The Witcher’s Geralt of Rivia stands out from other characters for his physical appearance, especially his white hair – but is there a reason for his hair to be like that? Based on the book series of the same name by Andrzej Sapkowski, The Witcher made its debut on Netflix in December 2019 and was so well-received it might be the streaming giant’s biggest first TV season ever. Netflix was aware of the popularity of The Witcher books and video games and renewed the series even before the first season was out.
The Witcher approached Sapkowski’s stories differently and followed three characters in different places and points in time, and whose paths converged towards the end of the season. These characters are the title witcher, Geralt of Rivia (Henry Cavill); Yennefer of Vengerberg (Anya Chalotra), a powerful sorceress; and Ciri (Freya Allan), the crown princess of Cintra. Geralt’s work has given him quite a reputation as one of the best witchers out there, but that’s not the only reason he stands out from the rest, as he also has white hair – and not exactly because of his age.
In order to become witchers, apprentices are subjected to intense alchemical processes, mutagenic compounds, and intense physical and magical training. One of these processes is the “Trial of the Grasses”, a very painful trial in which witcher apprentices are required to consume special alchemical ingredients that affect their physiology. It’s not surprising that not all witchers-to-be survive this process, but Geralt was a special case. Thanks to his ability to resist this trial, he was subjected to more tests, which ended up turning his skin and hair pale white, but they also gave him even more abilities than other witchers.
The point of all the training and experiments witcher apprentices go through is to make them dangerous and able to fight against a variety of opponents. Though witchers have different abilities depending on different factors, what they all have in common are cat-like eyes (that grant them acute night vision) and quick reflexes, as a result of the Trial of the Grasses; boosted immune system, which in some cases is complete immunity to diseases; accelerated healing; increased strength, speed, and endurance, and versatility in combat. Of course, all this comes at a price, the most important one being sterility. This explains, in part, why being a witcher is not something that can be passed from generation to generation, and so they have to take them in as children and train them from a very young age.
Due to the extra processes and trials Geralt went through, he not only has all the aforementioned abilities but also fully white hair – which, obviously, compared to other side-effects, is the least of his problems. Geralt’s white hair, in a way, also adds to his personality, as it gives him a more mature and threatening look, more so when mixed with the cat-like eyes. As seen in The Witcher season 1, there’s a lot more to Geralt than what he shows through his physical appearance and quiet attitude, and viewers will surely get to know him better in season 2.