After the conclusion of Game of Thrones, people are eager for their next dose of fantasy trash, and The Witcher looks like it’ll provide all of that which folks could desire. In fact, the first clip from the show has been released today (viewable at 6:22 in the video above), featuring the titular monster slayer Geralt of Rivia doing what he does best.
The scene seems to be a recreation of events that occur during A Question of Price, a short story from The Last Wish collection that takes place before the main saga proper that begins with Blood of Elves. It’s set in the court of Queen Calanthe, where Geralt defends Duny, a warrior who appears normal from midnight until dawn, but at daybreak a curse causes his appearance to transform into the hedgehog-like visage seen in the clip.
In the story, he appears with a viable claim for the hand of Princess Pavetta, whereupon a fight breaks out after the monarch refuses to let her daughter be wed to someone of whom she does not approve. With Witchers generally ascribing to their own code of ethics beyond even the will of royalty, Geralt intervenes.
If the series follows the chronology of the books, this scene will take place some time in the past, as the expansive saga of The Witcher revolves around Duny and Pavetta’s daughter Ciri, unborn at this point in time. The short story sees Geralt extracting a promise from Duny to allow the child to be trained as a Witcher in exchange for saving the man’s life.
Though it doesn’t show us a ton, the brief clip highlights Geralt’s fighting style that combines agile elegance and savage brutality, and the fight featured will be only one of countless we can expect to experience across the whole of The Witcher series, as a devastating war breaks out and a teenage princess-turned-apprentice hunter and potential sorceress uncovers her destiny.
