By the end of season 2 of The Witcher I liked Triss Merigold way better than Yennefer of Vengerberg.

Yes, I'm still talking about all the things that premiered in December of 2021 that I watched. This time, it's about the second season of The Witcher, which premiered just in time for me to start watching after I got done with Lost in Space in its final season. I think that between The Witcher and Amazon's Wheel of Time, the heir apparent to Game of Thrones appears to be The Witcher. It's second season was strong and full of intrigue, frightening monsters, and interesting characters. Plus they really leveled up their special effects budget. Two characters in particular I've thought deeply about are Yennefer of Vengerberg, and Triss Merigold. Here is your <<SPOILER ALERT>> if you intend to watch season 2 of The Witcher and you haven't done so yet.

Season 2 when it started rolling was more of a grayish and wintry world than season one. A lot of the action was set in Kaer Morhen, which is the chilly abode of the world's last line of witchers. They don't appear to have a lot of architecture or engineering experience, and they have channeled all of their energy and time into defeating monsters. So that's what they are good at doing. But this is to the detriment of the actual castle they live in, so the place is run-down and falling into ruin. It's kind of the stereotypical "man cave" or messy bedroom of the alpha male loner, and I guess no one repairs anything. The modern world equivalent is a kind of fraternity where everyone works out and no one actually cleans or fixes broken things. However, the run-down set pieces look fantastic.

The head Witcher (and most experienced) is Vesemir, who worries about what is going to happen to his younger brothers even as another wave of monsters comes at them. Triss Merigold appears and helps Vesemir solve a problem: making more Witchers, and it involves getting blood from Ciri (who has "Elder blood" and which can be turned into a mutagen by Triss's potion knowhow). Meanwhile (and for most of the show), Yennefer has no magic, having sacrificed herself in the season one finale at the Battle of Sodden Hill by channeling forbidden fire. She gets it back by the end of the season, but before that she pretty much burns every bridge she made with characters like Geralt of Rivia, and no one really trusts her all that much (for good reasons).

Geralt and Yen's relationship in season 1 felt kind of toxic, and it does collapse when Yen endangers Ciri's life by almost giving Ciri to a powerful hag clearly inspired by the old folklore of Baba Yaga. In the books I've read, Yen was unambiguously the villain the first time she appeared, and then she was given a long, hard redemption story. The show being written toward that redemption from the start has to struggle with those same actions not instantly turning people off, and it doesn't always nail it. So I get that.

As for Triss Merigold, well I think she would be a more supportive partner for Geralt (I wonder if they are going to go there? A love triangle seems kind of young adult so they might not). In the books, she is one of Geralt's sexual partners, and she has a crush on him (I mean...Henry Cavill so who wouldn't?). All this aside though, she seems to be more cheerful, warm-hearted, and helpful. She's also a gifted healer, which has got to be a plus for someone who is out killing monsters all the time.

There were also things that I didn't like about season 2, and that I think continue to plague The Witcher as a series. The first of these is that the sense of time, scale, and geography are baffling. Apart from "North" and "Cintra" I frequently don't understand where people are supposed to be on the continent or how long it should take to travel to different places. A second point of confusion is that sometimes it feels too much like decisions or events are made for the plot to progress, and not because they are logical or fitting within context. Yennefer's reason for saving Cahir seemed weak. And then there's the whole scene with Jaskier getting on the boat and the 4th wall break with the guard being the voice of season 1 criticisms. In my opinion, this show desperately needs a map (like the Game of Thrones intro). But overall, I really liked it despite these criticisms. And as the title of this post says, I liked Triss way more than Yennefer, and I hope that Triss becomes more of a major character in the next season. That would be really cool.

Anyone else a fan of The Witcher? Any particular things you want to say about the first two seasons?