🤐 SPOILER ALERT 🤐

For showrunner Lauren Schmidt Hissrich, The Witcher Season 3 is the culmination of the epic saga’s first two seasons. 

“Season 1 is culled from two books of short stories, and there were things we knew we had to lay out in order to understand the Continent, the kingdoms, the politics,” Schmidt Hissrich told Tudum in April. “Season 2 is [everyone] meeting — and it not going really well. It was building the stairsteps to what we were going to do in Season 3.”

Indeed, Season 3 of The Witcher finds Geralt (Henry Cavill), Ciri (Freya Allan), and Yennefer (Anya Chalotra) forming some semblance of a family while on the run from the Princess of Cintra’s enemies. Their togetherness doesn’t last long, though, because the dangerous fire mage Rience (Chris Fulton) eventually catches up to them and the perilous, war-torn Continent sees a dark conspiracy come to fruition at the Conclave of Mages. With Season 3 of the fantasy series released in its entirety, it’s only right that we dive into what unfolded, pay our respects to those who didn’t survive, and explain the season’s crucial details.

Why is Rience after Ciri?

It turns out that Rience isn’t the season’s biggest villain. He’s actually just a puppet being instructed to stalk Ciri. By who? Well, it turns out Rience gets his orders from another mage named Lydia (Aisha Fabienne Ross), who refers to the mysterious puppeteer as “My Lord” — but it’s not immediately clear who is above her in the chain of command.

During his relentless pursuit of the Princess, Rience falls into a trap set by Ciri, and Geralt breaks his wrists in a fight. But he survives, and a cloaked figure heals his fractured bones, allowing Rience’s pursuit of the girl to carry on.

So, who was telling Rience what to do?

The same person giving Rience and Lydia orders was responsible for other peculiar happenings, namely: the girl claiming to be Ciri, who turns out to be a novice mage named Teryn (Frances Pooley) who’s under the influence of magic; the disappearance of a number of Aretuza novices who all happen to be half-elven; and the theft of an immeasurably powerful book about time travel and portals, first noticed by Istredd (Royce Pierreson). The wizard Stregobor (Lars Mikkelsen), known for disdaining elves and harming young girls, is Geralt and Yennefer’s prime suspect.

However, at the very end of Episode 5, Yennefer recognizes a painting in the Brotherhood hall from a place she visited after dark magic interfered with a portal she’d opened. Earlier, Vilgefortz (Mahesh Jadu) had told Geralt that the painting was one of his favorites; this helps the two piece together that Vilgefortz is the one pulling all the strings.

Susan Allnutt/Netflix

Who is Vilgefortz?

Vilgefortz is a savvy mage who partners with Tissaia romantically and politically. Though we don’t actually see Vilgefortz playing puppet master in the early parts of Season 3, at the end of Episode 5 we (along with Geralt and Yennefer) learn that he’s been working with Nilfgaard, wielding a malevolent influence, and handing down orders to Lydia and Rience.

“The question that our characters need to be asking [going into] Season 4 [is], ‘Why is he doing this?’ and ‘How is he doing this?’ ” said Schmidt Hissrich. “We learn by the end of the season that he is working in cahoots with Emhyr (Bart Edwards). And we start to realize just how long this plan has been going.” 

Schmidt Hissirch continued, “What we do know by the end of Season 3 is that he is the most powerful mage that we currently have. We also know that Ciri is the most powerful source. So we’ve got to believe that he wants her, because their powers together are going to do some shit. It’s going to blow some shit up.”

Susie Allnutt/Netflix

Why did Dijkstra hold Geralt at knifepoint?

During the gatherings before the Conclave of Mages, Dijkstra (Graham McTavish) tells Geralt that he needs to stop being neutral, and align with him and Redania, a realm run by King Vizimir (Ed Birch). Dijkstra also tells Geralt that Ciri should be handed over to Redania. Of course, the Witcher isn’t the least bit intimidated, and brushes Dijkstra off.

After Dijkstra’s pitch, Vilgefortz gives Geralt a similar spiel, also mentioning Ciri’s safety as a selling point. Once again, Geralt is firmly and openly disinterested. Vilgefort warns Geralt that if he doesn’t join his side, there will “always be enemies” waiting for him. So, Geralt’s refusal to commit is the reason he finds himself on the other side of a sharp knife as Dijkstra makes clear when he says: “Should have chosen a side, Witcher.”

What happened to everyone else attending the Conclave?

After Geralt is accosted by Dijkstra, the Conclave quickly descends into chaos and it becomes evident that Redania is using the gathering as an opportunity to make a power play. The mages aligned with Philippa and Dijkstra round up other mages, most of whom fall in line with Nilfgaard. Yen manages to slip past the marshaling but Lydia tracks her down, eager for a confrontation and to get her hands on Ciri. Fortunately for Yen, Triss arrives and promptly snaps Lydia’s neck.

Tissaia isn’t so lucky, getting taken to the council room where a number of mages are in chains. This is how Tissaia learns for certain that her lover Vilgefortz is working with Nilfgaard. She frees the shackled mages and confronts Vilgefortz, who admits to his treachery and fully leans into this betrayal by opening a portal that allows Francesca (Mecia Simson), Filavandrel (Tom Canton), Cahir (Eamon Farren), and a squad of Scoia’tael fighters into Aretuza. The small army intends to take ownership of the magic school and capture Ciri, but the battle rapidly escalates, leading to a number of deaths.

