FAQ and Rules

What sort of content can I create for this event?

You can create whatever you want (fic, art, edits, etc). Any fandom is allowed, as well as OC stuff. NSFW is allowed, but please tag your content accordingly! The only thing not allowed is AI-generated content. You're also free to combine these prompts with the prompts of any other event.

Do I need to make 31 things to participate?

Oh heavens no! You can make as much or as little content as you like, skip days when desired, or combine prompts (so for example, write something that covers a prompt from day 1, 2, AND 3). You don't have to do the days in order either, go wild! To be considered a 'completionist', you only have to make sure that at the end of the month, you've covered 31 prompts from 31 different days, but whether you do that in 31 works or just 1 is up to you. Your works can be separate oneshots or one continuous fic, or something in-between.

How do I interpret these prompts?

Creativity is the name of the game here! If you don't understand a prompt, feel free to send us an ask about it. However, the important thing is you can interpret the prompts however you want. For example, 'heat' could be literal (fever, heatstroke, burn wounds) or figurative (somebody getting heat for something). The dialogue prompts are allowed to be slightly rewritten to fit better for the character whose mouth it's coming out of, be that the whumpee, whumpter, or caretaker. As long as you're having fun!

What are these alts about?

If none of the three prompts of a particular day are your cup of tea, you can swap them out for an alt prompt of your choice. This will count as having covered that day for completionists.

How do I tag my works and is there an AO3 collection?

It suffices to tag your work with #ailesswhumptober for us to see and reblog it! Please also tag nsfw content, since we'll be using that tag on this blog too. Tagging the day is optional but does help the mods along.

There will be an AO3 collection like every year. It will be linked here once created (closer to October).

What's this I hear about badges/achievements?

For those who want an extra challenge, we come up with a set of achievements each year in addition to the 'completionist' one for you to strive for. Each achievement you complete comes with a cool little badge, hand drawn by our very own Mod Radio, which you can claim at the end of the event. A full list of the achievements will be linked here once created (closer to October).

That should be all. If you have any additional questions, check our pinned or hit us up in the ask box. Or join our discord maybe, whumping can be a great group activity!

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Plain text versions of the prompts:

October 1: Used like an object - Sacrificial lamb - "Can't you see you're hurting them?!" October 2: Pulled underwater - Electrical burns - "I never expected this from you."

October 3: Magical affliction - Struggling to breathe - "Pain makes you taste sweeter."

October 4: Substance withdrawal - Moments too late - "Shhh, shhh, you're okay."

October 5: Life altering injury - Pushed to the limit - "Go to hell!"

October 6: Arranged Marriage - Misunderstanding leads to whump - "I deserve this."

October 7: Trapped in a small space - Dehydration - "How many fingers am I holding up?"

October 8: Sibling caretaker - Whumpee trivializing their own trauma - "Me?! What about you?!"

October 9: Forced to fight - In the nick of time - "What happened? You look half dead."

October 10: No sedation - Flinching - "Just hold on a little longer."

October 11: War prize - Gilded cage - "You'll live to regret that, I'll make sure of it."

October 12: Psychological torture - Hallucinations - "This is where you belong."

October 13: Human shield - Surprised at being offered aid - "You're hurt because of me."

October 14: Thrown into a wall - Blood draining - "Look at you. Pathetic."

October 15: Last one left of a species - Raised in a laboratory - "Whatever happens, just remember that I love you."

October 16: Moment of softness - Losing a comfort item - “I hate you"..."I love you too.”

October 17: Apotheosis/Deification - Resurrection - "I'm saving you from yourself."

October 18: Collapsing from exhaustion - Hunted like an animal - "This is how you repay me?"

October 19: Nonconsensual body modifications - Unconventional limb removal - "Be good."

October 20: Bridal carry - Weakness - "Sweet dreams, whumpee."

October 21: Refeeding syndrome - Allergic reaction - "Don't move. Please, don't move."

October 22: Unconscious for days/weeks - Classic sickfic - "Hey, open your eyes. Stay awake for me."

October 23: Unwilling witness - Blindfolded - "I miss it more than I can ever explain."

October 24: Everybody you once loved is dead - Scar torn open - "Please don't lie to me."

October 25: Living weapon - Forced to hurt somebody - "If you love me, you'll do it." October 26: Fever causes a seizure - Can't see straight - "I thought it was just a cold."

