It’s hard to keep track of every tiny detail when adapting a rich fantasy world such as the one found in The Witcher, but showrunner Lauren H. Hissrich has been pretty successful so far.
Indeed, the new live-action adaptation from Netflix stays true to the books for the most part, and this is especially the case with characters and their appearance. One person, in particular, is quite elemental to the story of Geralt, and this is why the producers went to great lengths to make him a hit with viewers, and it would appear that their efforts have paid off. Joey Batey is simply brilliant as the infamous bard of the Northern Kingdoms.
But one small detail, though important and symbolic for the character as depicted in the books, has slipped Hissrich’s attention. As fans of the novels would tell you, Jaskier’s apparel is often adorned with a hat that closely resembles a Tudor bonnet. Batey’s character never wears a hat throughout the first season though, and the showrunner has said in a recent Reddit Q&A that this was left out intentionally.
In her own words:
“Ah, yes, the hat! It was made, we tried it on Joey, and we couldn’t stop laughing. Will we try again? Sure. Nothing is impossible.”
But if you pay close attention, that’s not the only concerning thing about Jaskier. As you may already know, the first season of The Witcher focuses on a narrative that spans decades. Owing to the monster-hunters’ mutations and the fact that sorceresses don’t age, many of the characters’ figures remain relatively the same. This is also true for Jaskier, even though he’s a simple human.
Hissrich explained this by saying:
“We dropped the ball on aging him up over the course of the show. It’s hard to show the passage of time when everyone looks the same, so we’ll be approaching that differently in S2.”
But regardless of these small inconsistencies, the bard is already a fan-favorite due to his irresistible wit and charisma, so it’ll be interesting to see what changes he’s going to go through in the second season of The Witcher, which is currently in development and slated for release in 2021.
