The Witcher Season 2 Episode 5 Recap – Turn Your Back

[00:01:00] A mage named Lydia visited a dimeritium cell. She found a mage named Rience trapped inside the cell. Rience had been in prison for the past ten years because of an altercation with Queen Calanthe. Lydia told Rience that Calanthe was dead and they needed his services. Rience thought Lydia was working for Nilfgaard and refused to work with them. Lydia told Rience that she was not working for Nilfgaard. In exchange for his freedom, Rience needed to hunt down someone.

[00:04:00] Rience was present at the bar the night Jaskier was singing. Meanwhile, Fringilla asked Istredd for a new path to Cintra as the ships were no longer safe for elves. He looked across the continent to find a land path for elves, but he couldn’t find one. As he kept looking, a portal opened, and Geralt appeared. Meanwhile, Yennefer decided to get off the ship and look for Jaskier. Rience had abducted Jaskier and was showing him his fire magic.

[00:08:00] Geralt finally introduced himself to Istredd. He told him about the monolith outside of Cintra and the cause of his visit, but Istredd didn’t believe him. Istredd thought Triss was pranking him, but he was in for a big surprise. Geralt decided to show him proof of the monster that he was talking about. He took out the head of the monster that he had killed. It startled Istredd but was enough proof for him to help Geralt. Yennefer paid a whore to check if Jaskier was being held prisoner in the local garrison. Yennefer wanted to check on her own, but she couldn’t.

[00:10:00] Geralt and Istredd headed for the monolith to check it out. Istredd told Geralt that monoliths were indestructible, so destroying one would be impossible. Nilfgaardian soldiers tried to stop them. Istredd tried to reason with them, but that led nowhere, so Geralt took action. He punched one of the soldiers to sleep while Istredd used his magic to disable the other. Meanwhile, Triss found Ciri training near the obstacle course. She told Ciri to come inside for magic training; however, Ciri wanted to finish her physical training first. Vesemir couldn’t wait and went to the obstacle course to confront Ciri. Triss told Vesemir that they would only try to make witcher mutagen if Ciri agreed to it. Vesemir didn’t like the deal, but he had no choice but to agree.

[00:13:30] Yennefer was on the lookout for the whore that she had paid when she heard a commotion nearby. Soldiers were abducting people left and right. One of the mothers refused to give them her daughter. Yennefer tried to help, but she couldn’t without her magic. The witch told Yennefer that all she needed to do was ask, and she would get her powers back. Yennefer refused to give in. She tried her best to summon her magic, but she couldn’t. Eventually, the whore returned and told her that she didn’t find anyone named Jaskier listed in the local garrison. The whore advised Yennefer that if she was looking for a man, she should check where she last saw him because they usually go back there.

[00:15:00] The whore was right; Jaskier was being held as a prisoner by Rience at the pub where he sang the night before. Rience continued to torture Jaskier for information on Ciri and Geralt. Jaskier begged for his life; he couldn’t provide any information. Rience told Jaskier that chaos needed a source, and one of its sources was fire. Rience also revealed that fire was a forbidden source of chaos because it fed on the soul of the user. Yennefer emerged and pretended to be a drunk wife to save Jaskier. Rience believed her act as she drank from a bottle of wine. He told Yennefer to leave, but she refused. Rience pinned Yennefer to a wooden beam and showed her fire magic. Yennefer spat the wine out and burned Rience’s face. She was able to rescue Jaskier and escape as Rience winced in pain over his burned face.

[00:17:30] Geralt and Istredd arrived at the site of the monolith, but it was gone. They saw the gorge that was opened when the monolith had fallen. The whole gorge was made of stellacite. Geralt was expecting a track of bones or clues to what monsters were inside the gorge, but there was nothing. Geralt decided to go down the gorge, and Istredd agreed and wanted to accompany him.