October 27: Infection spread through bite - Rash - "Don't touch it, you'll make it worse." October 28: Flogging/Whipping - Hanging - "I just want it to stop." October 29: Stabbed in the back - Untrustworthy - "At least I never pretended to be anything I'm not." October 30: Public humiliation - Involuntary tremors - “Takes one to know one, hm?” 

October 31: (Found) family but they suck - Reading the will - "You actually thought I cared? That's hilarious." ALTS: 1. Haywire instincts

2. Shaving

3. Forced bitching

4. Time loop

5. Döppleganger/Changeling

6. Tampering with food or drink 7. Eldritch horror

8. Fight/Flight/Freeze/Fawn

9. "Let me protect you for once!"

Introduction

The bad reviews, the constant strain of hatred were something I thought I could dance around, but this season it took a new level of absurdity. While I have mutuals who moved on totally normally following their preferences, I thought that the change could blow a different wind on the fandom overall. How stupid I was… 

Sorry I am venting a bit there but I need to. So, if you are interested in my rambling then go to this hidden post : [x]

Now again, I have some criticisms to make but really they are not what I had before and less prominent overall. So let’s go.

First of all, yes, obviously, I loved that season. And I loved it more than I thought I would and in places I didn’t anticipate. Because when things change you have to find your ways to get into the new dynamics. I will make a Doctor Who analogy there : when you change the Doctor or their companions, there is always a time to get used to it, whether you like the stories or not. This is the same here. 

But here, when you know the books, you can see that the dynamics between the characters are sooooo much closer to them now ! Especially for the Hansa part. For Ciri’s they humanised the Rats more and softened some things but this aligns mostly with the books storywise. For Yennefer again the story diverges the most, but the moments she has with the others are very much what I imagined it to be in the first place, and everything else is basically what we liked about her in the show factor 10. She is flawed and pure emotion and she kicks asses !

Now, I didn’t have all that I liked in the previous seasons but new things to appreciate. I will always love the first 3, but for me the 4th is like 1 all over again but moving fast to the end.

This is the most straightforward adaptation of the books they made despite the changes. The real departures, what is changed or invented, is going on the same path as it should be for the rest of the story. There are some plot for plot things, but less than in season 2 or 3. So I am eager to let it pass more easily. To me it felt like they were restrained before and had to be fully metaphorical about the story to hit their mark, while this time no, the path was clear and once the ball began to roll, it never stopped.

For me this is both a good point and a negative one.

What I appreciated the most about the 3 first seasons was in fact that metaphorical part I was talking about. The things that are not stuffed into your face. But that was ignored intentionally every time there was a blind hating review.

This was rare to see a show trying to distil the essence of the story equally from the front and the meta. Like, it was an ok show, but just taking your time to listen and see, you could get a lot more. And they were playing a lot with the narrative aspects. Because in the books, the POVs and unreliable narrators are legions. This led to a lot of possible interpretations, showing the effect more than explaining it. A large part of it was done through Jaskier to whom I fell in love with, frame one. This was what pushed the show from “I like it” to “I can’t do without it”.

This is still the case in this new season also, here and there, but they didn’t use it as much. They went to the more direct way so now no-one could say : this wasn’t clear. 

But of course most always do… Well…

My main problem with this is something I don’t like in some of the modern ways of telling stories in fiction, is the “we have to satisfy the distracted viewers”.

Those who said that things weren’t clear enough and confusing this season were probably watching their telephones more than the show. Because when characters are repeating things you should know, saying where they go, or equivalents, only if you are not paying attention you can miss the point. If you have memory issues or attention problems you are excused. But my two orens those who have real issues, you are not those who are complaining about the lack of clarity of the story. 

Now, sometimes characters say things in a more explanatory way for the plot and the plot only. This is not always subtle nor gracious but you get what you want after three seasons of people purposefully ignoring every subtext possible and bashing what they chose to ignore. I understand why they turned it that way though but I don’t approve.

I also have the nasty feeling that this is a contractual issue with Netflix, in current days more than ever. They are very much by the algo and data analysis so they are pushing this kind of thing more and more, to try to keep people’s attention. I don’t like it at all.

Also there is literally no more time to fully play with metaphors when the whole book saga must end in 2 seasons.

Yes, this season is fast, so you don't have time to do anything else to get the whole plot, but it is not that hard to follow. They really simplified the whole thing. So I will ping pong my negative point to those who just can't make the effort, because most of the bad lines are just there to help YOU, and to the creator to have succumbed to following too much what people say. 

