Good morrow, peasants, and welcome back to our review of Netflix’s fantasy series, The Witcher. Last episode we took a deep dive into characters’ relationships, and in this episode we’ll see those relationships reach their limits. We’ll think about kingdom and glory, truth and justice, moral certitude and poop jokes. I’ll mention a thing or two from the rest of the show, but heavy plot spoilers are for episode six only. So leave the local fauna alone, and don’t look down, here are five thoughts on The Witcher season one, episode six: “Rare Species.”
1. For Kingdom and Glory
En route to slay a dragon, our beloved heroes and their cohorts are beset upon by a pathetic, bug-eyed, starving little monster. Though Geralt points out they could feed it and it would leave, Sir Eyck brutally cuts it to pieces with his sword. Covered in its innocent blood he screams, “For kingdom and glory!”
The things some people will do for kingdom and glory are as myriad as they are absurd. Sir Eyck is only a small-scale example. There’s Queen Calanthe’s multiple wars against Filavandrel, the Emperor of Nilfgaard’s crusade for Continental domination, and most of us have lost count of the number of people Cahir and Fringilla have murdered searching for Ciri. Conversely, Our hero Geralt isn’t interested in kingdom or glory, and our hero Yennefer is only interested in them as far as they aid her quest for everything. (Recall peasants, Yennefer told us last episode that she wants everything. Don’t make her say it again). Our third hero Ciri unlearns these values when she spends time with the people most hurt by her grandmother.
This shows us the difference between a shallow morality dictated by law, and a deeper morality dictated by your heart’s internal code. Surely you, peasants, have no idea what it’s like to rely on a system of governance you have no moral faith in, but this fictional television program teaches us that those who fight for kingdom and glory rather than truth and justice are to be ridiculed, and they may even find themselves murdered while pooping in the woods. Moral lessons from The Witcher can be a little heavy handed, and personally, that’s exactly what I’m craving during these strange times we live in: earnest moral certitude with jokes about poop.
2. Togetherness
In last episode’s review I spent some time analyzing the relationship of my personal OTP, Geralt and Yennefer. We get just a little more insight into Geralt’s feelings when he tells Yennefer, angrily, “Every time I’m near you, I say more in five minutes than I have in weeks, and I always regret it.” He’s expressing frustration, but he’s revealing an intimacy he feels with Yen that he’s never felt with anyone else before. Jaskier, his dearest friend, try as he might, cannot make Geralt feel comfortable talking about himself. It’s probably because Jaskier performs his feelings, while Yennefer expresses herself plainly, honestly, and with quiet confidence. This is a communicative environment that puts Geralt at ease. He doesn’t have to spend emotional energy wondering what Yen will think, because he trusts she’ll let him know.
Another revealing line comes after Geralt tells Yennefer about a shortcut across the mountain. Yennefer says to him, “I can take care of myself.” to which Geralt replies, “You don’t always have to.” It’s an endearing reminder that even the most fiercely independent and capable among us benefit from relying on loved ones. The strength of their togetherness is punctuated during the final battle; Yennefer twirls into Geralt’s arms, directing him to blast the enemies away with magic wind as they smooch in slow motion. Aww! It’s cheesy, and it’s forced, but so is destiny. Shut up and embrace your destiny.
3. Separation
Sadly, this beautiful romantic trust between Geralt and Yennefer is broken when Borch the golden dragon reveals that Geralt’s final wish to the djinn was somehow connected to his romance with Yennefer. Borch knows about this because… he is a golden dragon with… dragon powers… of knowing things. Don’t think about it too hard. Shut up and embrace your destiny. Anyway, we still don’t know the exact wording of Geralt’s wish, and anyone who’s ever heard a story about a wish knows the exact wording is very important, but Yennefer has apparently never heard one of these stories, or understandably, it just doesn’t matter to her. As long as their romance is in any way connected to a wish, she can’t trust that their love isn’t one hundred percent not-magically-induced. Honesty and trust were the foundation of their beautiful relationship. Without them, she breaks up with Geralt immediately.
Continued belowAnother (platonic) couple on the rocks is Ciri and Dara, but if you’ve read my reviews of earlier episodes, you know this one’s been a long time coming. Ciri didn’t listen to Dara when he told her not to go to the mysteriously whispering forest and he got shot with an arrow. Ciri didn’t listen to Dara when he told her not to leave the mysteriously whispering forest with Mousesack (that’s his name), and they were both nearly murdered by a Doppler sent by Cahir and Fringilla. Finally, Ciri insists on continuing her journey to find her destiny, Geralt of Rivia, and Dara finally refuses to go with her. As a viewer, this is a tough moment for me, because I know if Dara isn’t following Ciri around, he doesn’t get to be in the show anymore, which makes me sad, but it also means he’s prioritizing his own health and safety, which makes me glad. It’s critical that Ciri and Dara have called each other “family,” and are now ending their familial relationship. It takes a lot to disown one’s family, and Ciri is… a lot.
4. Legacy
Borch the golden dragon has pretended to hire Geralt of Rivia to slay a dragon, but in fact he has hired Geralt of Rivia to protect his egg, his legacy. He says nothing else matters. He is, as the episode title suggests, a rare species, so as he protects his own legacy, he protects the legacy of all golden dragons. Geralt balks at Yennefer’s desire to procreate, and she balks right back at Geralt when she learns he has abandoned his own legacy, Ciri, his child surprise. Yes, peasants, you read that correctly, the proper term is “child surprise.” Go ahead, roll your eyes. Now shut up and embrace your destiny.
Time characters spend protecting their legacy this episode underlines the tragedy of the Elves’ lost legacy. Dara is the only remaining person from his family, as far as he knows, and he has just abandoned his found family, Ciri, though this time by choice. His ancestors live on only in him, no one else. He doesn’t say so, but it’s possible this contributes to his decision to prioritize his own life over Ciri’s supposed destiny. By saving himself, he saves his whole family, something he was unable to do when they were murdered by Queen Calanthe’s soldiers.
5. I Guess This Time the Real Monster is… Pride
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 pride.
While there are plenty of prideful characters, no one on this show embodies the sin of pride as entertainingly as Sir Eyck. His confidence in himself is as bold as it is unearned. This makes him the perfect candidate for this dragon-slaying contest, itself a gross prideful event. The other less buffoonish contestants are prideful for participating too. Dragons don’t harm people unless provoked, so the whole endeavor is just an exercise in proving you’re powerful enough to kill something stronger than yourself. Geralt rarely concerns himself with his own pride. He only comes along to get close to Yen.
Is Yen guilty of pride? Sure, but in a not-terrible way. She had every intention of cutting out a dragon’s heart to make a procreation potion for the sole purpose of proving she could, and she didn’t consider the dragon’s feelings the whole way up the mountain, but her pride doesn’t prevent her from changing her mind very quickly when she realizes Borch the golden dragon is a nice dragon-man, and she joins him and Geralt in defending the egg from the others. Having ambition is not a sin, but prioritizing ambition over kindness is. It’s not wrong for Sir Eyck to want to be a great knight, but it is wrong for him to have brutally murdered that poor helpless bug-eyed creature just to make the point.
The Witcher is all about moral lessons delivered by sweet and witty heroes, but what do we learn from the villains? So far, not much, though this episode did give us an interesting peek into Cahir and Fringilla’s side of things. While Fringilla both praises and scolds Cahir like a mother, we learn they both sincerely and devoutly believe that their body count is for the greater good. Borch the golden dragon asks Yen directly, how different might things be if Yen had gone to Nilfgaard instead of Fringilla? If this question is asked out loud again, we may expect it to be answered at some point. Until next time, peasants, good luck on the path.
