The Witcher 2×06 “Dear Friend…”
Episode 6 brings us perhaps the most awaited moments of the entire show: the scene where the three main characters are finally in the same room. We know, deep down, this is what everything has been leading up to, and yet the circumstances are probably not what we had imagined.
In a welcome change of scenery from the empty halls of Kaer Morhen, Geralt and Ciri travel to the Temple of Melitele. It says a lot about Vesemir that he guesses correctly when Triss asks him where he thinks they’re headed. After all, he may have disappointed Geralt, but he is and always will be the closest thing he has to a father.
We suffer one of the greatest losses of the season when a monster slices up Roach. Geralt helps the horse pass peacefully (Henry Cavill revealed he added those words of prayer from the books). It’s not the first time Geralt loses a Roach and it won’t be the last, but the loss hits us hard.
Ciri is sad and passive-aggressively upset with Geralt; she does not know where they are going and is sad to be leaving the witchers’ keep. She feels unheard, like her wishes do not matter to him. He doesn’t really care about her, she accuses, only about his duty to her. We know this is not the case. Geralt has been a father for approximately six episodes and still stumbling in the dark about how to deal with a teenage runaway princess, still unsure of the right thing to say to make Ciri feel better, how to help her. So he brings her to someone he trusts, someone who helped raise him.
Nenneke is a priestess of Melitele and the head of the temple, which is a place of healing and learning. It seems we have entered a completely different world, an oasis, a quiet and calming place, a true refuge from the bloodshed and war raging throughout the Continent. With its Indian and Spanish-inspired architecture and warm tones, the set designers built the temple brilliantly. And yet, despite all that, from the moment Geralt hands over his weapons at the temple, we can tell that they will not be safe.
Nenneke begins instructing Ciri and tells Geralt the girl needs balance, that he needs to find what is missing in Ciri and deliver it to her. And right on cue, Yennefer appears like the last piece of an unfinished puzzle. However, she only wants to kidnap Ciri so she can have her powers back, as per the Deathless Mother’s prophecy.
In Cintra, Francesca and Fringilla’s plans are flourishing, although there is some resistance from Nilfgaard’s generals. Their friendship continues to develop as well; they’ve become each other’s confidante. The elf encourages the sorceress to value herself and stop acting like she’s inferior when she’s the one holding the power. It’s clear that there is darkness in Francesca, even if we are just glimpsing it. When Francesca and Filavandrel’s baby is born, Fringilla rejoices with them, unaware of what it will do to her plan. Cahir cautions Fringilla to be careful and reminds her of their original mission: to find Ciri.
When Rience, the fire-wielding mage who attacked Jaskier, finds Ciri in the temple of Melitele, Yennefer seizes her chance. Geralt trusts her with the child as he fights off their enemies and Yen escapes with Ciri, leaving Geralt behind. After seeing the three of them interact in a couple of lovely scenes, it’s horrible to watch Yen turn her back on Geralt and betray him. Even after she realizes what Ciri is to him, Yen is so desperate to get her powers back that she would compromise anything, even Geralt’s trust and his child’s life.
This episode’s title, “Dear Friend…” is a reference to what Yennefer and Geralt call each other in Blood of Elves when writing to one another. That whole scene where Ciri walks in on their reunion and finds them kissing in his room was epic, with the right tinge of awkwardness mixed with curiosity.
Ciri immediately feels a pull towards Yen and Yen towards her, but she misinterprets it as the Deathless Mother’s voice. It’s adorable that the show kept “dear friend” in, and it’s hilarious when Geralt uses the same expression to refer to Istredd in the following scene, where the three of them act so much like a family — despite having just met — that it almost hurts. How will these fractures heal?