One of the most divisive elements in Netflix’s The Witcher series won’t be returning for season 2, showrunner Lauren Hissrich has confirmed.
Based on Polish author Andrzej Sapkowski’s bestselling books, The Witcher primarily follows the lives of three orphans: Geralt of Rivia, Yennefer of Vengerberg and Ciri. How the trio come to be in each others’ company and their subsequent companionship is a key component of Sapkowski’s original works but it’s a narrative that doesn’t come together overnight. In order to adequately tell each character’s origin story – all of which unfold independently of each other and in vastly different time periods – in the show’s inaugural season, Hissrich opted to use a non-linear timeline.
The result, as anyone who has watched (and re-watched several times by now, I’m sure) season 1 will know, is that the Witcher, the Sorceress and the Child spend little on-screen time together, with Geralt and Ciri’s paths, in particular, only converging in the final episode. That disjointed – and somewhat necessary – fragmented storytelling will be much less of an issue in season 2, however, no doubt removing the necessity for Netflix to clear up any confusion with official timeline diagrams.
Speaking to Vulture in a recent interview, Hissrich said:
All three characters [Geralt, Ciri, and Yennefer] are on the same timeline now. That’s where we ended season one. That’s absolutely where we will pick up in Season Two. The stories will be told in a much more linear fashion. They won’t all be one story. It’s not like all three are together and happy all the time. But, I do want to employ some different ways to look at time series-wide. I think that there is a lot that we couldn’t fit into Season One. There are different short stories that I would love to highlight and focus on. We may end up doing those in the future, via flashback, for instance. But no, we won’t have things happening across 100 years at the same time anymore.
A linear narrative is par for the course in season 2, then, but it’s worth noting that showrunners won’t necessarily shy away from revisiting events not integral to the main plot. In a universe as rich as The Witcher‘s, Hissirch says fans shouldn’t surprised to see some episodes explore events in other characters’ lives via flashbacks or other, similar devices used in contemporary television. As for when you can expect to rejoin Geralt on his adventures in The Continent, Netflix has yet to provide a firm release date beyond sometime in 2021.
In the meantime, let us know if you consider yourself a proponent of The Witcher‘s split timelines or if you’ll be glad to see it go in future installments via the comments below!