We have reached the season finale of Netflix’s The Witcher and we have got a lot to unpack. The last episode ended as the Deathless Mother (Ania Marson) escaped her hut and set off straight for Ciri (Freya Allan). In the season two finale, “Family,” Geralt (Henry Cavill) and the others face off with the Deathless Mother while the rest of the Continent ramp up their pursuit of Ciri. Don’t waste time here – let’s dive into the recap!
DISCLAIMER: This is a recap and, by definition, will contain spoilers. I highly suggest avoiding spoilers until you have seen season two of The Witcher. So if you haven’t, head over to Netflix and get to it!
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“Family” opens with what has to be a dream for Ciri. Mousesack (Adam Levy) is rushing her to get ready for a ball, but Ciri knows that something isn’t right. Still, she continues to follow Mousesack, but when she exits her room, she is transported to Kaer Morhen and we spot the dagger used by the first witcher in his battle against the Deathless Mother. We then shift out of Ciri’s dream to Geralt and Yennefer (Anya Chalotra) as they rush towards Kaer Morhen.
As they arrive in the courtyard outside Kaer Morhen, Yennefer tries to defend her actions. She explains to Geralt just how Voleth Meir works by finding the gaping hole in your heart and digging into it. Geralt sees Yennefer’s actions as traitorous and we can’t blame him. Ciri is his to protect. Yennefer opens up about how she couldn’t sacrifice Ciri. How, after losing the chaos, she had this void. A void that Ciri filled in the short time they were together. But Geralt doesn’t seem to care.
Inside, Ciri is still wandering the halls, but it appears that Voleth Meir is now in control as she kills one of the switches. Is this what the Deathless Mother had in store all along? To control Ciri in order to kill the witchers who locked her away in the hut? One by one, she kills the other witchers until Geralt finds her in Vesemir’s (Kim Bodnia) room. Voleth Meir tries to act like Ciri and claims to have seen the Deathless Mother in the halls. She claims to have screamed, but Geralt realizes that the scream would have wakened Vesemir and caused damage like before. He doesn’t try and play along with her game and just straight-up asks Voleth Meir what she wants. This gets him a dagger to the face and Voleth Meir/Ciri runoff.
Vesemir wakes Lambert (Paul Bullion) and Coën (Yasen Atour), who seem to be some of the last remaining witchers left alive within Kaer Morhen. Lambert is confused about how Ciri was able to kill them, but it’s pretty clear this isn’t Ciri. Voleth Meir is hiding within the body of the girl. They aren’t sure what she is even capable of and Vesemir tells them to grab all the elixir they have and stay on guard.
Geralt realizes that Vesemir means to kill Ciri in order to eliminate Voleth Meir just like they had to do with Eskell (Basil Eidenbenz). But Geralt knows that Ciri is stronger than this and can survive. He just needs to lure Voleth Meir out of Ciri’s body and then they can deal with the demon. I can understand what Vesemir is going through. The witchers are his children and he is willing to do everything to protect them and get revenge. But, it is nice to see that he isn’t letting that rage guide all of his decisions and is willing to work with Geralt on this.
It still seems like Geralt isn’t ready to talk with Yennefer just yet, but he isn’t sending her away. She heads off to wake up Jaskier (Joey Batey), which is great because I was starting to get worried that Voleth Meir might have done something to him on their way to Kaer Morhen. She gets him up to date on what has been going on and, of course, Jaskier is a bit reluctant to help out Yennefer. But, the good bard knows when it’s time to get to work.
“Family” shifts to Cintra, where Dara (Wilson Radjou-Pujalte) seems to have opened up to Franchesca (Mecia Simson) and Filavandrel (Tom Canton) about why Dijkstra (Graham McTavish) sent him in the wake of their daughter’s death. Filavandrel believes it is because of Ciri, but Franchesca believes that Redania targeted them because they are Elves and not just because they sided with Fringilla (Mimi Ndiweni) and Nilfgaard. Losing a child (in any manner) is extremely emotional and I worry what Franchesca is going through might cause her to make some rash decisions.