Now that I push that there, let's get into everything else.

Visuals and costumes :

The three main arcs have a distinct colouration. And they accentuated the colour code and the light for the other, which I appreciate.

Warm tones and colourful costumes and sets for Ciri, in the Nilfgaard region. Dark, very greyish tones for the mages. And alternating between light and darkness in a more grounded visuals for The Hansa. Extra point to the Nilfgaard palace who plays with the golden light in the dark environment. Redania is extra red but Radovid shots have nice lights too. 

For the other factions, they kept the visual codification they had in place since season one. Cintra silver armour and blue (golden lions). Redanian red (with golden eagle). And you have now Maeve units in the battle. They are silver to almost white (with red diamond). The nilfgaardians are still golden brown with black (sun on the armour) but I noticed all black light clothed ones too.

At first, I was a bit bothered by some aspects of the world in Geralt’s POV because the work on frame and light wasn’t really appealing. This was like reality was not covered as much as it used to be, in filming and post. But I realised after a while that this aspect was there, only in realistic situations. And this was shaped differently as soon as there were supernatural or more witchery things. So this was a choice. I can understand that. Not a big fan but it makes sense.

For the costumes, I like the new Geralt outfit. It’s much more book accurate and still had some elements of the old ones for continuity. It feels like he found the jacket on the road and this makes sense as they are taking what they can as supplies. Addressing the elephant in the room : the wig isn't great.

Jaskier didn’t change much but he also gathered pieces here and there. The boots and arrows scenes are there for the inner shift of Geralt and illustrate the looting. So you can make one plus one and understand how they work now, looting and changing as they go forward.

Cahir follows the same concept but they returned to more S1 look to him. Milva hasn’t changed much. Now for Regis and Zoltan, I’m fine with their look, even if I didn’t picture them that way, reading the books.

Looking toward Yennefer POV now, I didn’t like the new aspect of magic too much, but only because it was used like a Kamehameha too often. I felt a bit like Ken of Street Fighter spamming the balls lol. What I enjoyed though was the fact that magic felt more coherent than before. We had quick step rules to understand what they were using and how it affected them.

Also I have to highlight the creativity in terms of the use of magic in many other occasions : 

Philippa and Yennefer folding bodies.

The nasty eyes explosions lol. 

Vilgefortz black ink thunder.

Polymorphism

The shared chaos

The magic hammer

Costume wise, each sorceress was following the looks they always had with variations. Except for the last costume of Yennefer that threw me off, I liked them. My favourite was her battle outfit, and they could have kept it.

There were some inconsistencies in the Montecalvo battle (that I’ll cover in Yennefer’s part) but overall it was cool with great visuals ! And I loved wild Yennefer covered in dark goo, full of rage.

Now for Ciri and the Rats, the costumes were coherent with the place, and she, herself, changed as she became part of the group. Their colours pop a bit more than the rest of the population, for obvious reasons, but they gave to the people more colours than their armies. They followed the diversity of the elves from BO which is logical historically.

I liked some secondary or minor characters’ designs too, like Bonhart who is visually a pure evil Geralt metaphor. Like Eva and their redanian outfit as they are ascending in the hierarchy near Radovid. Like Xarthisius who is like the mystic advisor of Emhyr. And Philippa’s wardrobe is still my favourite, even if it’s less extended as last season.

The plot points and main characters plotwise :

From Baptism of Fire, the Hansa was my favourite part of the book, because it was adventure and a lot of introspection for Geralt. I was disturbed by Ciri’s part with the Rats because of how it began and seeing how she was affected by everything she went through, and that every moment of levity she could have was going to a darker and darker fate. And the Lodge part was the most complicated because it was all politics and knives in the back etc. Yennefer was not there for a long time either.

So I was positively surprised that the changes - major for Yennefer and less so for Ciri - made me like their parts equally to the Hansa. 

Also for some characters it felt like a reboot, and in the best way. I think of Cahir and Milva for example. They could exist more and in a book version way. There was an ellipse, so it felt a bit sudden, but as they consistently existed in their new way through the season, I could erase a bit some of the not-fleshed out moments of the former season. Cahir in the books is a character I don’t particularly like, but in the show he is much more interesting. And his dynamic with Milva pleases me because it removes the obsession he has with Ciri from the book, which was a bit creepy in my taste. Here it is more about the Destiny and his redemption for what he did. And the soup episode, revealing part of his story and giving all the protagonists the same lecture he has of Emhyr’s plan, was very nice.

Speaking of whom. Emhyr had more space too and we could grasp better what is actually happening in Nilfgaard. I enjoyed the false Ciri and the hints of what is really animating the emperor.

Note : About Milva they didn't go too much into the abortion wish and her miscarriage after that. As the subject is very sensitive in the USA, I feel like it was a network decision. But I liked that the boys were there for her

Ciri

Now, Ciri was again the most book accurate version of the story, and the additions helped with feeling better with the Rats. Not good good but good enough to get what Ciri was feeling with them as she was trying her best to be free from all the darkness she experienced. Only to find more darkness.

Extra bonus point for Bonhart ! I like Sharlto Copley as an actor and I knew he could deliver great villains. Now, he delivered !! 

Notes for Bonhart

As I said in the visual and costume part, he is the representation of a pure evil Geral. I found it very interesting from a visual narration point of view. He is all black, white hair, witcher medallions around the neck. But he is a total opposite of Geralt mentally. Geralt is brutal when he needs too. Bonhart is a sadist and enjoys killing, making people suffer. 

In the book Bonhart is iconic because he is pure menace. He is vile and very skilled. They pushed further his legend of witcher killer as we see him hunting and killing two (the other is in The Rats movie). So this isn’t a legend anymore, in this canon this is a fact.

Like Geralt he is a hunter, fast analyst of the fight, and strong. His fight with Ciri at the end is mirroring Geralt’s fight against Renfri in the “holding back and only parrying” then “unleashing his true force”. This establishes a real challenge for what is to come.

Now Ciri is both running away from all she knew and was holding dear and solidifying a part of her life that she wants to forget a bit.  What is interesting in her path is that we see her trying to let go of everything she knew but the witcher in her is stronger, and as far as she went she still values what she learned with Geralt.

Then, with everything that happened to her, finding the Rats gives her the opportunity to find a new path. She experiences a kind of freedom for a while. But like everything she begins to enjoy, it goes to the gutter in the most painful way. She loses her second found family in the hands of Bonhart.

Yennefer and the lodge

For Yennefer, I don't have much to say. I like her arc overall. She was less all over the place as season 3 where they used her too much to join disjointed points and she had to go everywhere, especially during the Thanedd battle. I also didn’t like the fact that she came to Brokilon. This was making stupid the fact that Geralt has to go by horse to Nilfgaard to get Ciri’s back. 

Now they explained why she cannot teleport there, in a satisfying way. Then they condensed and reversed two narratives to put Yennefer in the center of it all, so we didn’t go one half of the season without her. There was a wink to that in the fact that Yennefer transforms Franscesca into a jade statue to get her to Montecalvo. Then following the thread of trying to find Vilgefortz they brought the battle in their place.

They resolve another plot point that was left hanging with all the portal manipulation and all with Ystredd and the Book of Monoliths. That part was good character wise because of the impact on Yennefer and Triss. But as a token it was a bit weak, as they finally didn’t really use the lore from BO out of it.

The witch hunt was a nice touch too. To me it wasn’t used like in the books but this could fit and elevate the stakes and the need for The Lodge. Because at the end of S3, this was more like a project in coming that had time to grow. Now this is like a Noe’s ark that has to succeed or else magic turns all dark in the hands of Vilgefortz.

In terms of sorceresses, Yennefer shines ! Anya’s performance is out of this world. And she had me invested in everything. Nuanced point for Keira and Margarita’s deaths that were clearly made for schedule issues and not very much emotionally rooted unfortunately. But I liked the new additions. The dwarf warrior was a bit in and out of the lore for me : because I am not sure they can do magic, but they showed it through the use of her weapon basically, and that I think they can. Like they are using runes and things like that. So she was more a warrior with a magic weapon expertise. And Sabrina with a bow, yes please !!!! Again !

Sabrina is one of the rare sorceresses that we have from season 1 that has a growth in character while being mostly in the back.

I really liked the Fringilla part and, as gross as it was, it helped forge more how twisted and powerful Vilgefortz is.

That being said, knowing the books, the part where Yennefer wants to 1 o 1 Vilgefortz to read his mind had me facepalm. This was weak and very classic : heroes think that they outsmart the villain. So what happened after was obvious. Same with the trope of Philippa turning the mechanism of the well by hand to create artificial tension. They just needed to show us that she had exhausted her magical abilities to the point that she couldn’t use more, to make it more real. Here it feels cheap.

