Netflix's The Witcher series has relied very heavily on the short stories that sparked the entire Witcher saga, from tales to novels to video games. As the series closes its first season with rave reviews and excitement for a second season, fans can't wait to see what other stories and books the show will follow next.
Well, going through the most chronologically close stories and some that are just downright offensive, let's talk about what should or shouldn't be included in future The Witcher episodes. Some of them sound great, but others are just downright uncomfortable.
Here are 3 Storylines We Need To See In Season 2 (And 7 We Don't).
The Little Mermaid Job (Do)
In novelizations of The Witcher, there are even more references to fairytales than the video games show. For example, in one of Geralt's early adventures, he and Dandelion escort a young prince to the shore to meet with his lady love, a mermaid. The pair struggle to compromise: he wants her to use magic to get legs and him, and she wants the opposite. The thing is, though, there's easy magic to give her legs. It would be much more complicated for him.
In the end, through watching all this, Geralt realizes how much he cares for Yen and needs to be more understanding and so does the mermaid. It's just a character-building adventure fans would totally love to see.
Oh, and Dandelion has a song about a bard and Witcher falling in love and fans need that.
Cirilla Against Yen (Don't)
While Ciri immediately bonds to Geralt, in the books she and Yen start off at odds. Young Princess Cirilla is cold, which only makes Yen more prickly and frigid. It becomes a whole thing during her magic and Witcher training, and it's more tiresome than it really accomplishes anything. Especially since having a child (even an adopted one) was such a big deal for Yen.
Sure, sometimes parents don't bond with their adopted kid and that's a compelling conflict, but does the Netflix series really have the time to play with that? Probably not. So let's just do with voting it off the proverbial island.
Triss's Manipulation (Don't)
One of the largest story beats in The Witcher video games is the amnesia that both Geralt and Yen suffer after a specific event. After he wakes up, he's being cared for by Triss Merigold, a sorceress who has always had feelings for him. While many fans love Triss, she does use his amnesia to her advantage. She pretends she doesn't know about him and Yen's relationship and uses her knowledge about him to romance him (if the player goes along with it).
The whole situation is a big yikes and Geralt deserves better than to be used like that. Hopefully, even if they include the amnesia storyline, Triss' treatment of Geralt is different.
Ciri's Training (Do)
After Geralt and Ciri finally meet up, as destiny foretold, he begins training his new adopted daughter in the ways of being a Witcher. While some of that training isn't too exciting, watching this little princess grow into a truly powerful warrior in her own right is fantastic. She is a sort of mage/Witcher hybrid and her journey to adulthood and her own further destinies is something many fans have fallen in love with.
Hopefully, fans of the Netflix show can see that journey in live-action, too.
But seriously, give fans Ciri learning to use a sword or they'll riot. And they'll have every right to.
Geralt Versus Istredd (Don't)
Now, A Shard of Ice is not a bad short story. Actually, it helps establish Yen's character as someone who distances herself from people, even if she loves them. It shows a lot of personality and character from someone who often is known for being an ice queen.
However, another big aspect of A Shard of Ice is Geralt and Istredd facing off against each other, vying for her love. And in the Netflix adaptation? It just doesn't seem necessary. One, Istredd already seems to have given up on his romance with Yen. Two, fans already know that, no matter how much Geralt loves Yen, he won't put his jealousy or feelings above hers.
It's a storyline that shouldn't happen, not because it isn't good, it's just the Netflix series doesn't need it.
The Dainty Doppler (Don't)
The Witcher series already did an homage of sorts to this short story storyline by including the Doppler in the Nilfgardian attempts to capture Ciri. It was clever, useful, and also showed off another wonderful, cool creature from The Witcher world.
Which is great, because this short story is a mess.
The gist is, a guy named Dainty is having life troubles, and it turns out a Dopple is going around impersonating him. More, there are other Dopplers also around this specific town impersonating people. In the end, since Dainty's Doppler is raking in money, Geralt, Dainty, and Dandelion do nothing about it.
The end.
Netflix's Witcher really doesn't need that.
The Voice Of Reason (Don't)
This short story should never be re-shared, at least not without major re-tweaking. The whole point of it is that Geralt gets himself sexually involved with a mute mage, he's told not to, and then bad things happen to her.
Generally, the point is mostly to say that even a Witcher shouldn't mess with things he doesn't understand. But between the hollow relationship and weird cult-y vibes?
The Witcher series can do better than this while expanding the world with Ciri and Geralt side by side.
Let's dream for more short story inspiration... just not this one.
Vampire Beauty And The Beast (Do)
As said before, The Witcher is known for doing warped versions of classic fairytales. Of course, with that kind of set-up, it has to have a Beauty and the Beast storyline.
Geralt meets a cursed, monstrous man who invites poor young women to his castle to live and be doted upon. He doesn't touch them or bother them, he just cares for them. After all, them being there seems to help keep the curse at bay.
In a shocking twist, his current young maiden is actually a vampire. Geralt fights her, and in another twist, when she loses her life, her blood heals the beast's curse because she loved him.
Wild ride, right? It would be fun to see that play out on screen.
Abandoning Ciri (Don't)
The Witcher's first season ended with Geralt and Ciri finally finding each other, tied together by destiny. However, when this first meeting happens in the books, they meet before Cintra's fall and, after their adventure, Geralt sends Ciri home.
Considering there is nowhere else to send her, let's just hope the "abandoning Ciri" storyline is abandoned as well. It really hurt her self-esteem and forced her to grow as a person, but it just wouldn't fit.
Also, it'd be pretty brutal for him to abandon her now. Considering she has no family and all that.
Ciri's Incestuous Betrothal (Don't)
One discomforting, key element to the future of Ciri and Geralt's story is the fact it's entwined with the re-emergence of her father. Once known as Duny, it's revealed he actually was the heir to Nilfgard and he's the one who's been after his daughter this whole time. Apparently there's a prophecy that her child will rule the continent, and its child the world. And he wants the legacy for himself.
Now, it's already technically his legacy as she's his daughter, but this gross man wants her child to be his, too. Yeah, yikes. So let's hope the Netflix series just focuses on the prophecy aspect of it all, and doesn't make her incestuous, creepy father propose to her at all.
That would be everyone's least favorite storyline.