The Witcher Season 1 Episode 1 Recap – The End’s Beginning

[00:01:00] A deer was drinking by a swamp lake. We see bubbles emerge a few feet from the shore. The sound of bubbles distracted the deer. A man dove underwater while the deer continued drinking from the lake. After a few seconds, the man emerges from the water with a monster. The beast looks to be half man and half spider. The man managed to sever one of the beast’s legs. He was taken down by the beast and pinned underwater. The man dropped his sword while the beast dragged him under. He dodged the beast’s attack as he tried to get his sword back. Luckily his sword was within arm’s reach. He grabbed it, stabbed the beast, and killed it.

[00:02:30] The man got out of the lake. He found the deer whimpering by a tree. It took a hit from the beast’s arm when they emerged out of the water. He told the deer that today wasn’t its day and walked away. He rode his horse to the nearest town and went inside the tavern. The men inside went silent as the man walked to the bar. He asked Isadora the directions to the Alderman’s house. She provided the directions, but a man stopped her. The man referred to him as “Witcher.” He told Witcher that his kind isn’t welcome in their tavern. He asked which way to the Alderman’s house so that he could leave immediately. A few men got up from their seats to look for a fight.

[00:04:00] A woman named Renfri interfered before anything bad happened. The men apologized to her and went back to their seats. Renfri apologized to the Witcher for the men’s behavior. She ordered a beer for the Witcher and offered him some breakfast. He refused and told her that he was full. She asked him why he was in Blaviken. The two of them continued talking as Renfri ordered more beer. The tavern master gave her the whole pitcher instead as she gulped her beer as if it was water. A child entered the tavern and asked to pay for the beast’s remains. The child is the Alderman’s daughter; however, she told the Witcher that they need the beast alive. She told him to see the local Wizard, Irion. The child told the Witcher that Irion pays for specific ingredients that he needs to brew his elixirs.

[00:07:30] Desperate for money, the Witcher agrees. The child accompanied him to Irion. On their way, she introduced herself as Marilka. The Witcher introduced himself as Geralt of Rivia. Marilka asked Geralt to teach her the ways of the Witcher, but he refused. Marilka told Geralt that she needed to learn more as she didn’t know what to do in Blaviken for the rest of her life. Geralt responded that she could continue killing rats. Marilka seconded that she could also kill dogs as she once killed her own pet and sold its remains to Irion. After a short walk, they arrived at Irion’s tower. Geralt asked Marilka to keep an eye on his horse, Roach. He approached the tower doors and noticed that it was an illusion. He walked through it and entered a beautiful garden full of naked women.

[00:10:30] Geralt is greeted by Master Stregobor. Geralt told Stregobor that he has a Kikimora for Irion. Stregobor responded that Irion had been dead for 200 years, but he took his name and created an illusion inside the tower. Geralt knew that Stregobor was in hiding hence the illusion and the usage of Irion’s name. Stregobor thanked destiny for their meeting; however, Geralt told him that Marilka had brought him to the tower. Stregobor told Geralt that Marilka works for him. Geralt now understood why Marilka brought him to the tower. Stregobor needs Geralt’s help to dispose of his monster. Stergobor agreed and told Geralt that he needed to kill Renfri.

[00:12:00] A girl named Cirilla is playing knucklebones in the streets with her friends. Guards of the Royal Family arrived and told Cirilla to come with them. Cirilla is the granddaughter of the King; she attended a gathering with them. The Queen was granting Knights their commendations while Cirilla talked to her father about Knucklebones. The King kept flirting with the Queen despite Cirilla’s disgust. Back at Irion’s tower, Geralt asked Stregobor to speak normally as he didn’t want to hear his wordplay. Stregobor told Geralt about the curse of the black sun. It was said that the solar eclipse would mark the return of Lilith. The prediction states that 60 women wearing gold crowns would prepare Lilith’s path. These women would fill river valleys with blood, all for the return of Lilith.

[00:15:00] Stregobor told Geralt that Renfri is the daughter of King Fredefalk of Creyden. Renfri was born under the black sun. Women born under the black sun were considered mutated. They have internal mutations, which Stregobor studied for years. He did multiple autopsies of different women born under the black sun. Renfri was one of them; however, he couldn’t get to her. She bested all of Stregobor’s efforts to bring her down. Renfri hid and resurfaced in Blaviken the same day Geralt came to town. Geralt told Stregobor to just use magic; however, Stregobor responded that Renfri is immune to magic. Geralt didn’t believe him, but Stregobor stated that mutated ones are immune to magic. Renfri wants to kill Stregobor, which is why he needs Geralt to kill her. He’s willing to pay any amount, but Geralt refused.

