Emhyr var Emreis, the White Flame, is a major antagonist in season 3, The Witcher reveals the major twist that Emhyr is none other than Ciri’s father. The original story, however, doesn’t reveal this fact until the ending of the final novel.
Written by Andrzej Sapkowski, The Witcher is an voluminous read. Starting with a short story published in 1986 in the Polish fiction magazine Fantastyka, The Witcher blossomed into a set of 15 short stories, a main saga of six novels, and a seventh standalone book. Telling the tale of Geralt of Rivia and his eccentric collection of companions, The Witcher has a cult following in Poland. To other audiences, the stories are best known for their series of video games, created by CD Projekt Red, which serves as a sequel story to the books.
This is likely a major reason why the Netflix show revealed the true identity of Game Of Thrones which focused on trying to outsmart and surprise their audiences, at the cost of meaningful storytelling.
The TV adaptation of The Witcher has proved somewhat controversial among audiences, due to how it strays from the story told in the books. Some complain that the TV story is too different to the originals, while others still commend it for telling a compelling tale even with its many deviations. Some plot elements in the TV show are brand new, only loosely based on the original plotlines. One example is Yennefer’s magic, which she loses control of in season 2, where the book storyline instead sees her resist using magic for fear of being tracked.
As Emhyr’s reveal shows, the TV adaption of The Witcher is an apple that has fallen far from the tree, but this isn’t necessarily a bad thing. It’s nothing new for an adaption to make changes to the original, either to better suit the medium or to shift the focus. A good example is Lord Of The Rings made several alterations, including leaving out story elements like Tom Bombadil and the scouring of the Shire. Both are still held in high esteem despite these changes. Netflix’s The Witcher seems to be following these examples.
Stories that try too hard to follow the original can sometimes hamper themselves. Writing is an entirely different medium, relying on imagination, meaning that no two readers will experience the story in quite the same way. As a result, even the best screen adaptations of books will unavoidably leave some viewers displeased. Add to this the fact that major story elements are well known by a large portion of the audience, and it makes more sense to slightly change a story rather than attempting the impossible task of living up to the beloved original. This can actually strengthen an adaptation, allowing it to become its own story, distinct from the original. With changes, like the reveal of the White Flame’s true identity, Netflix’s The Witcher is now free to tell its own tale, finding new ways to surprise audiences both old and new.