Netflix with its first English language adaptation, which was an instant success.
The first season of Netflix’s The Witcher approached Sapkowski’s stories differently and went for a non-linear narrative, following three characters in different places and points in time, with their paths converging towards the end of the season. The three protagonists of The Witcher, then, are Geralt of Rivia (Henry Cavill), Yennefer of Vengerberg (Anya Chalotra), and Ciri (Freya Allan), with their stories blending in The Witcher season 2 and making way for more interactions between them, allowing viewers to see what their dynamics are about, but that also made way for some big changes, especially in Yennefer’s story.
The Witcher season 2 is mostly based on the book Blood of Elves though it also took stories and characters from other books and short story collections, and the basis of this season was Ciri’s training at Kaer Morhen, the witchers’ keep. This season also explored the bond between Ciri and Geralt and showed the return of Yennefer and her involvement in Ciri’s training, which is a lot different from what fans knew from the books, making way for a lot of controversy – but ultimately, these changes were the right choice for the series.
How The Witcher Season 2 Changes Yennefer's Story From The Books
Yennefer’s story after the Battle of Sodden Hill happened very differently in the books and The Witcher season 2. In the source material, Yennefer was blinded during the battle by Fringilla (played in the TV series by Mimî M. Khayisa) and was cured with magic some time later. After the Battle of Sodden Hill, Yennefer became a member of the Council of Wizards, and during a trip to Velen under the orders of Sigismund Dijkstra (Graham McTavish), she watched Dandelion/Jaskier’s (Joey Batey) performance and noticed he was being followed by Rience (Chris Fulton). Yennefer followed them and saved Dandelion from Rience’s attack, sending a fire spell at the latter and leaving him scarred. A year later, Yennefer received a letter from Geralt asking for help to train Ciri, so the sorceress traveled to the Temple of Melitele in Ellander. Yennefer and Ciri’s relationship had a rough start but eventually became a mother-daughter bond, with the sorceress teaching the young princess about magic and how to harness her chaos.
Upon receiving news of the conflict with Nilfgaard, Yennefer and Ciri traveled to The Witcher season 2, most of Yennefer’s story was changed. First, Yennefer wasn’t blinded by Fringilla and instead was captured by her and what was left of her troops, who were in turn captured by the elves. Along with Fringilla and sca Findabair (Mecia Simson), Yennefer was taken to the Deathless Mother/Voleth Meir (Ania Marson), who made them different offers depending on what they desired, and Yennefer’s was all about getting her chaos back.
Yennefer returned to Aretuza where she freed Cahir and ran away with him. She later reunited with Jaskier and rescued him from Rience but she was captured by Redanian guards. While restrained to a chair, Yennefer communicated with the Deathless Mother, who told her that in order to get her chaos back, she had to deliver Ciri to her, as she was the key to Yennefer regaining her powers. Yennefer tracked Ciri down to the Temple of Melitele, where she also reunited with Geralt, and following an attack from Rience and company, she taught Ciri how to make a portal and both escaped through it. Yennefer continued to teach Ciri and tricked the princess into going to Cintra to rescue Geralt, but the witcher arrived on time to save them from Nilfgaardian guards. They returned to Kaer Morhen and realized Ciri had been possessed by the Voleth Meir, killing many witchers at the keep, so Yennefer sacrificed herself to summon Voleth Meir and become her new vessel. However, with Ciri now awake, she transported herself, Yennefer, and Geralt to Voleth Meir’s home sphere, where she left Yennefer’s body and ed the Wild Hunt. Ciri opened a portal to take them back home and Yennefer got her chaos back, and while Geralt didn’t forgive her, he wanted her to them to continue training Ciri, which she agreed to.
Why The Witcher Season 2's Yennefer Changes Are Divisive
All these changes to Yennefer in The Witcher season 2 turned out to be quite divisive. Yennefer was left powerless for most of the season, which made way for her desperation to get her chaos back, and with that came vulnerability, making her a great target for Voleth Meir. Yennefer choosing to trick Ciri and give her to the Deathless Mother is far from the mother-daughter bond they have in the books, so fans were understandably disappointed that Netflix made all these changes to their stories. All this made Yennefer’s sacrifice hard to believe and her actions looked predatory as she had other intentions while pretending to help Ciri, and it will be even harder for her and Ciri to develop a unique and strong bond like in the books as Yennefer already proved that she would be willing to sacrifice the princess for her personal benefit, even if she was the one who ended up sacrificing herself.
Why The Witcher Season 2's Yennefer Changes Were A Good Thing
While all these changes to Yennefer’s story in The Witcher season 2 ended up being divisive and even problematic, they were the right choices for the story that the Netflix series is building. The show takes characters and events from Sapkowski’s books but it isn’t an exact adaptation of these, instead building its own narrative, which was somewhat expected as this is not the only Netflix show that has taken one too many creative liberties. The Witcher season 2 was all about Ciri and how different, powerful figures around the Continent want to capture her, so making Yennefer another threat to her was needed to add yet another layer of conflict to the princess’ arc, one that would end up feeling a lot more personal thanks to Yennefer’s connection to Geralt and how she tried to fool her by mentoring her.
What Yennefer's Changes Mean For The Witcher Season 3
The Witcher season 3 is on its way to being a very intense ride for viewers now that The Witcher season 3 will be the one that sees the mother-daughter dynamic between Ciri and Yennefer or not is to be seen, but what’s for sure is that they have to work a lot on their relationship after everything they went through in season 2.