[00:18:00] Stregobor pointed out that Renfri has the power to wipe out the entire civilization. Geralt responded that no one has that kind of power. Stregobor asked Geralt if he was willing to take his chances and allow Renfri to go free. He told Geralt that killing Renfri is the lesser evil thing to do. Geralt responded that all acts of evil are the same, whether it’s lesser, greater, or middling. He admitted that he hadn’t done a lot of good things in his life. Geralt explained that if given a chance to choose between two acts of evilness, he would decide not to choose at all. Back at the palace, a feast was in full swing. There were people dancing for the royal family. The King and Queen were discussing the chances of war with Nilfgaard. The Queen is confident that they will not fall to Nilfgaard.

[00:20:00] Cirilla told her grandmother that she was ready and that she had won her first war at her age. The Queen responded that she lost 3000 men that day, and she’s not willing to make a repeat of that. She told Cirilla that it’s impossible to always be prepared for battle. The Queen told Cirilla always to keep her sword close and always keep moving. A man approached the Royal table as the song and dance ended. The man is accompanied by his son, Martin. They seem to be allies of the Royal family. Martin asked Cirilla to dance. She tried to refuse, but the Queen agreed for her. Cirilla got up and joined Martin to dance. She didn’t like it at first, but as the song went on, she happily danced the night away.

[00:23:00] One of the Queen’s guards approached the table to tell her that Nilfgaard was on their way to Cintra. The Queen told the King that she stands corrected; they are on the brink of war. The King wants to tell Cirilla of the impending war, but the Queen wants her to enjoy the night as it may be her last party.

Geralt and Roach were passing through a river when he heard footsteps behind him. It was Renfri. She asked Geralt if Marilka had taken him to see Stregobor earlier this morning. Geralt told Renfri that he now knew who she was. Renfri explained the fate she suffered at the hands of Stregobor’s men. She was raped, robbed, and left to die. Renfri chose to kill rather than be killed, to steal rather than starve. She told Geralt that she will have her revenge on market day.

[00:25:30] Renfri offered to pay Geralt for him to kill Stregobor. She told Geralt that killing Stregobor is the lesser evil. Renfri realized that Stregobor told Geralt that she was a cursed woman because she was born during an eclipse. Renfri and Geralt found one thing in common. People refer to them as monsters. Renfri asked Geralt why he chose not to kill the men who come after him. Geralt responded that if he kills everyone, it will just justify what people think about him. Renfri asked Geralt if she’s considered a monster because she wants revenge on Stregobor. Geralt told Renfri that killing Stergobor would confirm that she’s a monster. He told Renfri that she always has the option to just leave Blaviken and start a new life. Geralt left Renfri by the river to make her own decision.

[00:28:00] The King and Queen of Cintra met the forces of Nilfgaard on the battlefield. Cirilla was locked inside the castle with her own personal guard along with the Wizard of Cintra. She thought it was unfair that she was locked inside the castle as her grandparents were in battle. The wizard told Cirilla about the tale of wizards locking little girls in towers because they were cursed. Cirilla worries for her grandparents. The wizard responded that she would be alright if the time came that she needed to lead the Kingdom of Cintra. The King and Queen battled valiantly with their men; however, their allies weren’t coming to assist them. A storm kept the ships of Skellige from arriving, which meant that the forces of Cintra were on their own. They were losing the war, but the Queen told them that they could not let Cintra fall.

[00:32:00] King Eist agrees and continues fighting. After a few seconds, King Eist dies as an arrow hits his left eye. The Queen saw what happened. She wailed at the sight of King Eist’s death. She saw the archer standing on the hilltop and immediately charged for revenge.

Cirilla roamed the castle halls. She heard a woman praying while Martin worried whether they would be okay. Martin’s mother assured him that the Queen would be able to defeat Nilfgaard. Cirilla heard the wizard talking to the Queen, so she hurried towards her. Cirilla saw her grandmother dying in her chamber. She told Cirilla that King Eist was dead and that Cintra was under attack. She told Cirilla that someday she would rule Cintra. The wizard, Mousesack, placed a barrier on the castle doors as the army of Nilfgaard rampaged through their streets. Cirilla asked Mousesack how long his barrier would hold. He responded that the barrier would hold for as long as he could. 

