S02.E08: Family

[Smad]

23 hours ago, Kasienka said:

But I agree with poster above who said it's dumb Geralt readily forgave old Ves for STABBING his daughter, but Yennefer who was ready to bleed out for her is still on probation so to speak.

Wonder if Geralt is going to put himself on probation for giving Ciri mushroom&herbs for weeks which were going to do serious harm to her body. Or using her as monster bait. Or ignoring her existence for her entire life which would have continued if it wasn't for Yen calling him a deadbeat. Or for sending her back to Kaer Morhen without him considering the last time he left her there alone, Vesemir almost killed her. But he probably won't since Geralt is perfect and never makes mistakes.

23 hours ago, Kasienka said:

And queen, though I always pictured Meve to be older.

She is supposed to be Calanthe's age seeing as she has sons who are adults and she grew up with Calanthe (aren't they cousins?).

23 hours ago, Kasienka said:

elves and Istredd think she can save their race

Love how Istredd thinks it's a good idea to hand a nuclear weapon to mass baby murderers so they can nuke all the babies. Seeing as he must have followed Francesca and her group from Cintra all the way to Redania (which is where they still where in this episode), there is no way he didn't hear about the murdered babies.

23 hours ago, Kasienka said:

Also what happened to the dwarves?

They fell off the side of the mountain on the way up to KM.

[Kasienka]

37 minutes ago, Smad said:

Wonder if Geralt is going to put himself on probation for giving Ciri mushroom&herbs for weeks which were going to do serious harm to her body. Or using her as monster bait. Or ignoring her existence for her entire life which would have continued if it wasn't for Yen calling him a deadbeat. Or for sending her back to Kaer Morhen without him considering the last time he left her there alone, Vesemir almost killed her. But he probably won't since Geralt is perfect and never makes mistakes.

Bet he won't. To be fair I do think what Yen did was worse what Geralt did or didn't do, but then Vesemir beats them all. He freaking stabbed her! And I get it, witchers were dying, but it's weird he has no hard feelings for his mentor, especially that earlier in the season he almost pumped her with untested mutagen. And I bet you he won't have any hard feelings towards Triss for involvement in this whole mess either.  But I hope that when his emotions cool down, he will realise Yen is on their side for good or for worse.

39 minutes ago, Smad said:

She is supposed to be Calanthe's age seeing as she has sons who are adults and she grew up with Calanthe (aren't they cousins?).

Guess they changed her age in this adaptation, cause she looks more Ciri's age than Calanthe.

 

40 minutes ago, Smad said:

Love how Istredd thinks it's a good idea to hand a nuclear weapon to mass baby murderers so they can nuke all the babies. Seeing as he must have followed Francesca and her group from Cintra all the way to Redania (which is where they still where in this episode), there is no way he didn't hear about the murdered babies.

I'm willing to give Istredd the benefit of the doubt, maybe he traveled some different parts of Redania;) He doesn't seem like the guy who would condone it, but then I didn't expect Filavandrel and Dara to be onboard with mass murder of babies either:( I do wonder though if he really cares for elven cause or it's his love for Yennefer that makes him side with them.

 

43 minutes ago, Smad said:

They fell off the side of the mountain on the way up to KM.

Nooo, not Yarpen:( On the more serious note, they probably gone back to work for Henselt. Shame we didn't get much of them in the show in general, I think their plotline in Blood of Elves is one of the best.

[Smad]

7 hours ago, Kasienka said:

Bet he won't. To be fair I do think what Yen did was worse what Geralt did or didn't do, but then Vesemir beats them all. He freaking stabbed her! And I get it, witchers were dying, but it's weird he has no hard feelings for his mentor, especially that earlier in the season he almost pumped her with untested mutagen. And I bet you he won't have any hard feelings towards Triss for involvement in this whole mess either.  But I hope that when his emotions cool down, he will realise Yen is on their side for good or for worse.

What did Yen actually do? She mislead Ciri about Geralt being a prisoner at Cintra to bring her to VM. Which she backed out of at the last second anyway. That's basically it. Geralt actually went through with using Ciri as monster bait which was especially dangerous as these were all new monsters for which witchers didn't know the method of killing. He would have continued giving her herbs and mushrooms. And he would have continued to ignore Ciri's existence. Maybe he would have cared once he heard about Cintra falling, whenever that would have been, but we will never know.

Triss will get off without consequences despite ratting Ciri's powers out to Tissaia and therefor Vilgefortz. Vesemir already got instant forgiveness for trying his best to kill Ciri for half the Season. Geralt has amnesia about his own misdeeds. The only bad guy here is Yen, clearly.

7 hours ago, Kasienka said:

I do wonder though if he really cares for elven cause or it's his love for Yennefer that makes him side with them.

I'm not sure if the guy is in love with her. Letting an elf racist know she is part elf, telling her she isn't beautiful in their breakup argument, being mad that he lost out on the new hot version of her when she entered the ball post transformation and disrespecting her wish not to use Yenna...doesn't exactly scream love to me personally.

[Kasienka]

12 hours ago, Smad said:

What did Yen actually do? She mislead Ciri about Geralt being a prisoner at Cintra to bring her to VM. Which she backed out of at the last second anyway. That's basically it.

