In the wake of The Witcher season 2's release, showrunner Lauren Schmidt Hissrich explains the decision behind revealing the White Flame's identity. Inspired by Andrzej Sapkowski's book series and by its popular video game adaptations, The Witcher stars Henry Cavill as Geralt of Rivia, the witcher, and Freya Allan as Ciri, the crown princess of Cintra. The Netflix original series' story acts as a prequel that explores how destiny entwines the characters against the backdrop of a grim fantasy world.
In December 2021, The Witcher season 2 premiered with all 8 episodes released on Netflix. While season 1 covers some of Sapkowski's short stories, which act as a prequel to the main Witcher saga and may be unfamiliar to fans, The Witcher season 2 begins to tackle some events familiar to fans of the book series and video games. One of the more shocking reveals of the long-awaited season 2 takes place in the final episode when the identity of the White Flame, the emperor of Nilfgaard and enemy of the Northern kingdoms, is revealed. The emperor Emhyr (Bart Edwards) is actually Duny, Ciri's father.
In response to season 2's release, showrunner Schmidt Hissrich sat down with Felicia Day on The Witcher: Unlocked (via The Witcher Netflix on YouTube) to give some behind-the-scenes info on the White Flame identity twist. While Hissrich couldn't answer every question without spoiling The Witcher season 3, she was willing to explain why season 2 ended on such a big reveal. Hissrich explains that while the writer's room was divided over giving the viewers too much information and possibly leaving the characters behind, knowing the identity of White Flame is essential to understanding Nilfgaard as an empire. According to Hissrich, the writers considered several options for hiding Emhyr's identity a little longer, but they ultimately decided to use this reveal to build suspense for The Witcher season 3. Read Hissrich's statement on the big reveal below:
"As soon as we start to see Emhyr again, we're going to know that he's Duny... it felt like the right time to do it, and now we can actually dig into Emhyr and why exactly he wants his daughter back so badly."
While before season 2 episode 8, Nilfgaard appeared to be one of many obstacles that Geralt and Ciri would need to overcome, this reveal opens more questions about the empire's intentions. Based on Hissrich's comments, it seems clear that those intentions are driven by the White Flame's plans. The Netflix series hasn't revealed what those plans are yet, but fans of The Witcher who already know from reading the books and those who don't will be waiting for answers in season 3.
Because The Witcher is a story that has already been explored from multiple angles, the showrunners, of course, want to be certain that everything they include in the Netflix series not only satisfies long-time fans but also excites new audiences. Hissrich's explanation assures both types of viewers that the writers are fans just as they are. After season 2's success, The Witcher season 3 promises even more.
Source: The Witcher Netflix