[00:36:30] Geralt was preparing dinner as he told Roach about his first kill. He saw a monster outside Kaer Morhen. A bald man was trying to rape a random girl in front of her own father. Geralt swooped in to save the girl. He managed to kill the man, but the girl saw what happened and passed out. Meanwhile, Renfri followed Geralt and overheard his story. She approached Geralt afterward and told him that she had made her decision. She was going to leave Blaviken for good. The two of them ended up kissing after Renfri told Geralt a story about her mother.

[00:41:00] It was already nightfall at Cintra. Mousesack could no longer hold his barrier, and the Nilfgaard’s were going to breach the castle gates. The Queen ordered Danek and Mousesack to begin their counterattack. Cirilla didn’t understand what was happening, so she stayed with her grandmother. The Queen told her that Nilfgaard didn’t take prisoners, which meant that her people were being slaughtered in the streets as they spoke. Mousesack returned to the Queen’s chambers to tell her that the man they were looking for had escaped. She told Cirilla that a good leader always chose mercy. The Queen told her that one day she would also choose mercy when it’s needed. She called on Lazlo to take Cirilla away and escape. Cirilla refused at first, but she knew that it was inevitable. She let out a loud scream that rattled the glass cups.

[00:44:00] The Queen told Cirilla to find Geralt of Rivia because he’s her destiny. As Cirilla went with Lazlo, Mousesack was about to tell the Queen about Cirilla’s power. She responded that she saw the glasses rattle as well. Mousesack promised to deliver Cirilla to Geralt. He left the Queen in her chamber to wait for her death. Danek went around the castle, giving elixirs to everyone. They were to commit suicide instead of suffering a fatal death at the hands of the Nilfgaardians. Mousesack, Cirilla, and Lazlo make their way out of the castle through a secret path. The Queen got up in her chamber and opened the window. She looked out as her city burned. The Queen jumped from her window and killed herself. Martin’s mother forced him to drink the elixir. She drank it next and lay next to Martin.

[00:47:00] Martin’s father committed suicide by stabbing his throat. Cirilla asked Lazlo why they were running away and why the world depended on her survival. A man saw them trying to escape, so Mousesack volunteered to stay behind. Lazlo and Cirilla rode a horse and tried to escape, but the archer that killed Eist saw them. He shot Lazlo in the throat before he could tell Cirilla her destiny. Cirilla fell from the horse as Lazlo died. The archer approached Cirilla in order to kill her. Meanwhile, Geralt woke up in the middle of the forest. He looked around, but Renfri was no longer beside him. Geralt made his way back to Blaviken to search for her. Renfri knew that Geralt would come to a stop her, so she instructed her men to stop Geralt.

[00:51:00] Geralt killed Renfri’s men. She eventually returned with Marilka as a hostage, but she was too late. All of her men were dead. Geralt told Renfri to just leave Blaviken, but she wasn’t going to without a fight. Renfri released Marilka and crossed swords with Geralt. Renfri knew that she and Geralt were the same. They managed to wound each other, but none of the wounds were fatal. Geralt was able to take Renfri’s sword and almost kill her. Renfri still tried to kill Geralt using her dagger. Geralt countered and used Renfri’s own dagger to kill her. Renfri told Geralt that the girl in the woods is her destiny and that he cannot escape from her.

[00:55:30] The archer took Cirilla out of the city. She watched the city burn to the ground while they left. Cirilla let out a loud scream which startled the horse. The archer fell down along with her. Cirilla continued screaming until a huge pillar fell between the two of them. The pillar fell into a gorge as the land split in two. The archer realized that he was unable to chase Cirilla while she escaped. Meanwhile, in Blaviken, Stregobor left Irion’s tower and found Renfri dead along with her men. Stregobor ordered Marilka to find a cart so that he could bring Renfri’s remains back to the tower. Geralt threatened to kill Stregobor if he so much as touched Renfri’s body.

[00:57:00] Stregobor told Geralt that he needed to conduct an autopsy on Renfri’s body in order to find out more about her illness. Geralt told Stregobor not to touch Renfri, but Stregobor used the crowd against him. He announced that Geralt killed Renfri and her men, so the crowd gathered around Geralt. They threw stones at him while Marilka told Geralt to leave and never return. Geralt didn’t have any choice. The people saw him as a monster, so he left Blaviken. Meanwhile, Cirilla ran for her life. She ran deeper into the woods, hoping so that she could escape the archer.