The Witcher is coming back with a second season, and here’s a timeline recap of the first one and the most important events to remember. Created by Polish author Andrzej Sapkowski, The Witcher is a series of novels and short stories that became widely popular when they were adapted into video games and later into a movie and a TV series in Poland in 2001 and 2002. The Witcher finally got its first English adaptation in 2019, debuting on Netflix to a lot of success and getting renewed for a second season even before the first one was out.
The series approached Sapkowski's stories differently and went with a non-linear narrative, through which it followed three characters in different places and points in time, with their paths converging towards the end of season 1. These characters are Geralt of Rivia (Henry Cavill), the title monster hunter; Yennefer of Vengerberg (Anya Chalotra), a powerful sorceress; and Ciri (Freya Allan), the crown princess of Cintra who is starting to discover her own powers. All of them are coming back in The Witcher season 2, and by the end of season 1, they were in completely different paths and situations.
Geralt and Ciri are bound by the Law of Surprise and finally found each other in the final scene of season 1, while Yennefer fought in the Battle of Sodden Hill, with her fate left a mystery. Of course, a bunch of things happened to each of them to lead them to that point, and these events will also have an impact on their stories in The Witcher season 2. Here’s a recap of The Witcher season 1 in chronological order.
Yennefer’s Backstory & Transformation
At the end of The Witcher season 1, Yennefer was already a powerful sorceress who channeled all her “chaos” to save the Continent from the Nilfgaardian armies, but she went through a lot of traumatic experiences to get to that point. Yennefer was introduced in The Witcher as a young woman with a curved spine and partial facial paralysis living with her mother and stepfather, who didn’t treat her right. After being attacked by a couple after she tried to return a flower to them, Yennefer unintentionally transported herself to Aretuza, where she met sorcerer Istredd (Royce Pierreson). This left Yennefer marked, leading Tissaia de Vries (MyAnna Buring) to arrive at her family’s farm to purchase Yennefer (for less than half the price of a pig). Yennefer was then forcefully taken to Aretuza, where she tried to take her own life on her first night there.
Yennefer survived thanks to Tissaia’s intervention and began her training, but she was soon disappointed as she failed every test and class. During her time at Aretuza, Yennefer also learned she’s a quarter elf, which is why she was born with deformities, though that also means she can be a powerful sorceress. Yennefer eventually proved to Tissaia that she can control her emotions, and after witnessing some of her fellow sorceresses being turned into eels, she was ready for her initiation. However, things didn’t go as planned as before her initiation she learned that she wasn’t going to her hometown anymore and was instead being sent to Nilfgaard, as Istredd told Stregobor (Lars Mikkelsen) about her elven blood, so she decided to not attend the big night. Yennefer later found the enchanter and demanded that he make her beautiful, but the price was too big: to be reborn, she will bear no more, so he removed her reproductive organs. Now fully transformed, Yennefer joined the rest at the ball and won her spot in Aedirn back, so Fringilla was sent to Nilfgaard.
Renfri & “The Girl In The Woods”
The very first episode of The Witcher introduced Renfri (Emma Appleton), a cursed princess who crossed paths with Geralt in Blaviken. Renfri tried to convince Geralt to help her kill Stregobor, and the mage also tried to get Geralt to kill Renfri. Renfri’s time in Netflix’s The Witcher was very brief and is only memorable for two things. First, as she died in Geralt’s arms, she told him that “the girl in the woods” was his destiny, though at the time, Geralt had no idea of what that meant. Second, Geralt took her cloak brooch with him and mounted it onto the hilt of his sword, this as a reminder to not become involved in conflicts between humans.
Geralt Meets Jaskier
Jaskier (Joey Batey) became an instant fan favorite thanks to his charm, even if he wasn’t Geralt’s favorite person throughout The Witcher season 1. The bard and the witcher met at a tavern where Jaskier’s performance was booed, and he then approached Geralt to ask for a review of his performance, with the witcher telling him the creatures in his song don’t even exist. After announcing to the tavern that Geralt is a witcher, Geralt got a new job and Jaskier decided to tag along, much to the annoyance of Geralt. Jaskier made Geralt’s work popular through his very catchy song “Toss A Coin To Your Witcher” and accompanied him through different missions and dangerous adventures, such as when he was attacked by a djinn and a quest to kill a dragon, after which Geralt let him know he didn’t want him around anymore, and the bard simply left. Jaskier was also by Geralt’s side during a crucial moment in his life: a royal betrothal in Cintra.
