Netflix’s Netflix decided to bring this universe to an even wider audience through a TV series. Simply titled The Witcher, the series made its debut in December 2019 and might be the platform’s biggest first TV season ever, and was renewed for a second season before the first one was released.
The Witcher had a different narrative style from the video games and books, as it followed the stories of three characters in three different points in time, whose paths converged towards the end of the season. These characters are the title witcher, Ciri (Freya Allan), the crown princess of Cintra. Due to its non-linear narrative, it’s easy to miss that the series covers decades, and that the characters – namely Geralt and Yennefer – are not as young as they look due to the mutations and other transformations they went through, so they don’t age like a normal human. However, there are some characters who are regular humans and didn’t age at all through season 1.
Such is the case of Jaskier (Joey Batey), a bard who tags along with Geralt, much to the witcher’s dismay. Jaskier was present when non-linear timeline of The Witcher, it’s easy to lose track of how many years have ed and with that how old the characters should be – and viewers have pointed out that Jaskier didn’t age at all during all those years he spent with Geralt. But how could that be possible, if he isn’t a witcher nor a mage?
The Witcher Season 1 Timeline Explained
The Witcher season 1 not only follows the separate stories of Geralt, Yennefer, and Ciri, but some timelines cover more years than the others. As confirmed by showrunner Lauren Schmidt Hissrich (via Aretuza, when she was still disfigured and abused. The second timeline is that of Geralt’s, with his introduction scene taking place approximately 25 years after Yennefer’s origin one. Ciri’s story, then, would be the third and most recent timeline, as well as the shortest one.
Now, Jaskier is part of Geralt’s timeline, and he arrives somewhat early on it (in 1240, nine years after Geralt’s arrival at Blaviken and his encounter with Renfri), and he sticks around for a long while. As mentioned above, they attended the betrothal feast of Princess Pavetta together in 1249, which is when Duny arrived and chaos ensued, with Geralt ending up bound to Ciri by the Law of Surprise. In 1256, Geralt and Jaskier discovered (and accidentally released) a Djinn, which led them to meet Yennefer. Then in 1262, Geralt, Jaskier, and Yennefer ed a dragon hunt, and that was the last adventure together of Geralt and Jaskier, as the former snapped at the latter, blaming him for everything bad that had happened to them and told him he hoped they never meet again. Of course, after such confrontation, Jaskier left, and that’s the last time the audience saw Jaskier in The Witcher season 1.
How Old Jaskier Should Be In The Witcher Season 1
The Witcher never explicitly said how old its main characters are, so their ages can only be calculated through hints in the series, the timeline, and any details the showrunner and writers have shared. In Jaskier’s case, from the moment he first appeared at that bar and came up with “Toss A Coin To Your Witcher”, to his argument with Geralt and departure, 24 years ed, so Jaskier should have aged, but he looks the same all the time. According to the official site of Netflix’s The Witcher, Jaskier was born in 1222, so he was 18 when he met Geralt, meaning that by the end of his story in season 1, he should be 42, but doesn’t look any older than he did in his first appearance in the series.
Witcher Theory: Why Jaskier Hasn’t Aged (Is He Immortal?)
Unlike Geralt and Yennefer, Jaskier hasn’t gone through any mutations or experimentations, and he’s a regular human being, which is why Geralt was often worried about him tagging along as he could easily die, as he almost did when they found the Djinn. This is why viewers have wondered why Jaskier didn’t age at all through season 1 (a mistake Schmidt Hissrich itted in a Reddit AMA), and fans have come up with different explanations. The most popular and possible one was shared by a Reddit , who suggests that Jaskier made his way to immortality by accidentally drinking a potion, thinking it was wine. Potions are a thing in Sapkowski’s books, but there’s little mention of them – in the video games, on the other hand, there are many potions that characters can take to increase certain abilities. However, neither in the books nor the games is there a potion that grants immortality, though there could be one that could slow down a person’s aging process.
Another possibility, also shared by a The Witcher season 2, though Schmidt Hissrich has already said that this will be approached differently in the season, which may or may not include an explanation as to why he didn’t age at all in over 20 years.