The Witcher's Massive Rebooking Is Actually Good For Season 3

One of The Witcher's first major book changes is set to return in The Witcher season 3, thanks to the story of Yennefer and Ciri at Aretuza's school.

One of the most significant book changes for Netflix's The Witcher actually benefits the story of The Witcher season 3. Following Henry Cavill's exit from The Witcher ahead of season 4, season 3 of The Witcher will have to deal with the expectations and pressure of continuing to build the Netflix franchise. Both The Witcher: Nightmare of Wolves and The Witcher: Origins of Blood proved that The Witcher franchise could sustain itself, but only if the main show kept going through Season 3 and beyond.

The Witcher introduces changes to the source material, which are often necessary for book-to-screen adaptations. However, storylines like Yennefer's loss of her magic or moments like Eskel's death in the season 2 premiere of The Witcher were controversial and risked taking The Witcher too far from the original. That said, the first major book change in The Witcher season 3 will pay off thanks to Yennefer and Ciri's story.

The Witcher Made Mages More Prominent Than Early Witcher Books

Netflix's The Witcher has made wizards a big part of the story from season one onwards. For example, by exploring Yennefer's backstory (which isn't really revealed in the books aside from a few tidbits), The Witcher's first season focused on Aretuza's school Witchcraft and how the relationship between kingdoms and their appointed wizards works. The Witcher also highlights the Council, a group of wizards that includes characters like Tissaia, Stregobor, and Vilgefortz. However, when it comes to Andrzej Sapkowski's The Witcher series, it's only in "A Time of Contempt" that mages really become a big part of the plot.

For example, the Wizarding Council of the Wizarding Brotherhood, which has been a part of Netflix's The Witcher since season 1, only makes its first appearance in the second Witcher novel, "A Time of Contempt". The Wizarding Council was previously mentioned in the second episode of the Witcher short stories, "Fairy Blood". While mages and magic itself have been part of Geralt of Rivia's story since The Last Wish became the inspiration for part of The Witcher seasons 1 and 2, mages and wizards are only Only then can the inner work be manifested and enriched.

Mages Change Sets Up Season 3’s Version Of Time Of Contempt

The Witcher season 3 synopsis reveals that Yennefer will take Ciri to Aretuza, where Yennefer was originally trained as a sorceress, to learn more about Ciri's powers and continue her training as a princess. By going back to the Aretuza school, The Witcher season 3 all but confirms that it will adapt the events of Time of Scorn, whose main plot point begins on Saned Island. However, Aretuza first appears in the books in Time of Contemp after being mentioned in Elvish Blood, and The Witcher season 1 has shown a lot of Aretuza and the Isle of Thanedd.

The Thanedd Coup, a sort of wizard-witch civil war, was one of the major events of the Age of Scorn. Considering that the Witcher books don't reveal much about mages and how they were organized before then, the second Witcher novel spends a lot of time on mage worldbuilding. In that sense, The Witcher season 3 has an edge over the original, as it has introduced and fleshed out concepts like the School of Aretuza and the Wizarding Council. Essentially, incorporating elements of Time of Contempt into The Witcher season 1 proved to be the right decision in the long run.