The Witcher Season 2 Episode 8 Recap – Family

[00:01:00] Ciri woke up in her bed at Cintra. Mousesack woke her and made her follow him to the banquet. Ciri walked out of her room and passed the armory room of Kaer Morhen. Meanwhile, Geralt and Yennefer rode back to Kaer Morhen. Geralt blamed Yennefer for allowing Voleth Meir to escape. Yennefer did her best to explain what had happened to Geralt, but he was not in a listening or understanding mood. Yennefer wanted to protect Ciri from Geralt, but he didn’t want Yennefer to meddle with his mission.

[00:04:00] It seemed the real Ciri was trapped in her memories as Voleth Meir used her body to kill the remaining witchers in Kaer Morhen. Voleth walked from room to room, killing each witcher in his sleep. Ciri entered Vesemir’s room, but before she could kill him, Geralt arrived. He asked Ciri what had happened, and she told Geralt about an old woman dressed in black. Ciri told Geralt that she had seen Voleth kill the other witchers. Geralt asked Ciri how she had escaped Voleth. Ciri responded that she had screamed. Geralt found it odd that Ciri had screamed, and yet Vesemir hadn’t woken from his slumber. Geralt noticed a drop of blood on Ciri’s cheek. He knew something wasn’t right. He asked Ciri what she wanted, and Ciri sliced Geralt’s face and ran away.

[00:07:00] Vesemir went around Kaer Morhen with Coen and Lambert. They couldn’t believe that Ciri would kill their fellow witchers. Vesemir told them that it wasn’t Ciri that had killed them. Vesemir ordered Lambert and Coen to gather the remaining witchers in the armory. Lambert and Coen told Vesemir that Ciri had already killed the other witchers. This left Vesemir without any choice. He drank his elixir and told them to do the same. Lambert and Coen set out to gather all the remaining elixir they could find. Vesemir went out to find Ciri and kill her. Geralt pleaded with Vesemir, saying they needed to help Ciri instead of killing her. Vesemir told Geralt that Ciri had done too much damage and needed to be put down. Geralt reminded Vesemir about his teachings and begged him to trust him.

[00:09:30] Geralt knew that they could save Ciri, but they needed to do it together. Yennefer overheard their conversation and knew she needed to do something to save Ciri. Geralt saw Yennefer, but he didn’t say anything to her. Yennefer went to Jaskier’s room to wake him up. She asked for Jaskier’s help in saving Ciri and told him that Ciri had been possessed by Voleth Meir. Meanwhile, Dara came clean about his spying for Dijkstra to Filavandrel and Francesca. Francesca didn’t blame Dara for what happened to her baby. She knew that there were darker forces at play. Francesca ordered Dara to gather some horses for her. Filavandrel realized that Francesca had something in mind.

[00:12:00] Yennefer headed over to the witcher labs to make a separation potion for Ciri. She explained to Jaskier that Voleth was like a parasite inside Ciri’s body. They needed to get her out to save Ciri without killing her. Yennefer blamed herself for getting Ciri into this mess, so she planned on doing everything she could, with or without magic to help her. Jaskier went out of the lab to find Geralt on Yennefer’s orders. Meanwhile, Ciri stood in front of the medallion tree as the real Ciri enjoyed the banquet of her memories. Queen Calanthe noticed something odd about the things that were happening at the banquet. It felt like something was off to her. Ciri continued to enjoy the banquet as she danced with delight as if nothing had happened.

[00:16:00] Fringilla went to Cahir to tell him about the elves that had left the city. Francesca and Filavandrel were among the elves that had left. Scouts had seen them heading to Redania on stolen horses. Cahir realized why Francesca was so important to Fringilla. Without Francesca, her plan falls to pieces; however, Cahir had a backup plan. Even though Fringilla told Cahir that she had had nothing to do with the baby elf’s death, they wanted to impress Emhyr by taking credit for the baby’s death. As they spoke, Francesca and the elves rode towards Redania to get revenge. Meanwhile, the witchers prepared for war. Everyone drank their elixirs to prepare for the worst. Geralt found Ciri in front of the medallion tree. All the other witchers managed to find them as well. Geralt talked to Voleth Meir and asked her to release Ciri in exchange for him.

[00:20:30] Voleth told Geralt that his offer was enticing; however, she rejected it. The witchers had prepared to attack Ciri when Jaskier walked in. He saw that everyone was busy, so he shut up. Ciri let out a loud shriek which broke the medallion tree in half. The other half of the tree broke off and revealed a monolith hidden inside it. All the witchers were shocked to see that there was a monolith hidden within the tree. Geralt knew what Voleth Meir was planning to do. He tried to call out to Ciri, but Voleth was still in control of her body. She let out another loud shriek which shattered the monolith. Stellacite shards flew out in every direction and flew back towards Ciri. She opened a portal and summoned two monsters from another realm.

[00:23:00] While the other witchers took care of the monsters, Geralt asked Vesemir to trap him inside a bubble with Ciri. Geralt knew he could reach Ciri, so he kept talking to her. Voleth did her best to contain Ciri in her memories while fighting Geralt. Somehow Ciri could hear Geralt’s voice. Mousesack briefly changed into one of Voleth’s minions before turning back into Mousesack. Ciri questioned Mousesack, seeking to verify his identity, but he didn’t know the answer. Voleth conjured Ciri’s mother and father to lure her back into her memories.

[00:27:00] Francesca and the elves had reached Redania. Francesca used elven magic to brand all the newborn babies in the kingdom. Gage tried to stop Francesca from killing all the babies, but she was hell-bent on getting revenge. In one swooping motion, Francesca killed all the newborns. The kingdom grew silent as all the babies stopped crying and died. After a few seconds, everyone started screaming as they mourned the deaths of their babies. Voleth had used Francesca’s hatred to amplify her magic. She opened the portal again and summoned another beast to fight the witchers. The beast attacked Geralt, but he managed to kill it before it killed him. Yennefer had already finished her potion and told Geralt about it.

