The debut trailer for Netflix’s The Witcher series is finally out and it actually looks good, though that could be Henry Cavill’s muscles talking. And while we already know all about when the show takes place and who it stars, the trailer marks the first time we’ve seen everything in action.
So much happens in the trailer's meager two minutes, so unless you're scrutinizing every frame, odds are you're going to miss some stuff. We’ve combed the trailer ourselves and turned to the internet to pull out as many interesting character reveals, plot details, and references to the Witcher books as possible.
Is Yennefer OK?
Early glimpses of Yennefer in the trailer depict a woman hunched over with a swollen cheek. That’s the norm for plenty of sorceresses in the world of the Witcher, who often become students of magic due to varying physical irregularities. Yennefer is no different. She, like many magic users, becomes beautiful through the use of magical glamours that mask her actual appearance. Looks like we’ll get to see her transformation in the show.
Hey, it’s the Isle of Thanedd!
That’s where sorceresses go to magic school, including Ciri for a bit. It’s also the setting for some big betrayals and terrific violence. I can’t wait to see how the show interprets those big beats.
What’s up with that wacky purple tree in the desert?
At first glance, I thought this was a scene from Ciri’s trip to the Frying Pan, which feels too far off to plop into season one. I wasn’t alone in my thinking either, but, twist! Showrunner Lauren Hissrich confirmed the purple desert tree is not related to the arc depicted in Time of Contempt. Get to making those theories.
The Dryads aren’t bright green, thank goodness
The Witcher show is taking a simple approach to its depiction of Dryads, the nymph-like humanoids that live in the forests of Brokilon. The games tend to depict them as nude green plant people, but the books describe them as very human-like with slightly greenish tints to their skin tone. The show is definitely leaning towards the latter.
That’s a Striga
A few quick clips depict Geralt going at it with a grimy humanoid, likely a Striga, which is one of the first monsters he dukes it out with in The Witcher short stories. Striga are women transformed into beastly monsters via a curse, something like a werewolf with hints of troll. Geralt dreams of his fight with the Striga in The Voice of Reason, the opening story in The Last Wish collection. And he dreams of it after some good sex. That’s our guy.
And that’s a Kikimora
There’s some debate over what that swamp spider is in the last shot of the trailer, but I’m banking on a Kikimora, monsters known to live underground or in, get this, swamps. It’s also one of the monsters he kills in the short stories before bringing it to Blaviken, where Geralt starts a major beef with just about everyone—on accident, of course.
Meet the Butcher of Blaviken
As this thread points out, when he looks all tore up and pissed may well be a formative scene set in Blaviken that earns Geralt a lifelong nickname: The Butcher of Blaviken. We’ll leave the show to tell the tale if you’re not aware, but it’s a classic bit where Geralt, ever the neutral, gets screwed over by everyone in an attempt to save everyone. Needless to say, a lot of people die, the blame gets pinned on Geralt, and he becomes feared throughout the continent. Poor guy.
Our boy’s casting Aard
Either Geralt’s getting about to blind a three-eyed monster or that boy’s casting the Aard sign. If you’re unfamiliar, witchers dabble in magic, much to the dismay of sorcerers who view the witchers’ practice as clumsy and contrived. But whatever, because Henry-Geralt is about to send someone flying across the room like a hot Jedi.
Emhyr the Hedgehog says hello
Here’s one that most people missed (including me). Some sharp-eyed folks in this Reddit thread might’ve spotted a quick glimpse of the future Emperor of Nilfgaard, Emhyr var Emreis. See, before the imposing bastard become a tyrant, he was cursed by a sorcerer to take on the appearance of a human-hedgehog hybrid. The curse did not make him go fast, unfortunately. We’ll leave the rest to the show since lifting the curse is its own adventure, but clearly, he doesn’t stay that way forever. Until we see how the show depicts Emhyr’s origins, all you really need to know is that the whole ordeal does not make him a cool, chill guy.