Also, having the witchers helping defend the fort was cool more than anything. And killing Vesemir had no emotional impact. So little that it had none on Geralt either lol. This is a big no there for me. But as they didn't linger, I moved on quickly too. Maybe I'll make some separate analysis for this stuff. Who knows ?

Without those trope points, Yennefer’s part was quite flawless to me. Good pacing. Good energy and intensity. One goal and she is really using everything she has for it. I could feel that she really tried to protect Ciri in her ways to the great extent.

Note : The battle of Montevalco was a Geralt free episode and yet it was good enough to carry itself. This time they didn’t try to push him like in the Ciri one last year and the pacing was much more consistent.

Geralt and the Hansa

For Geralt, I have a lot to say. His story and arc this season are simple but there is a lot in it. To me, it’s not really a reboot, even with the actor change, but they ret-con a thing that was going down the wrong line in season 3 so we could have what we couldn't before : a struggling Geralt. And that made a great difference in my appreciation.

Note about Geralt wounds

The magic healing of his leg in S3 was very wrong. And also let me guess they didn’t go overkill with Vilgefortz (visually I mean) because it would have led to bad signals to an already very aggressive crowd. Because, normally, book Vilgefortz was physically dominant and DESTROYED Geralt.

Also my bet is that he didn’t want to look weak for too long. When I read the comments on how it was stupid to have Geralt stuck in bed for a moment, I was fulming. In the books the damages and the fact that the waters couldn’t heal him fully stuck him a fucking month if not more…

The average between the will to give an epic fight in S3 and a shortcut fight in S4 is about what it was, minus the savagery, was nice. Liamrat is lighter and Vilgefortz stronger. The compensate the rest with Yennefer part, where we can see how brutal and strong he can be.

I liked the severity of Geralt's wound in S3 even if we didn’t have the extent of the brutality. In the books this is utterly violent with the inner POV of Geralt who is feeling bones breaking and is reduced to pulp, sooooooo, when the magic healing happened I was seeing a way where the damages would be cancelled. Like. Rest at the inn for 100 coins, full heal. In S3, there was a rehabilitation process but that goes so fast because of that magic twist, and then even if Geralt is slower, we didn't see the real problem at all.

In the book, Geralt is to struggle with physical disability for the first time of his life at a moment he cannot afford to be weak ! So when they went for it in S4, it was a big hourra !

They chose to make it like the wound is not healing despite the magic, more than phantom pains, but I am good with it. This was finally correct ! Geralt has a weakness, and he is trying to ignore/hide it the best he can. And yes, he is almost bullied into rest by everybody else all the way. But I will develop further later.

On another hand, another link to that S3 event I didn't like was not ret-conned, but given a thought and a plotwise explanation at least. As I said in Yennefer’s part, the fact that she could teleport to him was a massive change that modified the nature of his journey and his feeling of having lost everything from the books. And there we had a magical possible exit that wasn't exploited : why couldn't Yennefer simply go get Ciri if she could reach Geralt ?

With Vilgefortz disturbing the portal network we gain a plausible explanation and as Geralt is moving further to the south, his isolation grows and that helped me a lot with that part of the story. 

Last point for Geralt, the father / daughter bond was not really visible (S1 - S3) for me. It was more spiritual and a mentorship. In S3, we had glimpses of a family and real bonding but we didn't have the struggle again. I mean there was a struggle but not much in his finding of parenthood. Some didn’t want to play it apparently.

This season we have more pieces of bonding in flashback, we have words with it, and we have dream sequences to forge it. Even if it is not much, we have a fully fleshed metaphor of his struggle with the notion of fatherhood, which culminates with the Rusalka trap in his resolution.

And for me this was important that we could go from the S1 Geralt who didn’t want to be a father, to S4 Geralt who finally admits that it’s what he is and the reason he feels the way he does because things are always against him and his irrepressible need to find his daughter back.

I also liked the addition of the backstories about every member of the Hansa. And I’m ok with the inventions. There are not too much. And each story was used to ground a volatile Geralt that has yet to accept that he needs help and support. 

Special mention for Regis. I was a bit worried that his appearance would go in the way of his character because he really doesn’t look like that at all. But Laurence Fishburn had his voice and presence on screen frame one. The way he talks to Geralt, specifically, was very satisfying to me. He brought that tranquil force and philosophy that was needed to funnel the witcher.

