Season two of Netflix’s The Witcher is out to break our hearts and I am torn between wanting it to continue and wanting it to stop. In episode three, “What Is Lost,” Geralt (Henry Cavill) begins his training of Ciri (Freya Allan) and Yennefer (Anya Chalotra) returns to Aretuza. Elsewhere, Fringilla (Mimi Ndiweni) sets her plans in motion as she helps the elves find a new home in Cintra. No use wasting time here; let’s dive in!

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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“What Is Lost” opens at Kaer Morhen, where Ciri is undergoing her own sort of witcher training as Geralt looks on. He tells her it’s time to eat, but she wants to continue to practice. When she grabs her practice sword back, she has a short vision but doesn’t tell Geralt about it. They head inside and it seems that Ciri has found a home. However, it seems the others, like Lambert (Paul Bullion), aren’t too fond of having Ciri around. They blame her for Eskel’s (Basil Eidenbenz) death. We get a bit of a flashback to another winter at Kaer Morhen, where we see Eskel and Geralt chatting about training before present-day Geralt heads off to find Vesemir (Kim Bodnia).

In the lab, Vesemir is running tests on Eskel’s body to try and figure out exactly what happened. He isn’t ready to give up on finding answers, but Geralt thinks that they need to let Eskel rest in peace now. We know that Vesemir sees each of the witchers as his own children and this must be killing him at this moment.

We jump to Aretuza, where Tissaia (MyAnna Burning) adds Yennefer’s name to a list of those lost at the Battle of Sodden. Another parental figure mourning the loss of her child. In a meeting with the other mages, Istredd (Royce Pierreson) shares what little he knows after working on the Nilfgaardian dig site. It seems that Tissaia is on the side of Vilgefortz (Mahesh Jadu), who are blaming the others for not acting sooner to stop Nilfgaard. We also learn that Cahir (Eamon Farren) has not provided Tissaia with anything. Almost like his mind is blocked.

It also seems like Stregobor (Lars Mikkelsen) is trying to turn the council against the Elves since they have now aligned themselves with Nilfgaard. But what does he get through this? I haven’t trusted this man and I think he has something else up his sleeve. He does warn them that if they don’t get control of what is happening now, they will be burying more than 14 of their fellow mages. Or better yet, make that 13! Yennefer is back at Aretuza!

Tissaia gets Yennefer up to date about what has happened in her absence. Tissaia thanks her for what she did at the Battle of Sodden but asks that she lay low so she and Vilgefortz can fight for the leaders’ seats. Yennefer tries to tell Tissaia about what has happened to her, but she cannot do so.

At Cintra, we see Elves from across the Continent arriving. Filavandrel (Tom Canton) is still worried about their alliance with Nilfgaard, but Franchesca (Mecia Simson) disagrees. She feels safe with Nilfgaard to protect them and wants him to worry less.

“What Is Lost” brings us back to Kaer Morhen, where Ciri is back at work training when Lambert and Coën (Yasen Atour). They bait her into asking about the more complicated challenges before leading her to another training course. One that reminds me heavily of Wipe Out if it included things that could possibly kill you. Lambert gets it started and we watch as Ciri doesn’t even make it past the first task before she is knocked right off of it.

Yennefer (Anya Chalotra) and Triss (Anna Shaffer) in The Witcher season two.

Yennefer (Anya Chalotra) and Triss (Anna Shaffer) in The Witcher season two. Image courtesy of Netflix.

Elsewhere, Geralt and Vesemir take Eskel’s body to a cave where it is left to finally rest. Vesemir shares how he has been tearing himself apart trying to find out what they missed and that Geralt would be doing the same thing if it were his child. And Geralt can really understand that now, having Ciri to look after. Before too long, the wolves arrive and Vesemir and Geralt leave.

Back at Aretuza, Yennefer tries to use magic again to heat the pool, only to fail again. Triss (Anna Shaffer), Sabrina (Therica Wilson-Read) and Murta (Lilly Cooper) arrive to greet her. Sabrina heats the pool for them and everyone but Triss climbs in. It seems she isn’t ready to face the scars left from the Battle of Sodden. In a classroom elsewhere in Aretuza, Stregobor is giving a lecture on Falka, sharing his distrust of the Elven people. Istredd tries to disprove his case and Stregobor tries to make it seem like Falka is similar to Yennefer. It looks like he is trying to make Yennefer look unstable or maybe even a spy.

We flashback to Yennefer and Triss, who are reliving the events of Sodden together. No matter the horrors that happened to Triss during the battle, she is still thankful that she is still here to live another day. She doesn’t want to erase her scars but learn to embrace them and move on. She shares, “what’s lost is lost,” but is this something that Yennefer can agree with? Is letting go of her power as simple as accepting scars?

“What Is Lost” takes us back to Kaer Morhen, where Ciri is still trying to cross the obstacle course. And try after try, she continues to fail. Lambert and Coën try to convince her to call it quits, but she refuses and jumps right back up. She finally makes it through the first part, only to fall during the second and cuts her arm badly in the process. Lambert tries to tell her enough is enough, but it looks like Ciri isn’t ready to throw in the towel.

