Why Witcher Season 2’s Controversial Yennefer Changes Were The Right Choice

The Witcher season 2 took more creative liberties than the first season and made some major changes to Yennefer’s arc that ended up being quite controversial, but ultimately, these changes were the right choice for the series. The Witcher has become one of the most popular universes in the fantasy genre thanks to its multilayered characters and its influences from different mythologies and folklore, and continues to build an extensive fanbase around the world. Created by Polish author Andrzej Sapkowski, The Witcher is a series of novels and short stories best known for their video game adaptations, and in 2019 it made the jump to the world of streaming thanks to Netflix with its first English language adaptation, which was an instant success.

The first season of Netflix’s The Witcher approached Sapkowski’s stories differently and went for a non-linear narrative, following three characters in different places and points in time, with their paths converging towards the end of the season. The three protagonists of The Witcher, then, are Geralt of Rivia (Henry Cavill), Yennefer of Vengerberg (Anya Chalotra), and Ciri (Freya Allan), with their stories blending in The Witcher season 2 and making way for more interactions between them, allowing viewers to see what their dynamics are about, but that also made way for some big changes, especially in Yennefer’s story.

The Witcher season 2 is mostly based on the book Blood of Elves though it also took stories and characters from other books and short story collections, and the basis of this season was Ciri’s training at Kaer Morhen, the witchers’ keep. This season also explored the bond between Ciri and Geralt and showed the return of Yennefer and her involvement in Ciri’s training, which is a lot different from what fans knew from the books, making way for a lot of controversy – but ultimately, these changes were the right choice for the series.

How The Witcher Season 2 Changes Yennefer’s Story From The Books

Yennefer’s story after the Battle of Sodden Hill happened very differently in the books and The Witcher season 2. In the source material, Yennefer was blinded during the battle by Fringilla (played in the TV series by Mimî M. Khayisa) and was cured with magic some time later. After the Battle of Sodden Hill, Yennefer became a member of the Council of Wizards, and during a trip to Velen under the orders of Sigismund Dijkstra (Graham McTavish), she watched Dandelion/Jaskier’s (Joey Batey) performance and noticed he was being followed by Rience (Chris Fulton). Yennefer followed them and saved Dandelion from Rience’s attack, sending a fire spell at the latter and leaving him scarred. A year later, Yennefer received a letter from Geralt asking for help to train Ciri, so the sorceress traveled to the Temple of Melitele in Ellander. Yennefer and Ciri’s relationship had a rough start but eventually became a mother-daughter bond, with the sorceress teaching the young princess about magic and how to harness her chaos.

Upon receiving news of the conflict with Nilfgaard, Yennefer and Ciri traveled to Aretuza so Ciri could continue her training in safety and Yennefer could meet with the Conclave of Mages. During a stop in Gors Velen, Yennefer made some bank transactions that included sending money to the Temple of Melitele and Aretuza to ensure Ciri’s future studies, and one day, after spending time together at a spa at The Silver Heron, discussing Ciri’s future and more, Ciri ran away to see Geralt in Hirundum. This led to the reunion of Geralt and Yennefer after four years, and though they argued at first, they eventually made peace and forgave each other. Although some of these events happened in some way in Netflix’s The Witcher season 2, most of Yennefer’s story was changed. First, Yennefer wasn’t blinded by Fringilla and instead was captured by her and what was left of her troops, who were in turn captured by the elves. Along with Fringilla and Francesca Findabair (Mecia Simson), Yennefer was taken to the Deathless Mother/Voleth Meir (Ania Marson), who made them different offers depending on what they desired, and Yennefer’s was all about getting her chaos back.

Yennefer returned to Aretuza where she freed Cahir and ran away with him. She later reunited with Jaskier and rescued him from Rience but she was captured by Redanian guards. While restrained to a chair, Yennefer communicated with the Deathless Mother, who told her that in order to get her chaos back, she had to deliver Ciri to her, as she was the key to Yennefer regaining her powers. Yennefer tracked Ciri down to the Temple of Melitele, where she also reunited with Geralt, and following an attack from Rience and company, she taught Ciri how to make a portal and both escaped through it. Yennefer continued to teach Ciri and tricked the princess into going to Cintra to rescue Geralt, but the witcher arrived on time to save them from Nilfgaardian guards. They returned to Kaer Morhen and realized Ciri had been possessed by the Voleth Meir, killing many witchers at the keep, so Yennefer sacrificed herself to summon Voleth Meir and become her new vessel. However, with Ciri now awake, she transported herself, Yennefer, and Geralt to Voleth Meir’s home sphere, where she left Yennefer’s body and joined the Wild Hunt. Ciri opened a portal to take them back home and Yennefer got her chaos back, and while Geralt didn’t forgive her, he wanted her to join them to continue training Ciri, which she agreed to.