The role of Percival and Zoltan is lighter but they had the good dynamic. Adding Yarpen was a good touch and having him give up was interesting too. He helped as much as he could and found some peace with the past.

Can I mention also Jaskier being finally the friend he cares so much about. Goodbye unrequited love and hello bromance. I was so happy!!

They could finally show platonic love and we can still play with the “little bit more”. And even if it is done in a straighter way than previously, Jaskier gets to play his final purpose : being the frame of the all story. And it pays well with the plot device to explain Geralt new look. 

So let's get into that.

The unreliable narrators and dreams

It was done really subtly in the first seasons, planting a seed here and there, and letting it grow with small resolution if you paid attention. 

Sapkowski plays a lot with unreliable narrators all along in the books. One of the reasons I loved Book Jaskier is specifically because he is the unreliable narrator for most of the story but in a supposed way. He is quite two dimensional in the first books and except for his incredible bond with Geralt, he can be a bit of a creep sometimes and hard to feel good with as a woman. He gains layers in those later stories, or in the bits in between with his POV or POV linked to him. That was something I really dug from the Time of Contempt and later.

As you go, you get to understand that what you are reading isn't fully true, this is what was recollected about the story from a distant future when most of it has been lost. And one of these sources is Jaskier's memoirs. 

In the books we are reading that imperfect recollection of Ciri's life with historical and political events from archives, and the mysteries and epic tales from pieces of arts, and the romanticised aspect of it from Jaskier's texts or what we're left of it. Nimue did the work.

Here in S4, this is through her eyes too that the story is told now. But Jaskier's memoirs are the only source she has. And what was built with him very slowly through the seasons, is now fully acknowledged. He is the one who chronicled everything because he was there, or was told. But even if he knows the truth, he is an unreliable narrator, because he tends to change things he doesn't like. There are clues here and there and with Sirens of the Deep this is clearly said and demonstrated : My Story.

In the series, Jaskier is more involved in the heartbeat of the world and that makes him a great chronicler. From a comment of Joey about the future, I fear that in S5 he would see too much thought. And that some bittersweet versions of what happened will be all his.

That intro scene with Geralt shown through Nimue's eyes is good because she is representing us. Fans who speak about characters they like with passion and being so in it that they tell everything at once. I love that the scene where every armies, and monsters are rushing toward the found family is basically her having that collision of thoughts.

The dreams

Another thing that I am glad they brought back was the dreams and the visions.

In the books, dreams and visions are important. They were set up for Cahir quite early in the show and there were some things around it in season 2 but I don’t think it was clear enough for everyone.

Those are the parts that were set up too in the interpretation to land well. For example : the fact that Voleth Merh was “nested in dreams” was important and the whole thing was another take of the Wild Hunt trying to manipulate Ciri through that. It went too far in the spectacular to get any real focus on that. And I clearly fell for the front story at first and didn't like it back then, but digging into this aspect of the story I understood the metaphor and the use and now I have another appreciation of it way more positive. [x]

This season the dreams seemed more anchored in the original story where those linked by Destiny are dreaming of each other. And that is what helps Cahir to be accepted by Geralt there. Which is great.

I am quite happy with the shared dream between Geralt and Ciri, having a beginning on one side and the ending on the other side, twisting the meaning.

Other mentions

Geralt

I already spoke a lot about him, but let's get that out of my system. I am totally neutral to Liam’s Geralt. He doesn’t give me many reactions but I like him in so many interactions ! He and Jaskier are closer than ever and that was a pleasure ! It removed a lot of tension and drama that make me fall in love with geraskier, but we had the care !!

Geralt isn’t an inaccessible being that Jaskier was forbidden to touch. There are so many little things that speak volume about two guys that have known each other for more than 20 years and have seen it all. Geralt is still not fully functional in social clues, which is great, but now Jaskier is that anchor for him more than a clumsy substitute. There is trust, there is love, there is friendship ! Fuck yes !

With Yennefer, we had some examples of the turmoil as a couple and some examples of explicit love, that was carnal and not shy. I don’t demand these scenes particularly but those two are passionate about each other and it had to be seen.

Ciri and the Rats

In the books this begins with a very hard moment to sink in and I remember not being able to find any pleasure in the adventures with the Rats after that. Yet I felt the trauma when she lost them to Bonhart. And everything is gloomy.

Here, the Rats are still questionable but they are more accessible. Also that first hard moment is there but softened in a way. But only on the spot. 

We have clues to understand that it left something not good on her anyway in various points.