Across the world in Cintra, Fringilla is trying to keep up with the influx of Elven people every day. It seems like not all of her people are okay with Fringilla’s choice, but it doesn’t seem like she cares what they think. During Fringilla’s meeting with Franchesca, we can see how Fringilla is trying to find a way to merge the two groups together by working alongside each other. They each need something and it seems like they are willing to find a middle ground in order to each get what they are looking for out of this partnership.

Back at Aretuza, Yennefer is wandering about when she overhears Vigelfortz quietly talking with someone. As she heads in that direction, he rounds the corner and is surprised to find her. He apologizes for making it hard on her while they try and take over, but she understands that politics require a certain type of person. He eventually leaves her and Yennefer continues down the path in which he came. She ultimately finds the cell that is housing Cahir. The two have a small chat about how his death would mean nothing, so he won’t find it here.

Cahir also tells her that Fringilla used to talk about her and how she envied her, but not anymore. Yennefer heads off only to run into Stregbor, who uses magic to try and get into her head. A big no-no. He manages to see the most recent events within Yennefer’s mind. But, thankfully, Tissaia arrives in time and stops him in his tracks before he uncovers too much.

“What Is Lost” jumps back to Kaer Morhen, where Vesemir and Geralt arrive to find the entire keep watching Ciri try and make it through the course. I love how the Lambert we saw before, berating our “princess” and telling her she doesn’t belong, has become one of her biggest supporters and telling her to stay calm and relax. Points for the red-headed witcher. Geralt manages to arrive just in time to see Ciri almost clear the course, falling just at the very end.

Geralt (Henry Cavill) and Ciri (Freya Allan) in The Witcher season two.

Geralt (Henry Cavill) and Ciri (Freya Allan) in The Witcher season two. Image courtesy of Netflix.

We slip back over to Aretuza, where Stregbor is now going against Tissaia over his actions. Stregobor’s reasoning for what he did is because he doesn’t know if he can trust Yennefer, who went missing after the battle, spent time with Nilfgaard forces and is now all of a sudden back. It is also pretty clear that his prejudice against Elves plays a significant part in his reasoning.

Tissaia informs Yennefer that the only way she can prove her innocence is to kill Cahir. But, Yennefer knows that they only want her to do this, so Stregbor has another reason to make her look like a villain. Tissaia tells Yennefer that she should just tell them the truth. She doesn’t have access to chaos anymore and that she isn’t a threat. Yennefer opens up that in the month she has been missing, she was trying to find a way to get her power back. She wants Tissaia’s help, but even she doesn’t know how to help her. It is such an emotional conversation that shows just how lost Yennefer feels.

Back at Kaer Morhen, Geralt patches Ciri up while reminding her that she needs to be more careful. The other witchers can get patched up after a pretty mean blow to the head, but Ciri might not survive that. All Ciri wants at this moment is to be stronger and she thinks Geralt is trying to hold her back. It is that fine line between wanting to watch your kids succeed and learn on their own while also protecting them. It will be interesting to watch them go back and forth across this line as her training continues. After she storms out of the room, Geralt finds roots, similar to Eskel’s, in Ciri’s wall, along with the scarf she has kept with her. Almost like something is trying to reach her.

“What Is Lost” returns to Aretuza, where Yennefer tries to flee. Istredd warns her that she won’t make it out alive, but he has a way to help her. It seems that Istredd might, in fact, be the spy Stregobor has been so afraid of. After Istredd heads off, Yennefer has another vision of sorts of the witch from earlier calling to her. It seems like she is just waiting for Yennefer to become desperate enough to agree to her wishes in return for her power.

We jump back to Kaer Morhen, where Coën is helping to train Ciri when Geralt comes to collect her. He wants to know more about this feeling she gets whenever something is coming for her. She explains that it is like a pull. She allows herself to let go of her restraint and see where the feeling takes her and this time, it’s the woods. While heading off in the direction of Ciri’s feelings, Geralt finally opens up about her mother’s power and that Ciri may have the same abilities. Ciri shares that she is starting to trust Geralt now.

It’s a sweet moment between surrogate father and daughter until Ciri feels the pull again. She continues down the path until they come face to bark with Eskel’s leshy. It seems that this is the creature that has been reaching out to Ciri. And the monster-slaying behinds. Except, before Geralt can slay the leshy, something else does. This terrifyingly giant creature goes head to head with Geralt before setting its sights on Ciri. It almost looks like it is going to get her before Geralt jumps in to save the day.

At Aretuza, Yennefer and the mages lead Cahir to his death. It seems she didn’t try and run away after all. Inside the temple, we find the leaders of the northern kingdoms awaiting the show. Vilgefortz gives a heroic speech while the kings discuss how their advisors are becoming less trustworthy. Finally, the time comes for Yennefer to execute Cahir, but instead, she breaks his chains and pulls down the fire pillars to create a blockade so she can escape and save herself. And this is where “What Is Lose” comes to a close.

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What a twist of events! I don’t blame Yennefer for her choice. There is no winning against Stregobor and she knows it. I have a feeling that if he knew she couldn’t tap into the chaos, he would kill her while she couldn’t protect herself. I never liked that man. However, I don’t know if running off with Cahir is the best bet on Yennefer’s part. He is the leader of the army that she obliterated. We shall see. On the other side of the story, Ciri is crushing it! I love the support she is getting from Lambert and the others. We’ve got a lot of questions about her powers and hopefully, this season will provide the answers.

Off to episode four! Let’s go!

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