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

18. The Duel with Vilgefortz on Thanedd Isle

Few moments stand out in Andrzej Sapkowski’s Witcher Saga books like Geralt’s defeat at the hands of Vilgefortz of Roggeveen during the Thanedd coup. This is one of the most crucial turning points of the series, and it was important that the Netflix show get it right.

Fortunately, it did. To keep Vilgefortz from capturing Ciri, Geralt remains behind to fight off the mage while she flees into the elven tower of Tor Lara. Viewers have every reason to believe Geralt will trounce the mage as he trounces every other enemy that crosses his path. We don’t realize Geralt is going to lose the fight until he’s already losing, and it is brutal.

The duel between Geralt and Vilgefortz is largely carried by the performances of Cavill and Mahesh Jadu. This is a complex fight which not only has intricate action beats, but essential plot development; this is when we learn just how powerful Vilgefortz really is. Cavill portrays this dawning realization perfectly, giving Vilgefortz shocked little looks as he parries attacks no mortal should be able to parry.

We’ve never seen Cavill play Geralt getting chipped down and beaten the way he is during the Vilgefortz fight. It’s incredibly compelling. There’s a reason this scene is so iconic in the book series, and thanks to the hard work of Cavill, Jadu, and the crew, it will end up being one of the show’s most iconic moments as well.