This week Netflix debuts the fourth season of The Witcher, its epic fantasy series based on the hit books by Andrzej Sapkowski. This is something of a reset for the show after its lead star and titular witcher actor Henry Cavill departed the show following its third season. Now it'll be Liam Hemsworth donning the white wig and swords of Geralt of Rivia.
Add in the fact that we're now more than halfway through the show's five-season run, and the upcoming season stands to be a little more confusing to jump into than its predecessors. The Continent was shaken to its core by the Thanedd coup, and our heroes are scattered to distant corners of the map. Let's run through where all our major players left off in season 3, so that we can hit the ground running in season 4.
Obviously, there will be SPOILERS for the first three seasons of The Witcher below.
Geralt
After suffering grievous wounds at the hands of the evil sorcerer Vilgefortz of Roggeveen, Geralt was taken to Brokilon Forest to be healed by the dryads. With Yennefer's help, they succeeded in getting the witcher back on his feet, but his wounds still trouble him greatly.
We last saw Geralt fighting off a group of Nilfgaardians at a check point. He left one alive to tell Emperor Emhyr var Emreis that he was coming to kill him, because he believes Emhyr has Ciri. After that, Geralt took to the road for the long journey south with the bard, Jaskier, and archer Milva.
Ciri
After blowing up the tower of Tor Lara during the Thanedd Coup with an outburst of her mysterious Elder Blood power, Ciri accidentally teleported far to the south, into the heart of the Korath Desert. She survived her ordeal there, but seemingly relinquished her power in a fit of self-loathing.
Not long after, she was taken captive by mercenaries who hoped to turn her in for the Nilfgaardian bounty on her head. It was then she meet a thief named Kayleigh, who is member of a band of teenage outlaws known as the Rats. The rest of the gang comes and saves Kayleigh, and gives Ciri a chance to fight one of the soldiers to prove herself. Thanks to her training under the witchers, Ciri easily defeats this opponent, and is subsequently taken in by the Rats.
Yennefer
The Thanedd Coup utterly destroyed the seat of power for the mages of the Continent on Thanedd Isle, and turned most of them into fugitives overnight. In the aftermath, Yennefer's mentor and mother figure, Tissaia de Vries, took her own life in grief at the loss of Thanedd, and the betrayal of her lover Vilgefortz.
When last we saw Yennefer she had gathered a group of the remaining sorceresses around her, to rebuild their fallen sisterhood and prepare for the fights still ahead. With Thanedd and the school at Aretuza gone, the sorceresses of the Continent have to find a new road to walk in season 4.
Emhyr Var Emries
Emhyr var Emries, the emperor of NIlfgaard, seemingly ended the season on a high note. With Thanedd fallen, the emperor's ally Vilgefortz delivered Emhyr's daughter Cirilla to him...except viewers know it isn't the real Ciri, but a fake. Whether Emhyr knows that he's been duped remains to be seen in season 4, but we'll almost certainly learn more about his plans for Ciri and why he wanted to bring her back to him in the first place.
Vilgefortz of Roggeveen
Vilgefortz of Roggeveen defeated Geralt in a brutal duel on the beach of Thanedd, then pursued Ciri high into the tower of Tor Lara. But before he could capture her, Ciri accessed her Elder Blood power and blew up the tower, teleporting away.
Later, we saw that Vilgefortz suffered a terrible wound in the explosion, with half his face and one eye melted grotesquely. He ended the season by bringing a fake Ciri to Emyhr's court in Nilfgaard, seemingly cementing his alliance with the emperor while keeping his own plans for the missing real Ciri a mystery.
Cahir
Cahir was a loyal NIlfgaardian officer, until his experience kidnapping Cirilla in season 1 gradually filled him with regret. By the end of the third season, he offers up his life to her freely during the Thanedd coup. But Ciri hesitates, and Scoia'tael soldiers arrive to try and capture her. When last we saw Cahir, he was standing against a cavalry charge to buy Geralt and Ciri time to escape the island.
Radovid, Philippa, and Djikstra
The last subplot that's worth a refresher is Redania, where the spymaster Djikstra and his sorceress co-conspiritor Philippa Eilhart enacted a brutal coup, murdering King Vizimir so that they could install his younger, more pliable brother Radovid on the throne. This was its own sort of dour ending for Radovid, who had a scandalous relationship with Jaskier (which ended badly when he tried to abduct Ciri), before being forced to assume the Redanian throne as a puppet. How he reacts to this new station, and whether Djikstra and Philippa can continue clinging to power, remains to be seen.
All eight episodes of The Witcher season 4 premiere October 30 on Netflix. We'll be covering them right here at Winter Is Coming, so check back for more on The Witcher!