Eskel’s Death Changes Ciri’s Witcher Story From The Books

Spoiler Warning! Contains information from The Witcher season 2 and potential spoilers for future seasons.

Eskel’s death in The Witcher season 2 changes the story of Ciri’s training from the books. The second season of the popular Netflix series has come under fire for its alterations to the source material, despite touting itself as a faithful adaptation. Although there are many changes from the books in The Witcher, one of the more egregious alterations regards the fate of Eskel and his role in Ciri’s upbringing.

Eskel is one of the few remaining witchers during the events of the Netflix series. Shortly after he is introduced, it becomes apparent that the wounds he’d received in his most recent battle were more severe than he’d let on. He quickly transforms into a leshy (or leshen in the games), a powerful forest monster made of wood, before being killed by Geralt in the halls of Kaer Morhen. Eskel’s death has a tremendous impact on the witchers, prompting Vesemir to hastily pursue the creation of a new mutagen to restore their ranks, but Eskel’s role in the book series is significantly different.

Many aspects of Eskel’s character were changed for The Witcher season 2, from his ultimate fate to his personality. He is portrayed as angry and resentful, accosting Geralt at every turn, but in the books, he is perhaps the most jovial of the Kaer Morhen’s inhabitants. Eskel’s time with Ciri is brief, and his history with Geralt is only tangentially discussed. His character is effectively only used to introduce the concept of mutated monsters and set in motion the discovery of the monoliths. But his role in Ciri’s upbringing, as well as the story as a whole, is far more prominent in the books as he long outlives the fate he was given in the show.

Although Lambert (and to a lesser degree Coen) briefly takes on the task in the show, in the books he and Eskel were responsible for Ciri’s witcher training in the months following her arrival at Kaer Morhen. Eskel is skeptical at first, but he quickly overcomes his doubts due to his close friendship with Geralt as well as his history with his own Child of Surprise, Princess Deidre Ademeyn. Although he is not quite as powerful as Geralt, Eskel’s kind disposition and magical aptitude made him a useful ally to Ciri until Vesemir’s death in 1272.

Geralt briefly reflects on his relationship with Eskel after his death, seeing a brief vision from their younger days at Kaer Morhen. But Geralt was a mentor and something of a father figure to Eskel, making his role as Ciri’s mentor more meaningful to them both. Although not all of the alterations made by the series are quite so disappointing as Eskel’s death, The Witcher season 3 would be best served more closely following the source material that it claims to hold in such high regard.

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