While the bath on the river was very connoted with the feeling she had to have been abused, here it is mixed with the fact that she doesn’t want to be who she was and wash her past away. You can feel that her first time wasn’t something she absorbed well but it is a bit on the back of the rest. Yet later, you can see her antagonising Mistle on the sexual subject.

In the books, for me Ciri is more of a lesbian ace and forced into many sexual situations. Maybe it is because I am ace that I read her like that. But she seemed to have some repulsion toward everything that implied sex or physical attraction or reproduction, especially toward male. In the book she is quite young also, so this might be part of it. And after that she goes from trauma to trauma which clearly doesn’t help. So there is a blur on the line. 

Here they go more for the lesbian path (or maybe bisexual - that depends on what they will do in S5). In season two there was a small hint that she could be attracted to women with Triss. And in season 4, she goes all the way with Mistle. This is fun to me that some people scream to woke agenda to that. I mean, even if there is a blur because of the trauma, she is with Mistle and she has feelings for her. Solidifying this isn’t such a stretch.

Now, the one thing I appreciated the most with the Rats was the freedom she had to explore who she is, not in regard to anyone else, but for herself. She finds the limits of her own moral and almost what she wants to be. And being a witcher, in the ways of Geralt, is what she likes and what she is drawn to.

My favorite scenes with the Rats were :

The moment they accept her and give her something that belongs to them. This was symbolic and quite moving.

And the moment she kills the monster in the cave in front of Mistle. For me this is the moment she knows who she is. She became a witcher.

Bonhart ! Damn it ! Sharlto Copley ! I love you haha ! He was a bit goofier than what I expected, in some aspects, but it made him more deranged. His final fight with the Rats and Ciri was the best ! Maybe even the best sword fight of the season.

Speaking of evil, I knew what would happen to the Rats, but I was still shocked that it went down all the way and frontally. And more than for the books, I felt so bad for Ciri and I cared for them. I believe that they made a good choice by humanising them more.

Side note : I have watched the long feature for the Rats and I found it mild. The forte was Bonhart telling the story to Ciri while driving her in his arena. This was a fantasy heist type of movie and the lore behind the Rats was ok, cool even. But the cat Witcher Brehen didn’t convince me. There were some good moments and connections to the main series but I don’t know, he fell flat for me.

Jaskier and Radovid

I didn’t speak much of Jaskier (I mean in the way I use to lol) and you know I love him to bits so I will make a little segment here. But I will clearly need a post dedicated to those two.

For me this was the perfect amount of gray in each but it hurt. Jaskier and Radovid are flawed and have their own traumas that cement their reaction in that reunion. I have to say that Joey and Hugh together is a fave of mine. They are so intense and tell so much with so little. This is amazing.

Jaskier choosing Geralt over and over and being triggered by Radovid trying to bargain is 100% in character. He will always choose him. With this iteration of Jaskier this is even truer. 

Jaskier going that hard on Radovid was less expected but the trigger pushed a very specific button in him. And as we saw several times, when this Jaskier is going feral, he aims for the jugular with his words. So that happened again.

Radovid had me in clutch this season. That jolt of pain Jaskier gave him triggered two aspects of him : yes he is soft and wants to live of love and fresh water, but he was also forged in a terrible environment. And he knows what to do. He simply doesn’t want to. Jaskier’s rejection triggers him to do the wrong things, but he is clever enough to understand that it was manufactured by Dijkstra. For all the bad that it has done, it revealed that there is a potential lion in him. The way he gathered information and caught up with the rest of the world was nice to see.

And this goes with the funny metaphor Jaskier used in season 3 to describe him : a spoon / a knife.

That said, I felt a lot for Radovid in that moment, because he really didn’t need that and this cornered him to play a role he always rejected. But trying to capture the bird to put him in the same cage as him was a bad move anyway. His emotions were in the way of his judgment. Now I like that both recognised that this clash had potentially terrible consequences. Maybe not for the war but on the human side of it.

I hope those two find a way to each other at some point. They need to talk seriously. Maybe season 5. Finger crossed.

Conclusion

I am happy with the season we had. I am glad that it took several steps toward the books, even with the changes. I have a lot to cover about it. Maybe I’ll do it and return to the analysis I used to make more regularly. I don’t know. I still have the feeling that it is pointless to even try. But just so you know, I love this show, with its flaws, and I am looking forward to season 5, but I know it will kill me because it is the last.