Why The Witcher Season 2’s Yennefer Changes Are Divisive

All these changes to Yennefer in The Witcher season 2 turned out to be quite divisive. Yennefer was left powerless for most of the season, which made way for her desperation to get her chaos back, and with that came vulnerability, making her a great target for Voleth Meir. Yennefer choosing to trick Ciri and give her to the Deathless Mother is far from the mother-daughter bond they have in the books, so fans were understandably disappointed that Netflix made all these changes to their stories. All this made Yennefer’s sacrifice hard to believe and her actions looked predatory as she had other intentions while pretending to help Ciri, and it will be even harder for her and Ciri to develop a unique and strong bond like in the books as Yennefer already proved that she would be willing to sacrifice the princess for her personal benefit, even if she was the one who ended up sacrificing herself.

Why The Witcher Season 2’s Yennefer Changes Were A Good Thing

While all these changes to Yennefer’s story in The Witcher season 2 ended up being divisive and even problematic, they were the right choices for the story that the Netflix series is building. The show takes characters and events from Sapkowski’s books but it isn’t an exact adaptation of these, instead building its own narrative, which was somewhat expected as this is not the only Netflix show that has taken one too many creative liberties. Yennefer’s backstory is a complex one, and Yennefer has in turn become a complex character, one that isn’t always on the side of morality but isn’t a villain either. Her chaos is what has given her power and a sense of value (this last one something she continues to struggle with after all these years), so losing her powers gave her a motive in The Witcher season 2, which made way for more layers in her character and gave her a bigger role in Ciri’s story, albeit a different one from what fans were used to. On the other hand, The Witcher season 2 was all about Ciri and how different, powerful figures around the Continent want to capture her, so making Yennefer another threat to her was needed to add yet another layer of conflict to the princess’ arc, one that would end up feeling a lot more personal thanks to Yennefer’s connection to Geralt and how she tried to fool her by mentoring her.

What Yennefer’s Changes Mean For The Witcher Season 3

The Witcher season 3 is on its way to being a very intense ride for viewers now that the identity of the White Flame and his connection to Ciri has been revealed, as well as the intentions and plans of many others for capturing the young princess. Ciri, then, will need a lot more training and protection in season 3, and she now really has Yennefer on her side. What’s going to be interesting to see is how Yennefer will earn Ciri’s trust, which surely won’t be easy even though she sacrificed herself to save her from Voleth Meir. With her powers now back, Yennefer can teach Ciri a lot more, and the latter could end up surpassing her mentor in terms of power, which could have not-so-good effects on Yennefer’s confidence. Whether The Witcher season 3 will be the one that sees the mother-daughter dynamic between Ciri and Yennefer or not is to be seen, but what’s for sure is that they have to work a lot on their relationship after everything they went through in season 2.

About The Author

Adrienne Tyler
(3269 Articles Published)

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Adrienne Tyler is a features writer for Screen Rant. She is an Audiovisual Communication graduate who wanted to be a filmmaker, but life had other plans (and it turned out great). Prior to Screen Rant, she wrote for Pop Wrapped, 4 Your Excitement (4YE), and D20Crit, where she was also a regular guest at Netfreaks podcast. She was also a contributor for FanSided’s BamSmackPow and 1428 Elm. Adrienne is very into films and she enjoys a bit of everything: from superhero films to heartbreaking dramas, to low-budget horror films. Every time she manages to commit to a TV show without getting bored, an angel gets its wings.

When she’s not writing, you can find her trying to learn a new language, watching hockey (go Avs!), or wondering what life would have been like had Pushing Daisies, Firefly, and Limitless not been cancelled. Breakfast food is life and coffee is what makes the world go round.

Guillermo del Toro said “hi” to her once. It was great.

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