Good morrow, peasants, and welcome back to our review of the Netflix fantasy series The Witcher, and I love this episode. I love Yennefer of Vengerberg’s origin story, I love learning about how magic works in this world, and I love the song “Toss a Coin to Your Witcher” more than every other song. As always, I will mention a thing or two from future episode of the show and The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt, but heavy plot spoilers are for episode two only. So hold onto your lute and try not to become an eel- here are five thoughts on The Witcher season one episode two, “Four Marks.”
1. Toss a Coin to Your Grocer
Remember that Tenacious D song, “Tribute?” It was not the greatest song in the world, it was only a tribute to the best song in the world, the best song in the world. Now, finally, the world knows that Tenacious D was singing about “Toss a Coin to Your Witcher.” At least, that’s my #HeadCanon. I’m no expert in music theory; I can’t tell you why it bangs, just that it bangs.
The true deeper meaning of the lyrics in the context of the show is that “history is written by the victors.” However, listening to this song again this week, a different thematic significance struck me. Geralt mentions in this episode that when he takes a job, he usually finds either monsters or coin, rarely both. You might say he provides an undervalued yet essential service. Were there a deadly infectious disease ravaging The Continent, I believe he’d continue to provide that essential service. Here in reality, we’re learning right now who the real essential workers are in our lives, and not one of them is a billionaire “job creator.” They are grocers, and nurses, and mail carriers, and they deserve a lot more coin than they get. The titular call to action of the greatest song in the world is prescient. Toss a coin to essential workers.
2. Yennefer of Vengerberg Takes Control
This episode brings us not only the greatest song in the world, but also the greatest name of a person.
If, like me, your only knowledge of the great, powerful, and aptly named Yennefer of Vengerberg came from The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt, then you, like me, are above and beyond blown away by her incredible origin story. In the game she came across as haughty, even shrewish in a way that felt a little offensive at times, but now we know her haughtiness is well-earned, and we respect it. She was raised a pig farmer, cursed with a hunchback for having a Half-Elf father, abused by her peers and her family, and sold by her step father to Aretuza a.k.a. Terrible Hogwarts for four marks. For reference, a pig is worth ten marks. Ouch.
Yennefer of Vengerberg’s stay at Terrible Hogwarts doesn’t go much better. She struggles to do magic, not because she isn’t powerful, but because she’s too powerful and can’t control it. Her whole life up to this point has been completely out of her control. Finally, Tissaia turns three of Yen’s classmates into eels to be conduits of Chaos (please quote this out of context), and orders Yen to push them into the.. um… the Chaos Tank? The Aquatic Magical Conduit Facilitator TM? They don’t really explain it, but you get the gist. As our beloved hero Yennefer of Vengerberg unceremoniously shoves her eel-ified classmates to their presumed doom, she doesn’t look particularly regretful or horrified; she looks amazed. I can’t even bring myself to blame her. She definitely doesn’t want her friends to suffer, she’s just relieved to not be the one suffering, and proud of herself for avoiding a terrible fate with her own magical prowess. We’re proud of you too Yen. Somebody toss a coin to Yen.
3. The Nature of Magic
Tissaia de Vries, Rectoress of Aretuza, first tells us that magic is chaos, and then later tells us that magic is the organization of chaos. My understanding is that the former is magic-the-noun and the latter is magic-the-verb. Chaos is like The Force, but cynical. The Force binds the universe together in a serene balance. Chaos binds the universe together in a frantic delirium. Those with magical ability have the power to “organize” or manipulate this Chaos. Depending on what they want to do, they might need an incantation, an entrail, a dramatic hand gesture, or some combination of the above. In later episodes we’ll learn some spells require nudity, and if you don’t already understand why that is, not even Tissaia de Vries, Rectoress of Aretuza can explain it to you.
Continued belowOne of my favorite things about this show is the prevalence of co-existing dichotomies. Lesser shows would have you choose between chaos theory and destiny, but this is a world where both are immutably universally true. Geralt of Rivia dedicates his life to protecting the innocent, and Yennefer of Vengerberg prioritizes herself. It would be easy to pit them against each other, but these opposite motivating directives both make them heroes to us. Doesn’t it just make you want to listen to Dispatch and stare out the window of a moving car? Deep.
4. Time to Get a Clue
This episode, Geralt, Yennefer, and Ciri all learn something new about Filavandrel, the deposed Elf King, and through them we learn that these three characters are operating in different times. Yennefer is in the olden days, Geralt is in the somewhat less olden days, and Ciri is in the now times. I could be more precise, but I’m assuming you don’t care, and if you do, you’ve already looked it up, you nerd.
Why tell the story this way? I’m so glad you asked. It’s because this gives us the opportunity to experience each character’s origin story, even though they happen years apart from each other. It also reinforces the themes of chaos and destiny. So far their lives have not intertwined at all, but we know at least Ciri and Geralt will meet eventually, because he is her destiny. We don’t know what that means yet, but it’s safe to assume it involves the two of them together in the same space and time. For now they are separated by chaos, but the magic of destiny will organize that chaos to bring them to one another. Aww!
5. I guess this time the real monster is…. historical trauma
In the tried and true tradition of “monster-of-the-week” the fantastical monsters Geralt is hired to slay are nothing compared to the societal ills they represent. This time, the real monster is historical trauma.
Geralt is hired to slay “the devil of Posada,” who is stealing grain from the village. This “devil” turns out to be a Sylvan, who is hiding in a cave with Filavandrel and the remaining refugees of their fallen kingdom. Geralt urges Filavandrel to start a new life away from Humans, but we learn from Ciri’s fellow Cintran ex-patriot that Filavandrel eventually led an uprising, only to be defeated again by none other than Queen Calanthe, the warrior grandma who fucks. Ciri now has to come to terms with a far less flattering version of her cherished grandparents, and frankly, so do I. I was all about Queen Calanthe, but I just can’t get behind genocide. Thank you, I am very brave for saying so.
While Ciri grapples with her family’s historical villainy, Yennefer of Vengerberg lives with the consequences of the historically oppressed. Her “twisted spine” is the result of a curse put upon her for having a Half-Elf father. Because of the curse itself and because of what it represents about her heritage, she is cruelly rejected and abused. She has inherited the trauma of generations who came before her. She’s far from doomed; we see her now beginning to master her own fate through her own power. Like all of us, everything she thinks and feels is informed by history, but not controlled by it.
I hope you loved this episode as much as I did. There is so much more I wanted to talk about! I didn’t get to Istredd or Jaskier or Dara, and those three are all really interesting great characters, so I promise I will give them the attention they deserve in later installments. Until next time, stay safe out there peasants, and should you be so lucky to possess extra coin in these uncertain times, toss one to someone who needs it.
