Who’s who in the Thanedd coup? The Witcher’s epic Aretuza battle explained
By Daniel Roman
The final three episodes of The Witcher season 3 are here at last, and they waste no time at all thrusting viewers into the series’ most epic sequence yet. The Witcher season 3 volume 1 ended on a pair of cliffhangers: Geralt and Yennefer finally figured out the identity of the mysterious mage backing Rience, and the Redanian spymaster Dijkstra held Geralt at knifepoint. It’s all part of a coup on the isle of Thanedd, where the mages of the world have gathered for a conclave.
The Thanedd coup is one of the most iconic sequences from Andrzej Sapkowski’s Witcher book series, with most of the major players of the story all in one place. It’s a complex set piece with multiple factions vying for control.
It can be a little hard to keep track of who’s working for who and what everyone wants during the Thanedd coup, so we’re going to break down why each of these factions are taking part in the bloodiest event of the season. There will be SPOILERS for The Witcher season 3 below.
Geralt, Yennefer, Ciri and Jaskier
Each member of our found family of heroes has their own specific motives and goals. Geralt went to Thanedd in order to find Rience’s master, who he believed was Stregobor. But after comparing notes with Yennefer, they realized that Vilgefortz was actually the mastermind behind many of their troubles. Once the coup gets underway, Geralt really only has one objective: ensure that Ciri isn’t captured by any of the various factions trying to capture her.
Like Geralt, Yennefer’s main goal at the Thanedd ball is to uncover the identity of Rience’s master. However, Yen also wants the Conclave of Mages to unite the disparate factions of magic users on the Continent. Once the coup begins, Yen is torn between her desire to keep Ciri safe and helping her fellow mages, including her mother figure Tissaia de Vries. This is why Yen ultimately ends up leaving Ciri and Geralt to go back and fight.
As for Ciri, Yennefer tells her that there is danger afoot on Thanedd, so naturally Ciri runs straight towards it. She wants to find Geralt and Yen to make sure they’re safe. Once she does that, she tries to escape with Geralt’s help.
That leaves Jaskier, whom Geralt and Yennefer left in charge of protecting Ciri. Once she runs off, Jaskier’s aim is to find his friends and help them however he can, although he arrives too late to actually take part in the coup. He also breaks things off with the Redanian Prince Radovid after discovering that he was hoping to kidnap Ciri during the coup. We’ll talk more about Radovid and the Redanians momentarily, but first: