Episode 1 of The Witcher’s Season 2 will have us navigating through A Grain of Truth, one of the many short stories by Polish author Andrzej Sapkowski, on which the Netflix show is based.
Netflix Geeked reveals the same in a tweet where showrunner Lauren S Hissrich talks about bringing the story to life.
Here’s a little background: The Witcher was written by Sapkowski as an entry to the Fantastyka magazine’s competition. While Sapkowski would go on to have more novels in the series, he filled the gap between the first and second novels with 14 short stories.
The Witcher’s Season 1 had a few short stories adaptions, notably The Lesser Evil that featured Emma Appleton’s Renfri in a morbid retelling of Snow White.
Now, as the tweet reveals, in Episode 1 of the upcoming season, we will meet Nivellen played by Game of Thrones’ Kristofer Hivju. As per A Grain of Truth, Nivellen inherits the position of being the leader of a local highway gang. During one of their raids, Nivellen rapes a priestess.
Taking her last breath, the priestess curses Nivellen to be a “monster in monster’s skin,” since he’s already one in a man’s skin.
Being able to adapt more short stories in The Witcher has been one of showrunner Hissrich’s many delights. As vile as the tale of Nivellen is, it prods at the concept of “monster” even more in-depth, a theme that is central to the Witcher.
What has not been done before with A Grain of Truth is intertwining it with Ciri’s narrative. Episode 1 will be shortly following her union with father-figure Geralt.
For both, this will be a new relationship and phase to explore. Add Nivellen to the mix and you’ll have a firecracker of a first episode. More from Hissrich:
It’s a story of a father and daughter coming together in a place that doesn’t quite feel safe for them […] It’s really the perfect kickoff for season two because it’s about family. It’s about the secrets that we keep from each other and it’s about the monsters that we are inside sometimes.
Lauren S Hissrich
Along with Hivju, Anges Bjorn will also be appearing in Episode 1 as Vereena, Nivellen’s vampire lover.
Now Nivellen’s background gives us enough information about the chanced encounter. As Season 2 takes Geralt and Ciri to Kaer Morhen, their journey will not be without life-threatening perils.
Literally. They will have to cross The Killer (a road filled with priests and mages on the hunt for witchers) if they want to make it to the School of the Wolf.
As a leader of highway thugs, we expect Nivellen to be on this path as well.
About The Witcher
The Witcher is a fantasy drama streaming television series created by Lauren Schmidt Hissrich for Netflix. It is based on the book series of the same name by Polish writer Andrzej Sapkowski.
Set on a fictional, medieval-inspired landmass known as the Continent, The Witcher explores the legend of Geralt of Rivia, Yennefer of Vengerberg, and Princess Ciri.
The show stars Henry Cavill, Anya Chalotra, and Freya Allan. The show has been renewed for seasons 3 and 4.
Source: Twitter
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