New big-budget Netflix TV series The Witcher kicked off with Episode 1 and there’s a lot to take in, so here’s our recap to remind you exactly how it all begins. You can also see the cast for Episode 1 below the recap, so you can find out who plays who and where you might have seen them before.
Episode 1 10-point recap:
- Gerald Of Rivia heads into the town of Blaviken having fought and killed a kikimora in the swamps. He tries to sell the monster, but gets met with anger and distrust from the townsfolk
- He gets vouched for by a woman at the bar called Renfri before being taken to see the town wizard Stregobor by Marilka, the alderman’s daughter. The wizard wants Geralt to kill Renfri, as she is one of the princesses born under the curse of the black night, the first full eclipse in 1200 years, which marked the return of Lilit, demon goddess of the night, who has supposedly been sent to exterminate the human race. Geralt refuses.
- Meanwhile, in the Kingdom Of Cintra, Princess Cirilla is learning from her grandmother Queen Calanthe, who does what she can to shield her from the impending war with Nilfgaard, which boarders Cintra to the south.
- Back in the woods around Blaviken, Renfri approaches Geralt with a counter offer to kill Stregabor, who had previously tried to have her killed when she was younger. He refuses again and tells her to leave town and let go of her vengeance if she is not to be seen as a monster herself and killed by him. She agrees.
- In Cintra, war begins and it quickly becomes clear that Nilfgaard will win. Badly injured, Queen Calanthe returns to Princess Cirilla at the castle to give her some more words of wisdom.
- The focus quickly returns to the woods outside Blaviken where Renfri sidles her way into Geralt’s pants.
- The Nilfgaard forces eventually breach the wall, despite the best efforts of Cintra’s wizard Mousesack. Calanthe is forced to send Cirilla away to flee for her life, while she jumps to her death and other member of the kingdom take their lives to save them from the atrocities that are at their door.
- Geralt wakes up in a post alfresco hot romp fug, but quickly realises that Renfri has gone and that she has no intention of leaving town or her vengeance behind her. He heads back into Blaviken, kills her men, who have been waiting for him, and confronts Renfri. It results in a savage sword fight, but Geralt goes on to get the upper hand, killing the girl he’s only recently finished getting it on with. In her last breath she tells him, “the girl in the woods will be with you always. She is your destiny.”
- Stregabor shows up to take the body away for an autopsy to find out more about Renfri’s supposed mutations, but Geralt refuses. Stregabor responds by calling out Geralt as a butcher, having slaughtered so many. The townsfolk stone him as a result and Marilka tells him to go.
- Episode 1 closes on Cirilla running into the woods to escape her Nilfgaard captor, who snatched her earlier in the episode. She had managed to get away when she screamed with so much force that a giant rock fell and a crack opened up in the world. She’d been told to find Geralt of Rivia, so clearly she’s the “girl in the woods”.
You can find out more about the TV series at www.tuppencemagazine.co.uk/the-witcher-tv-series, or follow Netflix on its official Twitter page at twitter.com/Netflix to keep tabs on the latest from The Witcher.
The Whicher Episode 1 cast
In addition to the recap above, we wanted to give you more info on the cast for Episode 1, which featured both recurring characters and guest stars who only appear in the first episode:
- Geralt Of Rivia – Henry Cavill
- Renfri – Emma Appleton
- Princess Cirilla – Freya Allan
- Stregabor – Lars Mikkelsen
- Queen Calanthe – Jodhi May
- Marilka – Mia McKenna-Bruce
- Mousesack – Adam Levy
- King Eist Tuirseach – Björn Hlynur Haraldsson
You can see The Witcher Season 1 over on Netflix.
