The Best Part of ‘The Witcher’ Season 2 is Ciri’s Baller Gauntlet Run

The Witcher Season 2 is, in a word, bitching. The long-awaited second chapter of Netflix’s fantasy hit has monsters a-plenty, dudes just being dudes, and a whole subplot about mutagens. There are epic fight scenes, power hungry elves, and the return of Jaskier (Joey Batey), fantasy’s greatest singer-songwriter. (Sorry Thom Merrilin.) However my favorite bit in The Witcher Season 2 has to be Ciri (Freya Allan) and her incredible work tackling the gauntlet thing-y at Kaer Morhen. Ciri’s desire to be a Witcher like protector Geralt (Henry Cavill) might be cool on its own, but it’s the way she applies herself through the trials on the pendulum that establish her as a true beast. Cirillia’s commitment to taking a Witcher-level beating was one of the most insanely cool parts of The Witcher’s already fabulous second season.

Netflix’s The Witcher is a lavish adaptation of Andrzej Sapkowski’s best-selling fantasy books and the massively popular video game franchise those novels spawned. The first season followed three different timelines, giving us a glimpse of how Geralt of Rivia, Princess Cirilla of Cintra, and the sorceress Yennefer of Vengerberg (Anya Cholatra) evolved on their own before their paths became intertwined. While the first season ended with Yennefer in the clutches of her enemies, The Witcher Season 1 also culminated in Geralt and Ciri’s first fated meeting. Thanks to a magical rule called “The Law of Surprise,” care of Ciri was promised to Geralt when she was still in her mother’s womb. After Cintra falls, Ciri’s future rests in Geralt’s hands. The Witcher is determined to protect the girl, namely by teaching her to protect herself.

Geralt sets out to teach Cirilla how to sword fight, strategize, and think like a Witcher, but his lessons are moving too slow for the ambitious princess. By Episode 3, she’s pushing against her mentor’s advice to rest and letting Geralt’s fellow Witchers at Kaer Morhen egg her on into doing dangerous feats. Namely, Ciri attempts to run a gauntlet known to Witcher fans as the Pendulum. (You can even see a version of this in The Witcher III: The Wild Hunt.) The first few runs, though, are predictably painful. Ciri might be an eager student, but she lacks the prowess to handle the vicious hits the contraption throws at her.

There were a couple of things I loved about this Witcher Season 2 Episode 3 subplot. One, Ciri fails. Many times. She gets bruised, bloodied, and laughed at. It’s honestly what someone at her level of inexperience deserves! It also gives the magically powered princess a physical obstacle to overcome. She has a tangible goal to tackle. Her tenacity in getting up and trying the gauntlet again is admirable. It shows a strength of spirit that doesn’t match, but supersedes her magic power.

What’s also cool? By episode end, she seems to have all but conquered the pendulum. Witchers from all over Kaer Morhen flock to watch the petite teenager deftly tackle the same horrific gauntlet they’ve all bled from. And you know what? They’re really excited that she’s doing so well! Instead of mocking her, the Witchers have Ciri’s back. They’re cheering her on and hoping she completes the run.

The only Witcher not amused by Ciri’s reckless pendulum runs? Geralt.

Ciri doesn’t quite finish the run without a final fall, but what she does do is signal to the audience that she is a force to be reckoned with. She’s not just a magical princess but a resilient warrior in training. Through overcoming her failures and pushing ahead, Ciri is showing that she has the mettle to be a true force in the world of The Witcher beyond bloodlines and birthrights. Ciri rules.

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