The Witcher’s Vilgefortz reveal is so much better in the books

The Witcher’s third season marks a stark turning level in the sequence — and never solely as a result of will probably be Henry Cavill’s final as Geralt of Rivia. The fifth episode, “The Art of Illusion,” reveals the id of the rogue mage who employed Rience (Chris Fulton) to hunt Ciri (Freya Allan) and units up a political upheaval that resets the board of energy in the brewing struggle between the North and Nilfgaard.

[Ed. note: The following contains spoilers for The Witcher season 3 and Andrzej Sapkowski’s Witcher novels.]

In the half 1 finale, Geralt and Yennefer (Anya Chalotra) go to the conclave with the purpose of proving Stregobor’s (Lars Mikkelsen) guilt, solely to find the true id of the traitorous mage is Vilgefortz (Mahesh Jadu). He employed Rience by means of his secret girlfriend and proxy, Lydia van Bredevoort (Aisha Fabienne Ross).

Though Tissaia (MyAnna Buring) appears unaware of each Vilgefortz’s in poor health intentions and secret lover, the mage’s two-timing is what did him in: Geralt and Yennefer put the remaining piece in place after noticing Lydia and Tissaia’s matching jewellery.

Photo: Jay Maidment/Netflix

The implications of Vilgefortz being Rience’s grasp are far-reaching, as they dramatically recolor previous occasions and form the place the Netflix present will go when season 3 returns on July 27. So let’s break down the place Vilgefortz’s true allegiance lies, what he desires with Ciri, and the methods this reveal performed out in a different way — and so much better — in the books.

Is Vilgefortz working for Nilfgaard?

Technically, Vilgefortz isn’t working for Nilfgaard, he’s working with Nilfgaard. After Rience discovered he was searching Ciri for the White Flame (Bart Edwards), he confronted Lydia, who supplied that clarification. While this will likely seem to be semantics, there is an enormous distinction between being a accomplice and a servant to Nilfgaard. And figuring out Vilgefortz is not simply one other Nilfgaardian loyalist like Cahir (Eamon Farren) however maintains his personal agenda sheds a whole lot of gentle on his previous actions.

Looking again, all of Vilgefortz’s work to seemingly strengthen the Brotherhood was in actuality steps to undermine it and strengthen his private energy. In season 1, Vilgefortz was a vocal supporter of serving to Cintra in the struggle in opposition to Nilfgaard and led the mages into battle regardless of the Brotherhood’s lack of help. But throughout the Battle of Sodden, he came across an injured member of the Brotherhood and brutally killed him with a mace — a second that beforehand confounded viewers.

Photo: Katalin Vermes/Netflix

While Yennefer did handle to cease Nilfgaard from taking the preserve in the finish, it’s possible Vilgefortz’s true aim at Sodden wasn’t victory in any respect, however to leverage the battle for political affect — and to decimate the mages who had been prepared to face in opposition to him in the course of. After Sodden, Vilgefortz took credit score for the victory that rightfully belonged to Yen and used that goodwill to realize a place of energy inside the Brotherhood. This season, Vilgefortz as soon as once more used his public-facing help for the Brotherhood as a masks to cover his underhand dealings, capitalizing off the conclave to border Stregobor and try to recruit Geralt to his facet.

In the books, Vilgefortz enters his partnership with Emhyr underneath the settlement that if Vilgefortz offers Ciri to Nilfgaard, he’ll rule the provinces that will exchange the Northern Kingdoms. However, as poor Tissaia realized the laborious approach, Vilgefortz is a person prepared to make use of and betray anybody if it serves him. So, how far the partnership between Vilgefortz and the White Flame finally goes will rely upon how lengthy their particular person goals align. And talking of goals…

What does Vilgefortz need with Ciri?

Nothing good, that much is apparent. While we all know Emhyr desires to marry Ciri – his daughter, thoughts you – and make her his queen, Vilgefortz has an much more horrifying objective in thoughts.

Episode 2 uncovered Vilgefortz’s twisted experiments trying to show Aretuza novices into Ciri imposters (although most changed into flesh monsters as a substitute). Geralt hypothesized that these experiments are to discover a approach to management Ciri’s thoughts – one thing which might show helpful in retaining her captive if Nilfgaard does get ahold of her. But absolutely, there are simpler methods to do so. In truth, the books’ pretend Ciri storyline didn’t trouble with magic in any respect. They simply discovered an unfortunate peasant woman with a powerful resemblance to the princess and put her on the Nilfgaardian throne whereas the hunt for the actual Ciri continued.

