“the dragon reveal was too obvious”

“really? how about this one?”

- I can be glad Jaskier is bi(though we already knew it) 

Then there was merman!Jaskier

Now get ready for red dragon!Jaskier

case in point:

I think my main reason why I feel drawn so strongly to Jaskier as a character, and why I don’t object to him being the comedic relief (in Netflix canon, anyway) is because him making jokes even in the darkest of situations is exactly my own coping mechanism too.

It doesn’t mean that he doesn’t take the bleak stuff seriously, or that it doesn’t affect him. The fandom knows this, but I think the writers know it too. The world of the Witcher is very bleak and brutal, and the various characters cope with it differently. And Jaskier’s way to survive is to employ humour. It probably also helps his muse feed on his inspiration. When you’re making jokes you tell stories, which is what he does best.

I’ve always found that cracking a joke when things are painful or difficult also deflects other people’s attention from you. It tells them ‘Hey, I’m okay, see? I’m still joking’. And when you’re not super keen on letting people help you then finding a strategy so they’ll leave you alone means you can still feel in control. 

It’s not that Jaskier doesn’t want people to help him. He’s such a walking disaster zone - at least some of the time - that he frequently gets himself into situations he can’t get out of by himself, not even with jokes. But I don’t think he means to be a nuisance, quite the opposite actually. He wants to be helpful. He helps Geralt - against Geralt’s will - to improve his image. He helps Yen, several times. He helps the elves. Jaskier cares about people, and he wants them to care about him.

Just not too much, and that’s what the jokes do. People will be annoyed with him eventually, and that’s an emotion he understands. He can feel intellectually superior when Geralt grunts at him or Yen threatens him with a knife. This story he tells himself, that he’s too smart to need other people, is like armour that he thinks will protect him from pain. 

Sometimes it backfires - Witchers clearly need some time to get used to his coping mechanism - but mostly it’s kept him sane throughout his life.

As for Geralt, by the end of season 2 he starts to get it. When they joke together on the way to Cintra Geralt responds to Jaskier’s jokes. And for people who use humour to relate to others that’s super significant. I hope that the writers don’t mess this up in season 3 and that we continue to see Jaskier and his chosen family get to be more vulnerable around each other.