Does Cahir survive the Thanedd coup in The Witcher?
By Daniel Roman
The final three episodes of The Witcher season 3 are here, and with them one of the most spectacular battle sequences the show has ever produced. The coup on the island of Thanedd is a bloodbath that reshapes the balance of power on the Continent. It also features most all of The Witcher’s main cast in one location, which allows for some great moments.
One such standout scene is the reunion between Ciri (Freya Allan) and the Nilfgaardian soldier Cahir (Eamon Farren). Cahir and Ciri go all the way back to the very first episode of The Witcher, where Cahir led the attack on Cintra that resulted in the deaths of Ciri’s family before attempting to kidnap her. With their season 3 encounter, they have come full circle. Cahir is no longer the monster who haunts Ciri’s dreams; he’s someone who’s willing to lay down his life for her forgiveness.
So does Cahir survive the Thanedd coup? Beware SPOILERS below.
Does Cahir die in The Witcher?
When last we see Cahir, he’s facing down a group of Scoia’tael cavalry on foot while Ciri and Geralt run for safety. We never see what happens to the disgraced Nilfgaardian commander. Is he cut down by the Scoia’tael?
In The Witcher book series by Andrzej Sapkowski, Cahir does survive the coup on Thanedd. He goes on to have a major role in the rest of the story, so it’s pretty much certain he also survived in the show.
In the novels, Cahir is captured by the Redanians after the coup and shipped off to Nilfgaard as a sign of goodwill. We next see him pretty early in Baptism of Fire, the book which will likely form the basis for The Witcher season 4. It’s there that Cahir and Geralt’s paths cross once more. After seeing Cahir’s willingness to defend Ciri at Thanedd, the witcher is more trusting of the Nilfgaardian warrior. Cahir ultimately ends up joining Geralt’s traveling party, called a hansa, to help search for Princess Ciri. He is an instrumental character to the back half of The Witcher Saga.
We’ll see how the show handles that transformation when The Witcher season 4 premieres, likely sometime in 2025. Until then, all eight episodes of The Witcher season 3 are available now on Netflix.
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