The Witcher‘s third season packed a whole lot of intrigue into its first five episodes. From secret villains and covert political scheming, to the all-out hunt for Ciri and a horrifying monster made of kidnapped girls, it’s impossible to know what most people even want let alone who (if anyone) to trust. With the show giving us more questions than answers, these are the biggest The Witcher has to answer in the second half of season three.
Who Is the Mysterious Mage Lydia Works for? Who Is the Real Villain Inside the Brotherhood?
Geralt and Yennefer thought Stregobor was the mysterious mage Lydia (and indirectly Rience) is working for. Then they realized it was actually Vilgefortz behind everything. But are they right this time?
There’s plenty of reason to think Tissaia is ultimately behind everything. She might be the powerful mage overseeing the creation of dark portals, hunting down Ciri, working with Nilfgaard, turning half elven apprentices into a horrible monster, and trying to kill Yennefer.
Why Doesn’t Nilfgaard Know About Rience?
Lydia represented Nilfgaard at a meeting in Redania. According to Philippa, though, Nilfgaard knows nothing about Rience, the fire mage hunting Ciri down on behalf of Lydia’s secret boss. How is that possible when Lydia’s lord is working “with” Nilfgaard, not “for” the kingdom?
Why is the mystery mage working with Nilfgaard keeping Rience a secret from their collaborators? How will their goals eventually split from that of Emperor Emhyr, who is also seeking his daughter Ciri?
What Is Rience’s New Demand for Lydia’s Mysterious Boss?
Someone has Rience on a “leash,” but he has demands of his own. He wants something from Lydia’s boss, whom he still has yet to meet. What is his new demand? And what will it mean for everyone involved in this complex scheme?
What Did Dijkstra and Philippa Attack Aretuza in The Witcher?
Dijkstra and Philippa have big plans for themselves and Redania. They also had big plans for the conclave, and they seemed to come to fruition during episode five’s final moments. Screams from the Great Hall indicated an attack was underway moments before Dijkstra put a knife at Geralt’s throat.
We know the spy master wants Ciri to marry King Vizimir and strengthen Redania’s status in both the North and the Continent. We also know he’s aware of traitors in the Brotherhood who are already working with Nilfgaard, which hopes to conquer the whole world. But what exactly do Dijkstra and Philippa have planned in Aretuza? Why risk so much around so many dangerous people? Who are they after specifically and what do they hope to achieve with this attack when an alliance of Northern kingdoms seem so close?
Who Killed Dijkstra’s Messenger and Why?
Part of Dijkstra’s plan involved having a navy of reinforcements arrive at Aretuza for the conclave. Except his messenger Aplegatt never delivered that order. Someone killed him with an arrow on his journey. Who shot Applegatt is a big question that The Witcher Volume 2 needs to answer. We need to know why. Meanwhile, what will Aplegatt’s death mean for Dijkstra’s attack? And why were boats already disappearing along the coast before all of this?
What Does Philippa Know About the Brotherhood? What Happened Between Philippa and Tissaia?
Philippa told Yennefer the Brotherhood is a “sinking ship,” but that the two of them are different. She also had a falling out with Tissaia, whom she was once very close with. What happened with Philippa and her former mentor? Why does she think the Brotherhood is doomed? And what does all of this have to do with her and Dijkstra’s own plan?
What Is Emhyr’s Plan?
The White Flame revealed how he took back his kingdom of Nilfgaard years ago, but not why he failed to return to his daughter Ciri. Why did he let Ciri believe he is dead? And why conquer entire kingdoms to get her back?
Emhyr wants his daughter. He burned away all memories of his past life except her. But his grand plans and goals remain total mysteries.
What Is Radovid Planning?
Prince Radovid only acts like a fool so others underestimate him, but he’s more than capable of scheming his way around the royal court. But why the ruse? What does he have planned for himself? Is he working for or against his brother? What does he actually want? (Besides Jaskier, that is.) Maybe we will find out the answer to these questions in The Witcher‘s next volume.
Why Did the Mysterious Mage Make a Monster From Young Girls?
It’s one thing to hate elves and human kids with elf blood. It’s another to kidnap them and turn them into a chimera-like monster. Why did Lydia, Rience, and the mysterious mage do that? Was it simple cruelty? Or was it something else related to their plans for Ciri? We don’t want to think about those poor girls’ heads pleading for their life, but there’s so much we don’t know about why they were made to suffer.
What Was the Secret Mage’s Plan for Teryn?
The only kidnapped student we know survived their ordeal was Teryn. Instead someone with immense power used an ancient elven spell to give her Ciri’s memories. Geralt said the secret mage wants to manipulate Ciri, but how did Teryn factor into those plans? Was she meant to die so the Northern kingdoms would be satiated? To fool Nilfgaard into thinking she’s the real Ciri? Why bother making a fake Ciri?
Is Geralt’s Mother Really Dead?
Geralt’s mother Visenna appeared and cared for him during his illness in season one. That did not end his pain over her sending him to Kaer Morhen, as she did not provide him any answers as to why. It now seems he’ll never get a chance to hear her explain why she did after her friend revealed Visenna died a year ago. But did she really? We didn’t see her die, and she is a sorceress. She could have faked her own death or simply asked her friend to lie for her. If she did, though, we have no idea why. The questions list for this next installment of The Witcher continues to grow.
What Are Fringilla’s Plans Now?
Fringilla escaped a lifetime of imprisonment tasting Emhry’s wine for poison and went straight to carousing at a tavern. But her ears perked up when she heard about those missing boats along the coast. Why does she care about that? Did she kill Aplegatt? And where will she go now that Nilfgaard is no longer home and she turned her back on Aretuza? Fringilla is smart, talented, dangerous, and on her own, so what comes next for her?
What’s the “Ambitious” Mission Emhyr Sent Cahir on with Francesca?
Now that he proved his loyalty to Emhyr by killing his friend Gallatin, Cahir is back in the Emperor’s good graces. That’s why Emhyr entrusted Cahir to embark on a mission the general called “ambitious.” It involved recruiting Francesca and her elven forces to join Nilfgaard’s war. She agreed to do so after seeking the secret mission Emhry sent with Cahir. What is that mission? The answer could have huge ramifications for every elf and human alike.
Why Does Cahir Keep Seeing Visions of Ciri?
Cahir keeps seeing visions of Ciri, both in his dreams and in reality. He thinks it means Ciri wants him to find her, but that seems unlikely. So why do they keep happening? Is is because he’s heard her scream and witnessed her power? Is she simply his obsession? Guilt over failing her father? Or is something more important going on? Visions are no small matter in a world of magic, especially for someone so prominently involved in Ciri’s life.
Why Did the Wild Hunt Only Show Up Briefly?
If Ciri left open a door between her world and The Wild Hunt’s, why aren’t they already taking over the Continent? Why did they only appear briefly in this world to tell Ciri she is “death itself?” What do they ultimately want, both from her and for themselves? And what are they waiting for?
We might not get answers to all these questions when the second half of The Witcher season three debuts on July 27, but we know we’ll definitely get some of them. And they’ll change the Continent forever.
Mikey Walsh is a staff writer at Nerdist. You can follow him on Twitter at @burgermike. And also anywhere someone is ranking the Targaryen kings.