Netflix’s The Witcher series continues the story of the witcher Geralt of Rivia (Henry Cavill), the sorceress Yennefer of Vengerberg (Anya Chalotra), and Princess Cirilla Fiona Elen Riannon (Freya Allan). The trio is like a family: father, mother, and daughter. However, powerful forces, kingdoms, and factions hunt the trio because of Cirilla’s status as the child of the ancient Elder bloodline, which holds the power to shape the world’s fate and travel to other worlds across The Witcher multiverse.
The episode begins in Brokilon Forest, where Geralt is recovering from his wounds. Milva (Meng’er Zhang) tells Geralt there is no new news of Nilgaard and Cirilla. Frustrated by Geralt’s stubbornness, Milva shares her frustrations with Queen Eithne (Josette Simon) of the Dryads, who requests Milva to keep Geralt alive and asks Milva to be patient with Geralt. Yennefer also hears the rumor of Cirilla heading to Nilfgaard from her friend Crach an Craite, the Jarl of Skellige (Johannes Haukur Johannesson). Crach warns Yennefer that he and the other tribes of Skellige will unwillingly join Nilfgaard if Cirilla gets into Emhyr’s hands.
Yennefer, Tissaia (MyAnna Buring), Triss Merigold (Anna Shaffer), Sabrina Glevissig (Therica Wilson-Read), Margarita Laux-Antille (Rochelle Rose), and Keira Metz (Safiyya Ingar) head to Vilgefortz’s (Mahesh Jadu) base of operations in the castle of Vuilpanne. They attempt to find Cirilla but find the corpse of the flesh monster Geralt killed in the past. There, they meet with Philippa Eilhart (Cassie Clare). Philippa blames Tissaia for the failed Thanedd Coup, which could’ve avoided the destruction of the Brotherhood of Sorcerers at Aretuza. After learning the castle is empty from Philippa, the sorceresses reversed the spell that turned the half-elven female novices into the flesh monster to give them a proper burial at Aretuza.
After leaving the castle, Philippa blames Tissaia for the failed Thanedd Coup, which could’ve avoided the destruction of the Brotherhood of Sorcerers at Aretuza. Philippa goes too far when she mocks how Tissaia always taught the importance of protecting chaos magic when she could not see Vilgefortz’s betrayal. Tissaia acknowledges her failure and reminds Philippa that she also failed and that Eilhart did not start the Thanedd Coup to protect the Brotherhood of Sorcerers or chaos magic but to gain more status in the Kingdom of Redania, much to Philippa’s fury. Tissaia and Philippa’s argument make her question her loyalty to Vizimir and her trust in Dijkstra. Before Tissaia and Philippa’s quarrel escalates, Yennefer intervenes by saying they need to ensure that the actions of Emhyr and Vilgefortz never happen again.
In Nilfgaard, Francesca (Mecia Simson) and Fringilla (Mimî M. Khayisa) meet with Emperor Emhyr Van Emreis. They discuss future strategies to bring the North under the Empire’s rule. Fringilla requests Emhyr to allow her and Francesca to head to Cintra, make Fringilla the Imperial governor of Xin’trea, and give Francesa and the elves the home they deserve. Emhyr accepts Fringilla’s request and regains his trust in her. However, the Emperor of Nilfgaard demands that the Scoia’tael Elf warriors continue to serve Nilfgaard as its enforcers. Despite this, Emhyr allows Francesca to reign over the elves who cannot fight, such as the young, the old, and the sickly in Cintra. Francesca is furious at the demand, but Emhyr ends the meeting by subtly threatening the Queen of the Elves of kicking the Socia’tael Elves out of Nilfgaard’s protection if she does not comply. Later, Fringilla tells Francesca the truth that Emhyr had her child murdered, and Francesca vows revenge against Nilfgaard.
In Redania, King Vizimir (Ed Birch) expresses his disappointment in Dijkstra (Graham McTavish). Dijkstra was sent to purge the Brotherhood of Sorcerers of Nilgaardian agents hiding in their midst but instead returned, leaving Aretuza in ruins. To save face, Vizimir plans to punish Philippa for Dijkstra’s failure in Aretuza. Dijkstra wants to save Philippa by sacrificing himself to be killed for his failure, much to Philippa’s shock and joy. Philippa is happy Dijkstra still cares for her as a trusted friend. However, Philippa does not want Dijkstra to die. She avoids being punished by Vizimir by having Vizimir assassinated and installing Radovid (Hugh Skinner) as the new king of Redania, to Dijkstra and Radovid’s shock and confusion.
At Aretuza, the surviving sorceresses bury and perform funeral rites for the half-elven novice corpses they found in the castle of Vuilpanne. During the funeral, Tissaia writes a goodbye letter to Yennefer and commits suicide for her belief in failing the Brotherhood of Sorcerers by unknowingly becoming Vilgefortz’s pawn. Yennefer then travels to Brokilon Forest to reunite with Geralt. She then uses a powerful magical spell to heal Geralt from his wounds. Soon, Yennefer, Triss, Sabrina, Margarita, and Keira recounted how the Thanedd Coup and the battle of Aretuza made them lose a lot and how they, including Philippa and a few others, are the only surviving sorcerers and sorceresses loyal to the North. Yennefer claims they need to eliminate Vilgerfortz and create something new for the future of the North.
The episode would end with three events. In the Brokilon Forest, Geralt, Jaskier, and Milva travel to Nilfgaard to save the person they think is Cirilla. In Nilfgaard, Emhyr meets Cirilla, secretly Teryn, and makes her his queen. In the Korath Desert, Cirilla joins the bandit gang called the Rats and introduces herself as “Falka.”
The Future Lodge of Sorceresses
The Witcher Season 3 Episode 8 ends as the Season 3 finale. The episode reveals that Emhyr and Vilgefortz are the winners of the conflict in Season 3 following the destruction of the Brotherhood of Sorcerers, divisions in the Northern Kingdoms, and the reclaiming of “Cirilla,” allowing the Empire to secure Cintra. However, the real Cirilla everyone desires to have is in Korath Desert, a place they would not expect the Elder Blood Princess to be. In the novels, Emhyr knows about Fake Ciri and continues to hunt for Cirilla without Vilgefortz knowing.
In The Witcher novels, the surviving sorceresses created the Lodge of Sorceresses, an organization that would replace the Brotherhood of Sorcerers. The Lodge’s membership consisted of Philippa, Triss Merigold, Keira Metz, Margarita Laux-Antille, Sabrina Glevissig, Sheala de Tancarville, Francesca Findabair, and Assire var Anahid. Yennefer, Fringilla Vigo, and Ida Emean aep Sivney joined or allied with the Lodge via invitation. Philippa was the founder of the Lodge, and she only wanted female mages, not male mages, to be part of the organization. Philippa states her reasons, “I have nothing against men. In fact, I love men and life without them. I can not imagine. But I believe this to be a wise concept. Men are mentally unstable, too sensitive to their emotions, and you can not count on them in times of crisis.”
Unlike the novels, the episode possibly reveals the Netflix show deviating from the source material by having Yennefer found the Lodge of Sorceresses, not Philippa, alongside Triss Merigold, Keira Metz, Margarita Laux-Antilla, and Sabrina Glevissig. Philippa, Sheala de Tancarvill, Assire var Anahid, and Francesca Findabair will likely join as future members of the Lodge in Season 4 or beyond. There is still a chance Philippa will create the Lodge of Sorcereress, with Yennefer just putting the idea for the Lodge in the future members’ minds.
Rating: 6/10