Who was killed in the battle?

When Tissaia aims a powerful spell at Francesca, Filavandrel steps in front and is killed by the blow. Meanwhile, Fringilla (Mimi Ndiweni) kills her own uncle, Artorius (Terence Maynard), and countless mages on both sides are taken out during the clash, a number of them in the path of a massive ring of fire set off by a shell-shocked Francesca.

Outside of Aretuza, Rience catches up to Yen and Ciri but Geralt arrives and finally puts an end to the fire mage’s relentless pursuit by beheading him. Instead of staying with Geralt and Ciri, Yennefer makes the tough decision to go back and check on Tissaia, agreeing to reconnect with the witcher and princess once her work is done. And it’s a good thing she chooses to go back, because she arrives in time to help the surviving mages stave off Francesca and Fringilla. 

Go Behind the Scenes of The Witcher Season 3’s Visual EffectsToss a coin to your visual effects artist!

What happened to Geralt and Ciri after Yennefer left them?

Geralt and Ciri encounter Cahir, who begs the princess to forgive him for essentially helping kill her family and ruining her life. Ciri has the opportunity to kill Cahir but chooses not to. Never able to just relax for more than a moment, Geralt senses danger looming, so he sends Ciri on the run and engages in battle with Vilgefortz. Using a large, powerful staff, Vilgefortz gets the best of Geralt and leaves him battered and bloodied on the beach.

“The fight between Geralt and Vilgefortz in Episode 6 is one of my favorites,” said Schmidt Hissrich. “Both Mahesh and Henry have known since Season 1 that they were going to be enemies. And they finally got to say all this stuff to each other’s faces. And it was just too good to give up.”

As for Ciri, she’s rushing up a massive tower called Tor Lara when Vilgefortz tracks her down and tries to convince her to join him. Ciri is seemingly able to communicate with Tor Lara and generates a massive blast of energy and light that causes the tower to crumble, leaving a massive monolith exposed.

What happens to Tissaia?

After surviving the massive battle, watching the Tor Lara fall to pieces, and finding then burying the Aretuza apprentice girls who’d been missing, Tissaia’s guilt weighs heavily: she slashes her wrists, killing herself. Yennefer is heartbroken, but she and the remaining sorceresses ultimately decide they must protect their legacy and defeat Vilgefortz.

Who is Falka? 

Ciri winds up in a barren desert via portal. The lack of shade, food, and water test her spirit, as do the tormenting visions of her mother, grandmother, and Falka (Hiftu Quasem), a legendary elven leader. After a brutal, strenuous experience with her only friend being a white unicorn who gets wounded, Ciri heals Little Horse with fire magic and it becomes clear that her abilities are more advanced than a mortal mage can teach. Ciri’s magic is elemental, elven, and ancient. After conjuring up the fire, she passes out and is discovered and captured by a crew of nomadic traders, but ultimately escapes with the help of a group of young rogues known as the Rats. Ciri kills the man who had taken her hostage, noteworthy for being her very first kill. The Rats ask Ciri for her name and she offers up an alias, saying “Call me Falka.”

Why does Ciri choose this name? “No. 1, the entire Continent’s looking for her, and No. 2, she doesn’t feel like Ciri anymore,” Allan told Tudum in April. “I think it’s just a part of her shedding Ciri because she’s killed someone, so it’s kind of an element of, ‘This is what I am. I’ve done that and I can’t take that back. I’m no different to Falka.’ I think that’s the idea.”

A new name isn’t the only thing Ciri gets at the end of Season 3; she also has a new family in the Rats. “They are a band of misfit teenagers and they get up to all sorts of fun and trouble,” Schmidt Hissrich offered. “It’s a completely different side of Ciri that we’ve never seen before.”

Is Geralt dead?

No, he isn’t. After Triss recovers his body from the water, Geralt is taken to Brokilon Forest to be healed. Jaskier (Joey Batey) tracks him down and tells him that Emhyr has released a declaration that Princess Cirilla has been recovered. (Though we later learn it’s not the real Ciri — it’s Teryn, the young apprentice Geralt previously saved.) Still ailing, Geralt does his best to expedite the recovery process, hacking together a healing potion and heading out with Jaskier and a skilled elven archer named Milva (Meng’er Zhang). Primed for battle, Geralt is hell-bent on finding Ciri and killing Emhyr.

“What we witnessed at the end is Geralt finally picking a side. His side is Ciri and Yen, and he will do anything,” said Schmidt Hissrich, explaining why Geralt fought those soldiers in the Season 3 finale. “He will kill anyone. He will get involved in anything he has to get into in order to make that happen.”

Elsewhere, Yennefer decides to lead Aretuza. “Yennefer spent the past three seasons reckoning with her past,” said Schmidt Hissrich. “Now the Brotherhood and her mother figure, her leader are gone. How does she want to start to lead? And what does she want to be within the magical society of this world? She has some big choices to make.”

But don’t worry, Geralt, Ciri, and Yennefer won’t lose sight of what’s important even if they end the season on separate paths. Said Schmidt Hissrich, “They each have their own stories, but they’re always trying to get back together.”

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