.
The Witcher Season 2 Monster Guide — Here's all the monsters we see in The Witcher Season 2 and a breakdown of their mythological roots.
Geralt of Rivia Is Actually a Terrible Witcher, According to The Witcher Rules — We examined the laws of Witchering from both The Witcher novels as well as the Netflix series, and you know what? Geralt would get a pretty crappy year-end review based on the job metrics laid out by the source material. However, that's exactly what makes him a great hero in the series.
5 Times The Witcher Season 2 Subverted Tried-and-True Fantasy Tropes — No one is a stranger to the Chosen One narrative, but what we are not used to is the Chosen One being able to decide how exactly their role in that destiny actually plays out. Ciri gets that choice in The Witcher, and there are a few other tropes this fantasy series flips on its head. They all get broken down here.
The Witcher Season 2 Belongs to the Women — TV Guide contributor Shiri Sondheimer explains the female mythological influences on The Witcher Season 2 and how that influences the female characters on the show, as well as how they — specifically an ambitious trio — shape the season.
The Witcher Universe
Everything to Know About The Witcher: Blood Origins — A Witcher prequel series is on the way to explain how the first Conjunction of the Spheres came to be and set up how the Continent became the messed-up place that it is when we first encounter Geralt.
GameSpot
Before You Watch
The Witcher Season 2 Review: Netflix's Fantasy Series Matures In All The Right Ways — GameSpot's Eric Frederiksen reviews the second season of the show and explains how it improved upon the first set of episodes.
8 The Witcher Images to Get You Pumped for Season 2 — A gallery of first look images from Season 2 of The Witcher to give you some clue of what to expect.
The Witcher Season 2 Character Refresher — It's hard keeping track of all those characters, especially when the show has been on hiatus for two years. Remind yourself of the power players from Season 1 before checking out the new episodes so you remember who everyone is and how they factor into this world.
After You Watch
The Witcher Season 2 Pokes Fun At Season 1's Biggest Misstep — We admit that Season 1 of The Witcher wasn't perfect, but we appreciated how the writers took the notes and addressed them in a very tongue-in-cheek way in Season 2.
What The Witcher Season 2 Finale Means for Netflix's Fantasy Series Moving Forward — The finale of The Witcher Season 2 had a lot of big reveals that need to be broken down. GameSpot explains the implications of those reveals as we look ahead to Season 3.
Metacritic
Metacritic Reviews — Find out what all of the critics are saying about The Witcher Season 2 and be ready to leave your user score once you've watched.
What to Watch and Play After The Witcher Season 2 —Metacritic's recommendations for your post-Season 2 binge include video games and movies to check out that might help with your Geralt withdrawals.