Photo: Susie Allnutt/Netflix

In the novels, Vilgefortz’s experiments don’t have anything to do with thoughts management or making ladies consider they’re Ciri. Rather, they’re targeted on the connection between being pregnant and Elder Blood, with Vilgefortz artificially impregnating the younger women and girls he’d taken captive. He does all this with the aim of inseminating Ciri, slicing out her placenta, and utilizing it to carry out a ritual that will permit him to journey between the spheres. In typical egomaniacal villain style, Vilgefortz plans on utilizing this energy to turn out to be an interdimensional emperor – making Emhyr’s personal grasp plan appear fairly quaint in comparability.

How is the Vilgefortz reveal totally different in the books?

The motive Geralt goes to the conclave in the second Witcher novel, Time of Contempt, has nothing to do with monitoring Rience’s grasp, defending Ciri, or something of stake or substance; he’s simply there to be Yennefer’s arm sweet. As such, the conclave doesn’t serve up any on-the-nose buildup towards the Vilgefortz revelation — whereas the sequence all however paints “BAD GUY!!!” on Vilgefortz’s brow in crimson paint earlier than Geralt and Yennefer lastly determine it out. In the books, Geralt simply type of… stumbles into the data.

After spending the complete occasion avoiding any involvement in the brewing struggle between the North and Nilfgaard, Geralt and Yennefer retire for the night. Partway by means of the evening, Geralt wakes up needing to alleviate himself. He decides he has extra scruples than peeing off the balcony like a brute, so he decides to stroll all the way down to the backyard to piss on the flowers straight, like a gentleman. Along the approach, Geralt simply so occurs to stroll into an ongoing confrontation between two sects of mages — these loyal to the North, led by Philippa (Cassie Clare), and people loyal to Nilfgaard, led by Vilgefortz. In truth, Geralt solely learns Vilgefortz is the chief of the traitorous mages when he overhears an informal point out of it throughout the complicated fray.

Photo: Katalin Vermes/Netflix

Geralt unintentionally strolling into the center of a coup on the approach again from utilizing the toilet is not solely so much funnier than how they dealt with this in the present, nevertheless it’s additionally so much extra Geralt. This man’s complete deal is wishing to remain out of the drama, however he simply retains stepping in it. And as soon as once more, the price of his neutrality proves fairly excessive, as the Brotherhood doesn’t survive the Thanedd coup. In altering how Geralt learns Vilgefortz is working with Nilfgaard, the present not solely replaces a novel path to discovery with a predictable one, however removes the greatest character factor from this climactic second.

By the time the books get thus far, readers had additionally been completely primed to know the political nuances of the Vilgefortz revelation and its fallout, as Sapkowski spends the entirety of the conclave laying the groundwork for these occasions quite than sending Yennefer and Geralt off on some wild goose chase. In the novel, Vilgefortz — not Yennefer — requires all the mages to collect. The books had already established Vilgefortz as an enigmatic chief who performs chess whereas everybody else nonetheless struggles by means of checkers. So when the conclave is referred to as, nobody, not to mention Yennefer, is naive sufficient to suppose the occasion is about something as idealistic as mage unity. Rather, each the mages loyal to the North and to Nilfgaard are keen to make use of the occasion for his or her political functions.

Photo: Susie Allnutt/Netflix

Unlike in the present, the place Philippa and Dijkstra (Graham McTavish) are pressured to go to the conclave by the Redanian king, they go to the occasion for the sole objective of placing in opposition to Vilgefortz and the different mages aligned with Nilfgaard. Meanwhile, Vilgefortz is rallying his personal forces to strike at the northern mages. And at the exact same time, the Northern Kingdoms time a preemptive strike in opposition to Nilfgaard to the conclave, kickstarting the Second Northern War simply as the Brotherhood of Sorcerers crumbles. In brief, it’s an entire political clusterfuck, and Geralt finds himself in the thick of it just because he wanted a late-night pee.

The Vilgefortz reveal, and ensuing battle of Thanedd, is a seismic turning level in the sequence, because it utterly reshuffles the stability of energy throughout the Continent. But what makes the e book’s portrayal of it so thrilling is its deliberate disarray, throwing readers headfirst into the motion after offering simply sufficient crumbs of knowledge to comply with together with Geralt as he stitches collectively the greater image. Yet the present scraps all this for a rote investigation caper and a few ham-fisted plot reveals that expose Vilgefortz as Rience’s grasp however obscure the far-reaching implications of why all this issues.

In the world of The Witcher, magic lies in harnessing chaos. And by stripping the Vilgefortz reveal of its political nuance and purposeful chaos, the Netflix adaptation misplaced its magic in the course of.

The Witcher season 3 quantity 2 returns to Netflix with three extra episodes on July 27.