[00:30:00] Geralt and Yennefer went back to the hall where Vesemir had given up on their plan. He approached Ciri with his dagger and stabbed her stomach. Geralt stopped Vesemir and told him that if Voleth died, Ciri would die with her. Voleth healed Ciri’s wounds, and the witchers were back to square one. They outnumbered Voleth; however, since they couldn’t harm Ciri’s body, there was no other way to defeat her. Geralt saw the jasper stone that Jaskier was supposed to give to him. Geralt realized that hatred gave Voleth more power. They tried to call out to Ciri, but she chose to stay inside her memories and the illusion that Voleth was showing her.

[00:33:00] Geralt told Yennefer that Ciri couldn’t escape unless they found another vessel for Voleth Meir. Voleth’s hut had burned down; she had nowhere else to go. Yennefer knew it was her time to shine. She broke the potion vial and used the shard to slice her wrists. She recited an incantation to begin transferring Voleth from Ciri’s body into her own. The illusion started to die as Queen Calanthe and Mousesack begged Ciri not to let them die again. Ciri’s parents told her that she belonged with them. Geralt knew that Ciri was clinging to the illusion, so he called out to her. Geralt told Ciri that whatever Voleth was showing her wasn’t real. She had a real family with them, and she only needed to go back home. Ciri told her parents that she needed to go home, and they too slowly died and faded away.

[00:36:00] Ciri finally returned to her real self as she fainted in Geralt’s arms. Geralt told Ciri that they needed to trap Voleth Meir before she escaped. Geralt told Ciri to open a portal to send Yennefer and Voleth through it. She opened it, but she was being pulled in. Voleth pushed Ciri out of the way as the portal pulled her in. Geralt grabbed on to both Yennefer and Ciri, but he was sucked into the portal as well. All three of them arrived in a barren wasteland. Voleth Meir left Yennefer’s body and looked for a new host. Horsemen charged towards the three of them. They were the Wraiths of Morhogg. Voleth turned into one of the wraiths as they tried to claim Ciri for their own. Before the Wraiths could reach them, Ciri teleported them back to Kaer Morhen.

[00:39:00] Ciri asked Geralt if the horsemen they had encountered were the Wraiths of Morhogg. Geralt confirmed they were indeed the wraiths, but he assured Ciri that they were safe now. Yennefer saw that Coen was injured and went over to help him. She recited an incantation, and Coen’s wounds healed instantly. Yennefer had finally gotten her magic back. Vesemir told Geralt that they needed to gather supplies and rebuild. Geralt didn’t know where Ciri had transported them earlier, but he told Vesemir about the Wild Hunt. He knew they couldn’t stay in Kaer Morhen any longer. Geralt and Ciri needed to keep moving for their enemies not to catch up with them.

[00:41:00] The brotherhood held a meeting with the leaders of the northern kingdoms. They discussed their plan to find Ciri and anyone who was trying to protect her. Tissaia finally knew Dijkstra’s plan for Ciri and why he came to Aretuza. Dijkstra had been looking for information about Ciri that day because he planned to have King Vizimir marry Ciri so that they could legally claim Cintra without bloodshed. The kings decided to put a bounty on Ciri’s head and her protectors. Meanwhile, Rience finally met Lydia’s master. Rience told his new master about his plan to find Ciri while all the kingdoms were at war with each other. Lydia was no longer able to speak since her face had been burned to the bone by the witcher mutagen. She telepathically told her master that she wouldn’t fail him again.

[00:43:00] The elves are once again without a home. The scouts had found Istredd lurking outside their camp. He told them about Ciri, but they already knew about her. Filavandrel thought that Istredd was just another mage from Aretuza and ordered their soldiers to kill him. Istredd told them that Ciri had elder blood in her veins. Francesca realized that Ciri was the prophesized warrior that would save the elven race. Dijkstra was visited by his pet owl, who turned out to be a mage named Philippa. She told Dijkstra that word was out about Ciri’s existence, and everyone was now hunting her down. Dijkstra told Philippa to bring him Jaskier so that he could pay back his benefactor. It was Dijkstra who had been paying Jaskier to bring elven refugees into Cintra.

[00:46:00] Geralt told Yennefer that she was whole again. Yennefer had gotten her magic back when she had sacrificed herself to save Ciri. Yennefer told Geralt that she would sacrifice herself again for Ciri in a heartbeat. Geralt told Yennefer that he could never forgive her for what she had done; however, Yennefer still loved him and hoped that one day, they could start things over between them. He told Yennefer to guide Ciri and train her to properly use her magic. Geralt remembered a prophecy between him and Yennefer made by Villentretenmerth. They were destined for each other; however, they needed something else between them. Geralt told Yennefer that Ciri was that something else.

[00:48:00] Geralt told Ciri that they would help each other achieve what destiny had in store for them. They couldn’t avoid what was destined, so they needed to face it head-on. Yennefer told Ciri that there was no point in avoiding destiny, so they would just need to help each other face all the trials that stood in their way. What Geralt didn’t understand was how Nilfgaard had known about Ciri before anyone else could have. The answer lay within Emperor Emhyr himself. He arrived in Cintra and was welcomed by his entire army, including Cahir and Fringilla. In their attempt to please Emhyr, they took credit for the death of the elven baby. The plan backfired when Emhyr revealed to them that he was the one who had ordered the death of the elven baby.

[00:49:00] Emhyr ordered his guards to take Fringilla and Cahir away as he revealed himself to be Ciri’s father.