Netflix’s The Witcher has a confusing timeline, which once it’s put in chronological order makes way for a number of mysteries, including one about Jaskier, as he didn’t age at all in season 1. Andrzej Sapkowski’s book series The Witcher has become very popular over the years thanks to its adaptations to video games, and Netflix decided to bring this universe to an even wider audience through a TV series. Simply titled The Witcher, the series made its debut in December 2019 and might be the platform’s biggest first TV season ever, and was renewed for a second season before the first one was released.
The Witcher had a different narrative style from the video games and books, as it followed the stories of three characters in three different points in time, whose paths converged towards the end of the season. These characters are the title witcher, Geralt of Riva (Henry Cavill); Yennefer of Vengerberg (Anya Chalotra), a powerful sorceress with a difficult past; and Ciri (Freya Allan), the crown princess of Cintra. Due to its non-linear narrative, it’s easy to miss that the series covers decades, and that the characters – namely Geralt and Yennefer – are not as young as they look due to the mutations and other transformations they went through, so they don’t age like a normal human. However, there are some characters who are regular humans and didn’t age at all through season 1.
Such is the case of Jaskier (Joey Batey), a bard who tags along with Geralt, much to the witcher’s dismay. Jaskier was present when Geralt invoked the Law of Surprise after saving Duny, which seconds later meant that Duny and Pavetta’s daughter, Ciri, was going to be Geralt’s, and he was also by the witcher’s side during many other missions. As mentioned above, due to the non-linear timeline of The Witcher, it’s easy to lose track of how many years have passed and with that how old the characters should be – and viewers have pointed out that Jaskier didn’t age at all during all those years he spent with Geralt. But how could that be possible, if he isn’t a witcher nor a mage?
The Witcher Season 1 Timeline Explained
The Witcher season 1 not only follows the separate stories of Geralt, Yennefer, and Ciri, but some timelines cover more years than the others. As confirmed by showrunner Lauren Schmidt Hissrich (via TVGuide), Ciri’s story takes place over to weeks, Geralt’s over 20 years, and Yennefer’s “like 70 years”. The earliest timeline in The Witcher season 1 is that of Yennefer’s origins, when viewers meet the young sorceress way before her transformation and training at Aretuza, when she was still disfigured and abused. The second timeline is that of Geralt’s, with his introduction scene taking place approximately 25 years after Yennefer’s origin one. Ciri’s story, then, would be the third and most recent timeline, as well as the shortest one.
Now, Jaskier is part of Geralt’s timeline, and he arrives somewhat early on it (in 1240, nine years after Geralt’s arrival at Blaviken and his encounter with Renfri), and he sticks around for a long while. As mentioned above, they attended the betrothal feast of Princess Pavetta together in 1249, which is when Duny arrived and chaos ensued, with Geralt ending up bound to Ciri by the Law of Surprise. In 1256, Geralt and Jaskier discovered (and accidentally released) a Djinn, which led them to meet Yennefer. Then in 1262, Geralt, Jaskier, and Yennefer joined a dragon hunt, and that was the last adventure together of Geralt and Jaskier, as the former snapped at the latter, blaming him for everything bad that had happened to them and told him he hoped they never meet again. Of course, after such confrontation, Jaskier left, and that’s the last time the audience saw Jaskier in The Witcher season 1.
How Old Jaskier Should Be In The Witcher Season 1
The Witcher never explicitly said how old its main characters are, so their ages can only be calculated through hints in the series, the timeline, and any details the showrunner and writers have shared. In Jaskier’s case, from the moment he first appeared at that bar and came up with “Toss A Coin To Your Witcher”, to his argument with Geralt and departure, 24 years passed, so Jaskier should have aged, but he looks the same all the time. According to the official site of Netflix’s The Witcher, Jaskier was born in 1222, so he was 18 when he met Geralt, meaning that by the end of his story in season 1, he should be 42, but doesn’t look any older than he did in his first appearance in the series.
Witcher Theory: Why Jaskier Hasn’t Aged (Is He Immortal?)
Unlike Geralt and Yennefer, Jaskier hasn’t gone through any mutations or experimentations, and he’s a regular human being, which is why Geralt was often worried about him tagging along as he could easily die, as he almost did when they found the Djinn. This is why viewers have wondered why Jaskier didn’t age at all through season 1 (a mistake Schmidt Hissrich admitted in a Reddit AMA), and fans have come up with different explanations. The most popular and possible one was shared by a Reddit user, who suggests that Jaskier made his way to immortality by accidentally drinking a potion, thinking it was wine. Potions are a thing in Sapkowski’s books, but there’s little mention of them – in the video games, on the other hand, there are many potions that characters can take to increase certain abilities. However, neither in the books nor the games is there a potion that grants immortality, though there could be one that could slow down a person’s aging process.
Another possibility, also shared by a Reddit user, is that the series is being told by Jaskier (as if it was one of his many songs), and so he’s describing himself as youthful and attractive, even if he isn’t young anymore. Last but not least, another Reddit user suggested a way to justify Jaskier not aging, in case the series wants to do so: changing his backstory a bit and making one of his parents a half-elf, which would make him look human but alter his aging process, allowing him to live long and look young for longer than a normal human. It’s unknown if Jaskier will look his age in The Witcher season 2, though Schmidt Hissrich has already said that this will be approached differently in the upcoming season, which may or may not include an explanation as to why he didn’t age at all in over 20 years.