Back at Kaer Morhen, Yennefer is prepping a spell with items within the lab to separate Voleth Meir from Ciri. I was hoping that Yennefer wouldn’t just sit around and let Geralt fix her mistake. And here she is, making a potion to help save Ciri from the mess she started. And I’m thankful that Jaskier seems to at least want to help her help Geralt. He isn’t ignoring her, at least.
We spot Ciri/Voleth Meir in the great hall and we learn that Voleth Meir is keeping Ciri trapped within a dream. Here, we see her come face to face with her grandmother Queen Calanthe (Jodhi May). This doesn’t feel like any old dream, though and I imagine it is tied to Ciri’s last happy memories from Cintra before its fall. It is also pretty clear that Ciri seems to understand that this isn’t real but might not know how to break out of it.
Fringilla meets with Cahir (Eamon Farren) in present-day Cintra to warn him about Franchesca and Filavandrel’s departure north. This really messes with her whole plan to look like a good leader in front of The White Flame. I was almost starting to like Cahir until this moment. He is giving us the impression that he is the one behind the murder of the Elven infant and is going to make it look like Fringilla planned it all along to make the Elves stay and fight by their side. Is this really what Fringilla wanted? Or is this how Cahir will keep her in control?
“Family” returns to Kaer Morhen, where the witchers (thankfully more than just Vesemir, Lambert and Coën) prepare to face off against Voleth Meir. They head off in search of her and Geralt finds her within the great hall. The rest of the witches arrive and Geralt tries to bargain his life for Ciri’s. But it looks like Voleth Meir isn’t interested in that trade. Of course, this is when Jaskier pops in and realizes that everyone is a bit busy at the moment. Voleth Meir uses this distraction to scream and cause the tree to tear apart and we find a baby monolith inside. Just know that Vesemir’s reaction at this moment is our reaction.
Voleth Meir continues to scream, which causes the monolith the shatter like before. The shards take a few of the witches out before Voleth Meir creates a portal and invites two basilisks into Kaer Morhen. Geralt swears to Ciri that he is going to save her and the real monster-hunting begins. Vesesmir and another witcher create a field to block Voleth Meir and Geralt together. He tries to get her to name her price, but Voleth Meir isn’t willing to let go of Ciri now that she knows her power.
The two go toe to toe as Geralt tries to get into Ciri’s head. We can hear him within her dreams, but it isn’t clear if he is getting through to her. Elsewhere in the hall, poor Jaskier is trying to get the jasper to Geralt, but he isn’t really listening at the moment. Vesemir and the other witcher eventually drop their shields in order to help the others, leaving Geralt and Voleth Meir alone. We can’t help but feel bad for Vesemir during all of this. He is just trying to protect his children and sees killing Ciri as the only way of getting rid of Voleth Meir.
Geralt tries to break through to Ciri and within her dream world, we see her try and get more information out of Mousesack about her bloodline. She starts to hear Geralt in her mind and the people around her begin to shift into horrifying creatures. Voleth Meir seems to regain control of Ciri by bringing her parents into the dream. I wonder if this is enough to keep Ciri in check?
“Family” quickly shifts to Redania, where Franchesca gets her revenge while the others are helping to Elves escape.
Back at Kaer Morhen, Voleth Meir summons another much larger monster through the portal to deal with Geralt. He makes quick work of it but not before Vesemir can stab Ciri/Voleth Meir. But it doesn’t seem like it causes much damage. Geralt realizes that the way to save Ciri is…the power of hope? Friendship? Moving past their hatred? Okay, a little cliche, but it works. He convinces everyone to stand down and reaches out to Ciri again.