The Law Of Surprise
Jaskier and Geralt attended the betrothal party for Princess Pavetta’s hand in marriage, but the event took a turn when Lord Urcheon of Erlenwald/Duny (Bart Edwards) arrived. After seeing his humanoid porcupine shape, Queen Calanthe (Jodhi May) ordered to have him killed, but Geralt defended him. Duny arrived to claim Pavetta by the Law of Surprise, and it turned out that they had been engaged in a secret relationship for a year. As Calanthe was about to kill him, Pavetta screamed out, awakening her powers, and seeing the connection between her and Duny, Calanthe finally accepted it and the Law of Surprise was honored. Duny wished to repay Geralt for saving his life, and after initially declining, the witcher chose the Law of Surprise – and to his and everyone’s surprise, Pavetta suddenly threw up, indicating she was pregnant, which meant her child, Ciri, was now bound to Geralt.
Geralt Meets Yennefer
Back to Geralt and Jaskier, one day they found a bottle inscribed with a wizard’s seal at a lake, and it contained a djinn. Jaskier unintentionally released it and used two of the three available wishes, but he was then “possessed” by the djinn, prompting Geralt to seek help. This led him to Rinde, where he met Yennefer, who had the mayor and many other citizens under a trance at the mayor’s house. Yennefer freed Jaskier but tricked Geralt so she could become the vessel of the djinn and gain more power, but holding the djinn was too much for her, and Geralt saved her through a wish, which inevitably formed a strong bond between them. Geralt and Yennefer reunited during the dragon hunt mentioned above, but an argument between them regarding Geralt’s last wish led to them parting ways
The Fall of Cintra & The Hunt For Ciri
Ciri’s storyline in The Witcher season 1 began with the attack of Cintra by the Nilfgaardian army, which led to her step-grandfather’s death and her grandmother’s suicide, though not before sending Ciri away from Cintra, as the Nilfgaardians were also looking for her. During her final moments, Calanthe realized Geralt was right and Ciri would only be safe with him, so she instructed the young Princess to find Geralt of Rivia as he’s her destiny. The real reason why Nilfgaard is hunting Ciri wasn’t revealed in season 1, but if the Netflix show is to follow the source materials, viewers are in for a big surprise.
Ciri’s Powers
Before she was sent away and during her final moments with her grandmother, Ciri unintentionally awakened her powers when she refused to leave Calanthe and screamed, releasing a pulse that rattled nearby glasses, similar to the powerful scream her mother let out while Geralt, Calanthe, and Duny fought. While on the run, Ciri’s powers continued to manifest sporadically, though mostly during moments of stress and fear, and at one moment, she went into a trance and delivered a prophecy before blacking out. Ciri’s powers will continue to be explored in The Witcher season 2, more so as Geralt is taking her to Kaer Morhen.
The Battle of Sodden Hill
As Nilfgaard continued invading the rest of the Northern Kingdoms, Yennefer, Tissaia, and other mages gathered to reinforce the keep of Sodden Hill and stop the Nilfgaardian armies. The Battle of Sodden Hill wasn’t easy, with both sides using magic and inflicting heavy casualties on each other. Triss Merigold (Anna Shaffer) was brutally attacked but she survived, and Sabrina (Therica Wilson-Read) became infected with a parasite from the Nilfgaardian side and tried to kill Yennefer. After finding a weakened Tissaia, Yennefer was encouraged to let all her chaos explode in order to save the Continent, and so she unleashed fire on the Nilfgaardian army, though that led to her disappearance. Some time after the battle, Ciri and Geralt finally found each other in the forest and embraced, with the princess asking Geralt who Yennefer is.