A perfect solution to The Witcher season 2, and few moments cut him as deeply as the death of Eskel. A friend and fellow Witcher, Eskel reunites with Geralt for their annual Kaer Morhen shindig, but arrives visibly distressed. Infected by a leshy, Eskel begins transforming into a violent wooden tree-beast, forcing Geralt to put him down with a heavy heart.
As if losing a friend wasn't bad enough, Henry Cavill's Geralt finds himself at the center of a love triangle in The Witcher season 2. See, Geralt has fallen hard for Yennefer of Vengerberg - a sorceress he encountered off-and-on throughout The Witcher season 1. Though Yennefer reciprocates those feelings, fate seems determined to drive a wedge between them. While resting at Kaer Morhen, however, Geralt spends some quality time with Triss Merigold - another of his magical s, and a friend to Yennefer. Triss tries putting the moves on Geralt one cold night at Witcher HQ, but gets firmly shut down by the white-haired warrior, whose heart belongs to Yen.
Witcher fans remain staunchly divided over whether Yennefer or Triss is Geralt of Rivia's perfect partner. For book readers, opinion skews definitively toward Yennefer, with precious little romance between the Witcher and Triss in Andrzej Sapkowski's narrative. Triss Merigold enjoys more among gamers, however, serving as Geralt's main love interest for two whole entries in the CD Projekt Red series. Netflix brings that romantic dilemma to live-action in The Witcher season 2, and the troublesome triumvirate ends on an ambiguous note. Geralt and Yennefer are united come The Witcher's season 2 finale, but trust issues linger from the whole "kidnapping Ciri" debacle. Meanwhile, a spurned Triss is gunning for the powerful Cintran princess herself, leaving the door open for a magic-fueled Geralt tug-of-war in The Witcher season 3. Alas, Eskel could've provided a solution to the love triangle madness... had Netflix's adaptation not killed him off so early.
Despite playing a significant role in Sapkowski's books, Eskel is afforded but a single episode in The Witcher season 2, arriving at Kaer Morhen and perishing within a lone installment. Eskel's literary journey sees him forge a close bond with Triss Merigold, respecting her opinion and overcoming his initial mistrust to form keen friendship. Triss returns those sentiments by showing a special tender kindness toward Eskel. There's no explicit romantic connection (in canon , at least), but the Triss-Eskel relationship is something Netflix's The Witcher could've nurtured into a proper love story, where Triss spends so long eyeing Geralt she doesn't notice her true desires right away. When Triss finally realizes Eskel is the Witcher she wants, Netflix's adaptation would have the perfect (and the most satisfying) resolution to its Geralt-Yennefer-Triss love triangle.
No other character can fulfill the role of Triss' true love hiding in plain sight, so by killing off Eskel early, the sorceress' unrequited feelings for Geralt will carry on burning into future Witcher seasons until something goes horribly wrong. And though an Eskel-Triss romantic pairing would represent a deviation from existing Witcher canon, it's a much smaller leap than Eskel dying during his debut episode, which upset fans greatly. Not only did Eskel-gate deprive Netflix audiences of a key book character, but The Witcher cheated itself out of an ending where Yennefer gets Geralt, and Triss finds happiness with Eskel.