The Witcher: Why Geralt Didn’t Kill Nivellen (But Did Vereena)

In The Witcher season 2, episode 1 “A Grain of Truth,” Geralt (Henry Cavill) kills Vereena (Agnes Born) without hesitation, but does not offer the same fate to Nivellen (Kristofer Hivju). The action, or rather, lack thereof, seems a little odd given the crimes of his old friend, but the scene was updated from its original depiction in Andrzej Sapkowski’s book, The Last Wish, quite significantly. His books tell fairy tales within the Witcher’s world and the changes made to this one for the television adaptation have given it a more modern sensitivity.

Nivellen, The Witcher season 2’s version of the Beast from Beauty and the Beast, is found at his large estate and is quickly revealed to be a friend of Geralt’s. Nivellen says he had been cursed by a priestess whose temple he destroyed, but in actuality, she cursed him into becoming the beast that he now is because he had raped her. The story goes that Nivellen thought perhaps by getting a woman to truly fall in love with him, he would be transformed back into his human form. He ends up taking Vereena into his home, falling in love with her. However, Geralt kills her when it is revealed that she is a Bruxa, a type of vampire inspired by Portuguese folklore. At this point, Nivellen is transformed back into a human, and when he asks for Geralt to kill him, the white-haired Witcher refuses.

It seems a contradictory decision; Nivellen is Geralt’s friend but his actions were monstrous and Geralt has never let sentimentality stop him from killing a monster in the past. However, Nivellen is spared because he poses no current threat. After they find out that Nivellen had been cursed due to his heinous actions against the priestess, Geralt chooses not to give him the release he asks for. In the book The Last Wish, Nivellen’s horrific crime is glossed over, but The Witcher addresses it head-on, smartly updating the story for modern standards. In contrast to the book, Geralt makes it a point to force Nivellen to live with what he has done; if Nivellen wants to die, it must be by his own hand. Leaving him alive is the worst punishment Geralt can dole out.

Vereena, however, is swiftly dispatched by Geralt because she is a threat to Ciri. Geralt’s primary mission is to protect Ciri at all costs. When he sees the Bruxa sucking Nivellen’s blood, he understands that Vereena is a monster that must be dealt with. No matter how she may have initially bonded with Ciri, it is a Bruxa’s nature to drink blood and kill, making her too dangerous to live. Even if the shy monster just wants to be left alone, and even if she spends part of her time in a calm, humanoid form, inevitably, she will kill. The difference between Vereena and Nivellen is that Vereena is a monster, Nivellen monstrous.

While this whole plotline is a little confusing, an effort was made in The Witcher to bring some acceptable closure to the book’s insensitive version of the story. While The Witcher season 2 ignored mistakes from the first series, some strides have been taken in modernizing the “fairy tales” from the books. Geralt’s moral compass appears to be a bit more attuned after spending time with Ciri, and that’s could very well mean further changes from the books will happen as the show progresses.

About The Author