She did betray Geralt's trust and put Ciri in danger, so I get why he's angry. When he used Ciri as bait he was confident he could protect her, while Yen took Ciri away from him. What I don't understand is his leniency towards Vesemir in contrast to Yen. Also she was ready to commit suicide to save her, so I don't know what more can she do. But despite what they say about Witchers, they feel deeply , so the fact that he's in love with her is probably making him even more irrationally angry. Like I said I hope they get over it in season 3. About Triss, I seriously doubt he will even find out she told mages about Ciri. Writers will probably make him believe it was Yen, to drive another wedge between them;)

12 hours ago, Smad said:

I'm not sure if the guy is in love with her.

Hm, I get what you saying. Istredd himself said to Geralt that he still loves her, but I do think he wants Yen on his terms. He doesn't like it that she chose power over his magnanimous offer in season 1 that's for sure. Guess we'll see where the writers take them in the future.

[Bort]

3 hours ago, Kasienka said:

Hm, I get what you saying. Istredd himself said to Geralt that he still loves her, but I do think he wants Yen on his terms. He doesn't like it that she chose power over his magnanimous offer in season 1 that's for sure. Guess we'll see where the writers take them in the future.

Yeah, I think that very true, Istredd loves Yennefer but only in the way he wants. Contrast to Geralt, who loves her no matter what. Which is why I think he was so mad. He feels betrayed but he still loves her anyway. So yeah, he’s being hypocritical but I’m pretty sure he’ll get over it, so I’m not really that concerned.

[Smad]

4 hours ago, Kasienka said:

She did betray Geralt's trust and put Ciri in danger, so I get why he's angry. When he used Ciri as bait he was confident he could protect her, while Yen took Ciri away from him. What I don't understand is his leniency towards Vesemir in contrast to Yen. Also she was ready to commit suicide to save her, so I don't know what more can she do. But despite what they say about Witchers, they feel deeply , so the fact that he's in love with her is probably making him even more irrationally angry. Like I said I hope they get over it in season 3. About Triss, I seriously doubt he will even find out she told mages about Ciri. Writers will probably make him believe it was Yen, to drive another wedge between them;)

How can Geralt be confident he can protect her though? They made it clear that these are monsters not native to their sphere. And even the monsters in their sphere are changing. What if slicing a monster in half doesn't kill it but it creates two of the same? Or you wound one like the chernobog but it's blood is acid or lava or some such? Only reason the monster bait doesn't go sideways is because Geralt is a protagonist and he's supposed to be flawless in this Season.

I personally would feel way more betrayed by the guy who was my father for a century than some woman I have had a couple one night stands with for the past 6 years (which until they reveal the wish could very well be rape). And if you forgive your father immediately for doing way worse, then some chick you slept with a couple times should be even easier to forgive. But that might just be how I would feel.

[Kasienka]

50 minutes ago, Smad said:

I personally would feel way more betrayed by the guy who was my father for a century than some woman I have had a couple one night stands with for the past 6 years (which until they reveal the wish could very well be rape)

Well, I think show established that what is between Geralt and Yen is definitely more than sex. I wish we got more of their relationship in season 1 before we jumped to love confessions, but it is what it is. And I am disappointed that the wish issue never came back. Yen mentions it to Cahir, but never brings it up with Geralt when they talk in Melitele temple. Since the show decided to make a big deal out of it, they should have followed through. But maybe they'll solve it in season 3 we'll see.

Geralt's forgiving attitude toward Vesemir is definitely my biggest problem with this storyline, because again I feel Yennefer did more in their final confrontation with Voleth Meir to redeem herself than he did. And he already should be on Geralt's shit list for trying to put her through the Trial of the Grasses.

 

[Ottis]

It took me about 6 months to come back to this, because I couldn’t get interested in the show. Watched the last two episodes, and I don’t know how anyone who knows nothing about this story (books or video games) would be able to follow it. The characters don’t act consistently from ep to ep, and honestly, Geralt is kind of an ass. 

The finale had a lot of padding. The battle was Ciri vs the demon, yet we had to watch a pointless side quest with the bard and Yen and a bunch of time-killing monsters. In the end, we saw Ciri grow this season, and that’s about it.

The elves gave up any claim they had to being oppressed and to justice. Now they are as bad as anyone else. 

I struggle with the actor they picked for Yen. She seems too royal and exotic for the character, even prissy, and the way she is played is too self-absorbed.

Ciri, on the other hand, really grew on me this season. That actor did a great job and we could see her growth.

If it returns I’ll eventually watch again, but it isn’t must see for me.

Edited August 21, 2022 by Ottis

[Fireball]

On 8/21/2022 at 7:03 AM, Ottis said:

It took me about 6 months to come back to this, because I couldn’t get interested in the show. Watched the last two episodes, and I don’t know how anyone who knows nothing about this story (books or video games) would be able to follow it. The characters don’t act consistently from ep to ep, and honestly, Geralt is kind of an ass. 

This is me. I am just lost. I don't understand why the characters are acting the way they are. I don't really understand the characters motivations... I don't get Geralt and Yen's Love story. I also found season 2 slow and boring.   I didn't like season 1 either, mostly because Yen's whining "They took my choice" got very old very quickly and the unneeded nudity. I'm not sure I'll be watching season 3; oh, who am I kidding if there's nothing else on, I'll watch.