[00:19:00] Ciri returned from her physical training. Vesemir gave her a drink to quench her thirst and talked to her about her training. Vesemir had originally thought Ciri was a spoiled princess, but he praised her for the impressive outcome of her training. Ciri wasn’t pleased because Geralt didn’t invite her to go to Cintra with him. Ciri felt that she should’ve been invited because Cintra was her home, and it was her fight. Vesemir invited Ciri to the labs to show her something. Vesemir showed Ciri the feainnewedd. He explained that the flower only grew where elder blood had been spilled. Ciri recognized the flower as it was now growing all over the training course. Ciri realized that the flower was growing on the spots where she had bled.

[00:24:00] Geralt and Istredd went down the gorge, but they didn’t find any monster nests. Istredd told Geralt that monsters didn’t exist in their plane in the first place. It would mean that the monster world and the human world had merged as one plane. Istredd had a theory that the monoliths were points of impact between the two worlds; they were conduits. Meanwhile, Triss and Vesemir worked on the witcher mutagen using Ciri’s blood. After they had completed the mutagen, Ciri left the lab to prepare. Triss didn’t understand why Ciri needed to prepare. Vesemir told Triss that Ciri wanted to become the first new witcher. Triss tried to object, but Vesemir told her that it was Ciri’s choice.

[00:27:00] Yennefer and Jaskier managed to escape Rience. Jaskier told Yennefer that Rience was looking for Geralt. Yennefer asked why Rience was looking for Geralt, but Jaskier didn’t know. He wanted Yennefer to warn Geralt, but she couldn’t summon a portal because she no longer had any magic. They were resting and arguing when a group of men found them. Jaskier separated from Yennefer to lure the men away from her. The whore she had paid earlier waved at her so that she could find refuge in her home. It turned out that the whore had sold Yennefer out to the northern kingdoms. She apologized to Yennefer and told her that she needed the money.

[00:29:00] Triss confronted Ciri about her decision to become the next witcher. Ciri wanted to become a witcher to find a new truth for her life. Everything that people had told her was a lie, and the people she loved and cherished died before she could find out the truth. Triss offered another way for Ciri to find out the truth about her past. She mentioned a ritual named Dol Durza. Triss would enter the deepest layer of Ciri’s soul to find things that were trapped inside. Ciri asked Triss if it was dangerous, but she responded that it wasn’t. All she required was Ciri’s trust. Ciri agreed and lay on Triss’s lap. Triss recited an incantation, and the two of them were transported into Ciri’s consciousness and memories.

[00:31:00] Ciri saw all of her memories inside a pub. All of her witcher friends were there except for Geralt. Dara and Cahir were there, along with Queen Calanthe. Ciri was frightened at the sight of Cahir, but Triss assured her that nothing could harm her inside her consciousness. She saw two children playing knucklebones just like she used to in the streets of Cintra. Ciri then saw her mother on a table inside the pub. Ciri’s mother asked her if she would like to hear a story. Triss was shocked that Ciri’s mother could see them. Triss told Ciri that Dol Durza wasn’t supposed to work like this. The witchers in Ciri’s consciousness got up and told Ciri that it was time to leave. The scenery changed before the witchers could approach Ciri and Triss. They were in Cintra the night her parents died.

[00:33:00] It was the same night they had died. Ciri’s parents were discussing a prophecy about her. Ciri’s mother told her father that Ciri would be killed because of the prophecy. She thought that the prophecy wasn’t true, but her husband responded that what they thought didn’t matter. He told her that what mattered was what the people thought was true, and everyone would think that the prophecy was true. Ciri’s father offered to leave under cover of darkness. They planned to take a boat and get out of Cintra. As Triss held on to Ciri’s shoulders, Ciri’s mother suddenly looked at them. Triss was startled and pulled Ciri out of the room.

