(Credits: Netflix)

Netflix really believes in the ethos that the show must go on, and so it did with The Witcher season four, starring the new Geralt of Rivia, portrayed by Liam Hemsworth.

“One of the things that we always say is that it wouldn’t be The Witcher if everything ended happily,” showrunner Lauren Schmidt Hissrich told Tudum while opening up about how things ended for the main characters, Geralt, Yennefer, and Ciri in the fourth instalment.

Unlike the previous seasons, The Witcher had the trio embarking on very different journeys, having been separated from one another in the season prior. While Geralt takes on the mission to track down Ciri, he’s joined by a motley crew, including Milva, a witty archer, Zoltan, a faithful dwarf, and Regis, an enigmatic barber-surgeon, who, eventually, turns out to be a higher vampire, a healer and mentor to Geralt.

On the flip side, Yennefer is going all out to regain control of the continent’s magic away from Vilgefortz. As for Ciri? She is now going by the name Falka and has become a part of the Rats, a gang of young thieves who become her found family. But how does The Witcher conclude in season four now that each of their destinies reaches such pivotal points? Here’s an overview.

Who are Stribog and Nimue?

In The Witcher season four, characters within the Witcherverse come to know about the tales of Geralt, Ciri, and Yennefer from a storyteller, Stribog. The instalment begins with the same fight that kicked off the series in the first season, with Geralt’s showdown with a humongous kikimora. Stribog recounts the scene, revisiting the Butcher of Blaviken, to a group of children. But when Nimue, a girl within the group, objects that Stribog is telling the story wrong, the bard explains it has been over a century since the events actually occurred.

Subsequently, Nimue sets up the next phase of Geralt, Ciri, and Yennefer’s journeys 100 years in the future, who have been deep into the tales of Half a Century of Poetry by Jaskier. She recounts the events of The Witcher, everything that has happened so far, including the trio going their separate ways. “Ciri disappeared. She blamed herself for everything. She told herself that her family was better off without her, that this chapter of her life was over, but that’s not true,” she says to Stribog.

She continues that Ciri’s story is far from over, even with the disruptions in their lives, since something illustrated in Jaskier’s book has yet to take place. Nimue then specifies a painting labelled “Cirilla and the Lady of the Lake,” saying, “You know Ciri’s important to me. The whole saga is. Seeing this, I think I might be important to it. I think that’s me.”

Stribog again takes charge, adding that Nimue has skipped a significant part of the story. So, Stribog again becomes the vehicle, launching not just the characters but also the viewers into the story that unravels this season, reading out loud,” And just when it seemed all was lost, Geralt rose again.”

Viewers once again meet Stribog and Nimue in episode eight, which takes place several years later. While the narrator keeps up with his work, Nimue, who has grown up, buckles up to embark on an adventure of her own. She informs Stribog that she’s going to study at Aretuza since she still feels somehow connected to Ciri. In return, Stribog gifts her his copy of Half a Century of Poetry, saying, “Stories are very powerful. They change us, and we, in spite of that, change them too. How this saga ends may depend on you.”

The reason behind Queen Meve’s knighting of Geralt

A throwback depicts just how crucial and personal Geralt’s journey to track down Ciri is in episode five. In Kaer Morhan, where they resided in the second season, during a poignant moment of bonding, Geralt reveals that it was a lifelong dream of his to become a knight. “A lot of people don’t know that Geralt of Rivia – which is what he’s always called himself – is not an actual honorific. It’s a name he gave himself to get more contracts as a young Witcher; he thought it sounded more official,” Hissrich explains.

And just three episodes later, his dream comes true. Following the Battle of the Bridge, Queen Meve rewards Geralt for defeating the Nilgaardian Army by knighting him. Yet, the honour and responsibility don’t exactly come around as he’d expect. “It feels like it should be the perfect happy ending – it’s everything he ever dreamed of – but the truth is, his dreams have changed,” Hissrich explains, hinting at his determination to find his family. But since he’s officially bound by his new title, he must serve the Crown.

What about the restoration of the portals?

