Henry Cavill’s 20 best moments as Geralt of Rivia in The Witcher

14. Descent into Vulipanne castle

Following a lead from information brokers Codringher and Fenn, Geralt’s pursuit of Rience leads him to the abandoned castle of Vulipanne in Episode 302, “Unbound.” Unbeknownst to the witcher, this abandoned laboratory is where Rience’s employer Vilgefortz of Roggeveen has performed horrific experiments.

Geralt uncovers something terrifying at Vulipanne. Fleshy tentacles extend from the wall of a subterannean cavern, the severed heads of three teenage girls attached to their ends. Another girl is found in a cocoon; she believes herself to be Ciri. But the worst is the flesh monster, an abomination formed of the misshapen bodies that belong to the severed heads. It has too many hands. Far too many.

Geralt’s fight against the flesh monster is one of the most stunning creature battles in the entire show. It’s an entirely original monster dreamed up for the Netflix series, and the fight choreography sells the unsettling terror of the situation. Henry Cavill has always shone brightest as Geralt when he’s in the midst of an intricate action sequence, and the fight against the flesh monster is one of the best.

15. Geralt learns of his mother’s death

Season 3 gives us a quiet resolution of one of The Witcher’s longest-running subplots. Following Geralt’s horrific encounter at Vulipanne, he heads to a druid friend of his named Anika to see if she can help the girl who believes herself to be Ciri. It backfires, and the fake Ciri is possessed and attacks. She is subdued, but Anika is injured.

As the druid lies in bed, Geralt asks her questions about her friend Visenna. Anika gives Geralt the bad news that his mother was beaten to death in a race riot; she was mistaken for an elf. This leads to one of Cavill’s best monologues of the season as Geralt grapples with his complicated feelings about his mother. He even sheds a tear as he talks about it. It’s a haunting scene.