The Witcher season 3: Every episode reviewed and explained

The Witcher season 3 Episode 3 recap: “Reunion”

The third episode of The Witcher season 3, titled “Reunion,” is one of my two favorite episodes of the season so far. The first two episodes were more about setting the board for the big moves about to be made, and we see some BIG moves in “Reunion.”

The episode begins with Geralt trying to find answers about this Ciri impersonator. Jaskier, who now has a crush on Redania’s Prince Radovid, and Geralt take the new Ciri to Anika, a woman who is a friend of Geralt’s mother, Visenna, who is now dead. There they meet Otto, a werewolf who Geralt saved. Anika tries to help not-Ciri. Anika says that an extremely powerful mind control enchantment was used on her. They give the fake Ciri an extraction elixir with the hope that she’ll come out of the mind control and be able to tell them who did this to her.

Unable to travel via portal to Aretuza, Ciri and Yennefer go to Giancardi Bank, where Yennefer is going to take care of some business. She allows Ciri to go off on her own, which obviously backfires. Luckily, Sabrina, Rita, Tissaia, and Yennefer arrive to help her, but that’s where the problems really begin.

For the first time, Tissaia meets Ciri. They have a little staring contest, and Tissaia’s eyes start to bleed. Yennefer and Tissaia meet, and Yennefer makes the case for unity. she brings Ciri to Aretuza to learn to control her powers.

Ciri gets fed up with Yennefer and the other members of the Brotherhood. Yennefer says that she’s doing what she has to do for Ciri, and she needs to get with the program. Ciri tells Yennefer that Geralt would never sell his soul like this.

Yennefer and Tissaia plan to hold a Conclave of Mages to bring the Brotherhood together so they can help the rules of the Continent to prevent war. While they’re having their little chit-chat, Ciri calls to Geralt via magic coin, and leaves. Ciri, Ciri, Ciri, what are you doing?

In Redania, Vizimir and his wife Queen Hedwig are close to a deal with Nilfgaard; in exchange for half of Temeria after Nilfgaard conquers the North, they’ll stay out of the way and give them Ciri. Dijkstra and Philippa are as mad as we’ve seen them in a while. Geralt appears to be close to putting all the pieces of their plan together, so they need to find Ciri quickly.

In Nilfgaard, Istredd is looking for a book, the Book of the Monoliths, but someone else found it and sent it to Aretuza. Emyhr sent the book there himself.

Cahir returns to Nilfgaard to propose a truce between Nilfgaard and the elves, cutting Francesca out of the deal. Cahir offers to find Ciri; he’s having more dreams about her. Emyhr offers Cahir a chance to come home, but he must do something first. It can’t be something good if Emyhr is asking him to prove his loyalty.

Back at Anika’s cabin, Geralt wakes the not-Ciri; her name is Teryn. She says, “There’s always a source.” She explains how a man took her, along with “the woman with a funny voice.” Teryn starts to panic, and then she becomes possessed.

She says, “Stupid witcher, you’re already doomed and you don’t even know it. May all ‘ye wail for the Destroyer of Nations is upon us.” She uses her powers to throw them all around before they are able to subdue her.

Who is the Destroyer of Nations? It’s open for interpretation. I believe she’s referring to Ciri and Ithlinne’s Prophecy.

Later, Geralt learns from Anika that his mother died after she was beaten after getting mistaken for an elf. Geralt tells the story of his mother leaving him. Geralt says that he won’t abandon Ciri, even if it kills him. He leaves Teryn with Anika and Otto. He’s traveling to Aretuza to get to the bottom of this mess.

In Redania, Queen Hedwig’s head is served in a box to Vizimir. It’s supposedly from Nilfgaard, but is really from Djikstra and Philippa, who are hoping to advance their plan. Radovid figures this out, and Dijkstra defends himself by saying that the queen should not be holding secret meetings with Nilfgaard. He threatens Radovid that it’ll be his head in the box next time.

Eva, who was Queen Hedwig’s servant, tells Philippa that a mage who visited Vizimir and Hedwig didn’t move her mouth to talk; she was using telepathy. Philippa figures out who it is and who she is working for. It all clicks for her, but we’re told what she knows just yet.

Elsewhere, Lydia is talking to Rience. It appears that she is the one who is pulling his strings, but Rience is worried that she and her employer are working for Nilfgaard. She explains that “working with” Nilfgaard is not the same as “working for” Nilfgaard. They’re using The White Flame. Rience starts making demands of Lydia.

This is a huge piece of the puzzle. We’ve known someone at Aretuza is connected to Rience, and it appears it is Lydia, and she’s not alone.

Back in Nilfgaard, Cahir kills Gallatin, as Emyhr asked, although it’s not easy. Cahir still seems quite unstable.

In the final sequence of the episode, Ciri rides a horse away from Yennefer, but there’s something chasing her. It’s the Wild Hunt! She rides faster, but Eredin catches her. He reaches out for Ciri, but luckily, Geralt arrives just in time and banishes them. During their embrace, Ciri notices a smoldering pile of armor and leather.

“They were real,” she says.

Episode 3 is the strongest episode of the season so far. I enjoyed how swiftly the story moved with these big reveals. Many of these characters are beginning to show their hand as Geralt gets closer to the truth.

I’m most curious about what’s going on with Redania. Dijkstra and Philippa are spinning up something big, I can feel it.

Up next is Episode 4!