[00:35:00] As they left the room, the scenery changed. They were now in a forest. Ciri and Triss headed towards a bright light. Feainnewedd lay all around the forest, suggesting that Elder’s blood had been spilled everywhere. A faint voice called out to Ciri from the light’s direction. Meanwhile, Geralt and Istredd continued roaming the gorge. Istredd told Geralt that the monolith at Nazair started emitting vibrations on the same night that Cintra fell. The two of them came up with a theory that monsters from other worlds were coming to their plane by using the monoliths as gateways. Ciri asked Triss where they were, but she didn’t know the answer. Ciri continued to see Feainnewedd on the ground as they heard a baby crying from a distance. Istredd wanted to know Geralt’s agenda for coming to Cintra.

[00:37:00] Istredd told Geralt that he had come to Cintra looking for Yennefer. Geralt responded that he, too, knew Yennefer. Geralt realized that Istredd loved Yennefer. Istredd quickly responded that he had never stopped loving Yennefer. He told Geralt that after what had happened in Sodden and Aretuza, he thought Yennefer would seek refuge in Cintra. Geralt was surprised by Istredd’s statement, so he asked him if Yennefer was still alive. Geralt’s eyes started hoping again upon hearing that Yennefer could still be alive. Meanwhile, Ciri and Triss followed the sound of the baby’s cry. They eventually found a huge burnt tree. A female elf was singing to her child as she continued applying pressure to her wound. The baby wouldn’t stop crying, so her mother told her the story of the elven warrior. Ciri recognized the story as the one that Nivellen had told her.

[00:39:00] As the elf told the story, she winced in pain. They tried to help the elf with her injuries. The elf got up and started to strangle Triss. She faced Ciri and told her the prophecy. As the elf finished the prophecy, Ciri saw the wraiths of Morhogg galloping across the sky. Triss begged Ciri to help her. Ciri did the only thing she could do, call on Geralt. Her call was so powerful that it activated the monolith’s power inside the gorge. Shards of stellacite flew across the gorge. Geralt and Istredd could hear Ciri calling his name. The prophecy ended, and the two of them were back in Kaer Morhen. Triss no longer wanted to help Ciri. She had seen the prophecy and told Ciri that she was the reason the world was ending.

[00:41:00] Triss told Ciri that she would destroy everything, and not even Geralt could stop it. Ciri ran out of the room as Triss gasped for air. Istredd wanted to know who was calling Geralt. They went to check where the stellacite fragments went. The two of them peered over the corner and saw a dragon made of stellacite. The dragon flew away before Geralt could kill it. Istredd had more questions, but Geralt told him to conjure a portal immediately. Meanwhile, Ciri went back to Vesemir and told him to proceed in making her a witcher. Vesemir filled the syringe with witcher mutagen, but before he could administer the mutagen, Geralt showed up to stop him.

[00:43:00] Geralt released Ciri from her restraints. He told Ciri that she could’ve died during the process. Ciri told Geralt that she wanted to be like him, but Geralt told her that there was no way to escape the past. All they could do was let go of all the hatred and move on. Geralt told Ciri to get her things because they needed to leave.

[00:45:00] Istredd went back to his study to find answers to their current problem. He went to see the Cintran bloodline, but everything stopped with Fiona, which didn’t make any sense. Meanwhile, the ship arrived in Cintra. Filavandrel and Gage stopped Cahir at the gate. Cahir surprised Fringilla with his arrival. She welcomed him back to Cintra.

[00:50:00] Yennefer sat inside the whore’s house as the guards harassed her. The witch continued whispering to Yennefer to just ask for her powers back, but Yennefer refused. Yennefer knew she didn’t have much choice, so she recited the incantation and transported her consciousness to the witch’s hut. Jaskier tried to call Yennefer’s attention from outside the house, but the guards saw and cornered him.

[00:52:00] Yennefer talked to the witch. She demanded access to chaos. Yennefer told the witch that she deserved access to chaos. The witch changed her appearance into Ciri. She told Yennefer that Ciri was the key to getting her powers back. The witch told Yennefer that she just needed to bring Ciri to the correct lock. A shattered black door outside of Cintra.