The Witcher’s Vilgefortz reveal is so a lot better within the books

The Witcher’s third season marks a stark turning level within the collection — and never solely as a result of it will likely be Henry Cavill’s final as Geralt of Rivia. The fifth episode, “The Artwork of Phantasm,” 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 within 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.]

Within the half 1 finale, Geralt and Yennefer (Anya Chalotra) go to the conclave with the intention 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 his secret girlfriend and proxy, Lydia van Bredevoort (Aisha Fabienne Ross).

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

Photograph: 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 needs with Ciri, and the methods this reveal performed out in a different way — and so a lot better — within the books.

Is Vilgefortz working for Nilfgaard?

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

Trying 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 within the struggle towards Nilfgaard and led the mages into battle regardless of the Brotherhood’s lack of assist. However in the course of 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.

Photograph: Katalin Vermes/Netflix

Whereas Yennefer did handle to cease Nilfgaard from taking the preserve ultimately, it’s possible Vilgefortz’s true objective 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 towards him within 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 assist for the Brotherhood as a masks to cover his underhand dealings, capitalizing off the conclave to border Stregobor and try and recruit Geralt to his facet.

Within the books, Vilgefortz enters his partnership with Emhyr underneath the settlement that if Vilgefortz offers Ciri to Nilfgaard, he’ll rule the provinces that may exchange the Northern Kingdoms. Nevertheless, as poor Tissaia discovered the onerous 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 in the end goes will rely on how lengthy their particular person aims align. And talking of aims…

What does Vilgefortz need with Ciri?

Nothing good, that a lot is apparent. Whereas we all know Emhyr needs to marry Ciri – his daughter, thoughts you – and make her his queen, Vilgefortz has an much more horrifying function in thoughts.

Episode 2 uncovered Vilgefortz’s twisted experiments trying to show Aretuza novices into Ciri imposters (although most become flesh monsters as an alternative). Geralt hypothesized that these experiments are to discover a method to management Ciri’s thoughts – one thing which might show helpful in protecting her captive if Nilfgaard does get ahold of her. However certainly, there are simpler methods to take action. Actually, the books’ faux Ciri storyline didn’t trouble with magic in any respect. They only discovered an unfortunate peasant lady with a robust resemblance to the princess and put her on the Nilfgaardian throne whereas the hunt for the actual Ciri continued.

Photograph: Susie Allnutt/Netflix

Within the novels, Vilgefortz’s experiments don’t have anything to do with thoughts management or making women consider they’re Ciri. Fairly, they’re centered 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 objective of inseminating Ciri, chopping out her placenta, and utilizing it to carry out a ritual that may permit him to journey between the spheres. In typical egomaniacal villain trend, Vilgefortz plans on utilizing this energy to grow to be an interdimensional emperor – making Emhyr’s personal grasp plan appear fairly quaint compared.

How is the Vilgefortz reveal completely different within the books?

The explanation Geralt goes to the conclave within 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 collection all however paints “BAD GUY!!!” on Vilgefortz’s brow in pink paint earlier than Geralt and Yennefer lastly determine it out. Within the books, Geralt simply form of… stumbles into the information.

After spending all the occasion avoiding any involvement within the brewing struggle between the North and Nilfgaard, Geralt and Yennefer retire for the night. Partway by the night time, 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 right down to the backyard to piss on the flowers straight, like a gentleman. Alongside the best way, 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. Actually, Geralt solely learns Vilgefortz is the chief of the traitorous mages when he overhears an informal point out of it in the course of the complicated fray.

Photograph: Katalin Vermes/Netflix

Geralt by accident strolling into the center of a coup on the best way again from utilizing the toilet is just not solely a lot funnier than how they dealt with this within the present, nevertheless it’s additionally a lot 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, because the Brotherhood doesn’t survive the Thanedd coup. In altering how Geralt learns Vilgefortz is working with Nilfgaard, the present not solely replaces a singular path to discovery with a predictable one, however removes the very best character component from this climactic second.

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

Photograph: Susie Allnutt/Netflix

In contrast to within the present, the place Philippa and Dijkstra (Graham McTavish) are compelled to go to the conclave by the Redanian king, they go to the occasion for the only real function of placing towards Vilgefortz and the opposite mages aligned with Nilfgaard. In the meantime, Vilgefortz is rallying his personal forces to strike on the northern mages. And at the exact same time, the Northern Kingdoms time a preemptive strike towards Nilfgaard to the conclave, kickstarting the Second Northern Conflict simply because the Brotherhood of Sorcerers crumbles. In brief, it’s an entire political clusterfuck, and Geralt finds himself within 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 within the collection, because it fully reshuffles the stability of energy throughout the Continent. However what makes the ebook’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 larger image. But 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.

On the earth 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 within the course of.

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