Within her dream, Ciri reconnects with her mother (Gaia Mondadori) and father (Bart Edwards). We start to hear Geralt and the others’ voices battling against each other within her dream. But it doesn’t seem like that is enough since Voleth Meir doesn’t have a new home to go to. This is where Yennefer steps up to right her wrongs and decides that she is going to be the new vessel for Voleth Meir. I can understand why Ciri is trying to hold onto the past, but with Geralt’s help, she is able to let go and Voleth Meir is ejected from her body into Yennefer’s.
Now that Ciri is free, Geralt is ready to get her working again. The idea is to send Voleth Meir through the monolith to another dimension. She opens the portal intending to send just Voleth Meir through, but it seems she, Yennefer and Geralt get pushed in as well. On the other side, Voleth Meir disappears from Yennefer while the Wraiths of Mörhogg ride towards them, calling out to Ciri to join their hunt. Before they reach them, however, Ciri transports them back to Kaer Morhen.
I can only imagine what is going through Ciri’s head right now, but it seems like Geralt plans on keeping her busy, so she doesn’t have to think about it. We also see that Yennefer has her magic back too. I understand why Geralt doesn’t want to stick around Kaer Morhen with Ciri. It is clear that she is destined for something and more powerful than anyone could have ever thought and if people knew where she was, they wouldn’t think twice about bringing the fight there. After everything Kaer Morhen has been through, it doesn’t need this too.
Over the following few scenes in “Family,” we see how the Continent is preparing to deal with the Ciri situation. Tissaia (MyAnna Burning) informs the northern leaders that she is still alive and that if Redania gets her, it will give them the only claim to Cintra. They decide to place a bounty on her head along with anyone protecting her. Elsewhere, Rience (Chris Fulton) and Lydia (Aisha Fabienne Ross) (who doesn’t look well after trying to test the witcher mutigen) meet with their boss and plan on swooping in to find Ciri while the kingdoms are at war.
We then see Franchesca and the Elves deciding whether to return to Nilfgaard or go a different path until Istredd (Royce Pierreson) is found sneaking around their troops. It seems he brings news to them about Ciri being Hen Ikeir, the one that can save the Elves. This seems to give Franchesca and the others a purpose to try and find her. And, of course, the owl sounds we hear belong to Dijkstra’s friend who brings this news back to him. And we finally get to see the human form of Philippa (Cassie Clare). Is this what he had planned all along? And what does he want with Jaskier?
Back at Kaer Morhen, Geralt and Yennefer finally have a moment to chat. He doesn’t forgive her for her actions, but it seems like he is willing to put that aside for now. She agrees to train Ciri and hopefully, the two will be able to find it in themselves to start over. Outside, they sit with Ciri and we learn why Voleth Meir really wanted Ciri. She was her ticket home. But what Geralt doesn’t get is why Nilfgaard wanted Ciri before anyone knew what she was capable of? Geralt poses this question to Ciri, but we don’t hear her answer.
Instead, “Family” takes us to Cintra, where Cahir and Fringilla welcome The White Flame. They share how together, they plotted to kill the Elven baby to force the Elves’ hand. But it seems like he knows they are lying because he actually planned it. Why? To find his own daughter. In the final moments of season two, we learn that The White Flame is actually Ciri’s father as he has Cahir and Fringilla taken away.
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What an ending! Season two of The Witcher definitely took us on an epic adventure filled with mystery, action and suspense. And the reveal at the end of this episode was perfect. This is huge for those who haven’t played the video games or read the novels! This explains why Nilgaard knew of Ciri’s power before everyone else. “Family” does a great job of setting up season three with everyone’s eyes on Ciri. What will they do to get her power? Will Ciri ever learn to control it? What will happen to the other witchers? We have a lot to look forward to Netflix, so don’t make us wait another two years!
What did you think of the second season? Let us know in the comments below and on social media! Also, did you stick around for after the credits and catch our first glimpse at The Witcher: Blood Origin? If not – hop to it!
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Who I Am: A nerd by the strictest definition. I enjoy diving straight into my favorite fandoms without a care in the world. I live on video/board games, fantasy movies and TV, and all things geeky.
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