The power-hungry Vilgefortz and his abilities become a terrific challenge throughout the Netflix series’ fourth season as he gains control of the portals, allowing mages to travel through space and time. But Fringilla, a spy among the mages in Stygga Castle, and Istredd, whose magical prowess and knowledge have been cashed in on by Vilgefortz to block the portals, come together to stand against the control during the Battle of Montecalvo in episode six.

Fringilla becomes particularly crucial to the restoration of the portals as she works from within the mages to help Istredd. As a result, Istredd ends up being a sacrificial mage, who recites a lesser-known spell from the Book of Monoliths, neutralising Vilgefortz’s portal room by giving up his own life force in the process.

With the battle against Vitgefortze and his control of the portals brewing in full swing, the mages gather for a common goal with Yennefer taking the lead. “The Battle of Montecalvo served a lot of important story purposes for us, but the main one would be the rebirth of the structure of mages in our world,” Hissrich continues.

After the restoration of portals, Yennefer finally finds herself in Nilfgaard, where she thinks Emhyr has held captive of her daughter. But once she arrives, she discovers that the “Ciri” in Nilfgaard is Teryn, a rookie mage Vilgefortz transformed to distract the findings for real Ciri. Following this revelation and a brief romantic reunion with Geralt, Yennefer travels back to Montecalvo. There, she must be part of a renewed sisterhood with the mages.

Then why is Yennefer found in the middle of the ocean?

Yennefer returns to tracing Vilgefortz while their plan to reinstate a “Lodge of Sorceresses” is in the works. “For Yennefer, it’s quite an interesting choice. What is more important for her: magic and her friends – the Lodge, the people who trusted her that she would be able to protect magic on this continent – or Ciri, who also became a target for Vilgefortz?” asks executive producer Tomasz Baginski.

She gradually decides that Ciri is her only priority, but the only way to protect her daughter and embark on that journey is by ensuring her allies can secure a home for all of them. So, in the season finale, she asks Triss to leverage the dried blood on Vesemir’s dagger and her elven magic spell to track down a weakened Vilgefortz, whom she expects to kill once found. Triss warns her, reminding her that “even if you break through his portal matrix, you’ll end up somewhere he knows well and you not at all.”

But determined to get what she wants, she finally convinces Triss to unwillingly deliver an incantation, which results in the formation of a dark portal. When she steps inside, she finds herself in the middle of a storm-ridden ocean where she almost succumbs to a deadly whirlpool. But that’s the last time we see Yennefer in this instalment.

Why does Leo Bonhart let go of Ciri? What does he want from her?

Ciri’s capture could fulfil a prophetic Nilfgaardian scheme: Emperor Emhyr, her biological father, aims to get her married to cement his claim to the Continent. Subsequently, he orders his agent, Stefan Skellen, to hire Leo Bonhart. Bonhart, in turn, manages to draw her back to Jealousy by holding the Rats hostage. When she fails to protect the Rats, she’s forced to see Bonhart murder the Rats brutally, which includes her romantic interest, Mistle.

According to Sharlto Copley, the torment is actually a test for her. “He wants her to see if she has the stomach to be the fighter he thinks she can be. He sees her as a strange kindred spirit and is excited by her talent, which is why he doesn’t kill her. He’s normally not excited by much other than fighting and killing, but Ciri is different – a test and a challenge.”

In the fourth season, Ciri has a lot to endure, which ultimately makes her confront a different side of herself. “In season three, she had quite an idealised version of what she wanted to become, and it was very much centred around goodness. It doesn’t mean that’s gone – I still think that’s at the core of Ciri – but there’s this other side she’d gone into.”

Do Ciri and Bonhart appear again after he takes her captive?

They do, but not in this season. The Rats: A Witcher Tale, which takes place just before the Rats meet Ciri at the end of season three, depicts how Bonhart chose them as targets. The Netflix special ends with a voice-over from Bonhart, who’s been narrating the story to Ciri after killing the Rats ruthlessly in the fourth season. “And that is how the Rats survived their blaze of glory long enough to join forces with you. But as you know now, Falka, in the end, I always win,” he says.