The Witcher: Who Geralt of Rivia’s Father Was

Geralt of Rivia was raised by witchers from a young age, but while The Witcher season 1 reunited him with his mother, Visenna, it left his father’s identity a mystery. Fortunately, the collection of stories and novels upon which the Netflix show is based shed more light on Geralt’s origins.

A short story by The Witcher author Andrzej Sapkowski, titled “The Road With No Return,” details how Visenna and Korin first met. Geralt’s father was a lot like him (minus the special abilities): a sword-for-hire who claimed to care only about seeking out fights and earning profit, and not about altruistically helping people. But just as Geralt frequently seems to end up breaking his own rules of neutrality, Korin’s claims to be a heartless profiteer are also somewhat in question.

Geralt’s mother and father met when Visenna found Korin wounded at a crossroads, and used her knowledge of healing to mend his injuries. Together, the two teamed up to help protect a nearby village from a druid called Frenegal, and a crab-like monster that he had summoned called a koshchey. Visenna and Korin develop a mutual attraction to one another (he is described as being tall and blond, with a narrow face and a strong chin), and “The Road With No Return” ends with the two of them kissing.

Though it’s never explicitly stated that Korin is Geralt’s father, in the novel Time of Contempt Geralt tells Vilgefortz, “My father, I learned with a little effort, was a vagabond, ignorant, mercenary adventurer.” This somewhat unflattering description nonetheless fits with Korin’s own characterization of himself in “The Road With No Return.” Geralt never gets to meet his father in the source material, and a comic book adaptation of “The Road With No Return” adds the detail that Korin was killed soon after he and Visenna met. If he wasn’t already dead when Geralt was born, then he definitely will be by the time The Witcher season 2 begins, since Geralt is around 150 years old at the end of season 1.

There was some excitement during the casting announcements for The Witcher season 1, when actor Martin Berencsy was cast as a character called Korin. However, this character was later revealed to be one of the peasant boys that Ciri plays knuckles with in the street, and therefore obviously not Geralt’s father. Still, with showrunner Lauren S. Hissrich revealing that The Witcher season 2 will incorporate flashbacks, it’s still possible that we could see the story of how Geralt’s parents met in the show – or at least learn a little more about the legendary witcher’s father.

About The Author

Hannah Shaw-Williams
(3313 Articles Published)

See also  Marlon Brando's Planned Cameo In Godfather 2 (& Why He Rejected It)

Hannah has been with Screen Rant since 2013, covering news, features, movie premieres, Comic-Con and more! You can follow her on Twitter @HSW3K

More From Hannah Shaw-Williams