Who’s who in the Thanedd coup? The Witcher’s epic Aretuza battle explained
By Daniel Roman
Cahir Mawr Dyffryn aep Ceallach
Cahir is a Nilfgaardian military officer who fell from grace after lying to Emperor Emhyr in season 2. He spends much of season 3 undergoing tests of loyalty to get back into Emhyr’s good graces, which is what leads him to convince the Scoia’tael to attack Aretuza and capture Ciri.
Though Cahir arrives at Thanedd as part of the Scoia’tael guerrilla force, he breaks off on his own after an unexpected run-in with his former confidante, the sorceress Fringilla Vigo.
Cahir intends to find Ciri and ask forgiveness for leading the sack of Cintra which claimed the lives of Ciri’s family. Cahir was the one originally responsible for kidnapping Ciri from Cintra, and has been chasing after her ever since. Yet when the Scoia’tael close in, Cahir makes a last stand to buy Ciri time to escape.
Fringilla Vigo
Fringilla is a rogue sorceress who is tenuously allied with Nilfgaard. Like Cahir, Fringilla fell into Emperor Emhyr’s disfavor at the end of season 2. She began this season as a poison taster for the emperor before eventually escaping and making her way north.
After hearing that a conclave of mages was being held, Fringilla decided to head there, likely because she intuited that something momentous was bound to occur. Fringilla knows the mind of Emperor Emhyr better than almost anyone, so we can’t rule out that she might have guessed at his plan to storm Thanedd during the conclave. But Fringilla’s exact motivations for going to the tower are somewhat ambiguous.
That ambiguity vanishes once Fringilla actually arrives at Thanedd. For her, the conflict is personal. She kills her uncle Artorius and quickly falls back in with her old comrade Francesca to aid the Scoia’tael. Fringilla even gives Cahir the advice to think for himself, which leads to his fateful encounter with Ciri.
Fringilla has bigger plans as well. As we find out in later episodes, her participation in the battle at Thanedd gives her leverage to get back into Emperor Emhyr’s good graces.