The Witcher Episode 6 Review

Well, after last episode, let’s just say I was hesitant to move forward with The Witcher. It was a huge misstep and the subpar production made me think that perhaps Netflix had lost hope at some point during production, possibly to the point of cutting the show’s budget.

I’m happy to report that episode five was an anomaly, as episode six gets us back on course in a big way.

We open with Jaskier and two random guys standing around Roach, Geralt’s noble steed. The trio are waiting for Geralt to return from a monster hunt that the two random guys have paid him for. It appears that they have been waiting a long time, because Jaskier is trying to convince the two men not to leave. The two decide to ignore Jaskier and attempt to make off with Roach before they are stopped by Borch Three Jackdaws (Ron Cook, Hot Fuzz) and his female body guards Tea (Adele Oni, Prototype) and Vea (Collete Tchantcho, Doctors). And by stopped, I mean Botch has Tea and Vea kill the men. Geralt enters, monster head in tow, inquiring what has happened. Jaskier tells him, getting a rebuke from Geralt for his inability to stop the men himself while he thanks Borch, Vea, and Tea for their help. He is convinced by them, in turn, to go to a pub to discuss a hunt they wish to take part in: a hunt for a green dragon.

Meanwhile, in Brokolin forest, Mousesack’s Doppler has convinced Ciri and, to a lesser extent Dara, to follow him to a nearby village to meet Geralt. They follow him out of the enchanted wood back into the cold, dead landscape outside. It is at this point where Dara begins to questions Mousesack’s story of his escape. He also asks why Ciri is so quick to trust him and break the deal she made with Dara to stay in Brokolin.

Back to Geralt and we’re at a pub. Geralt has no interest in hunting dragons, for he has vowed never to hurt them, due to their rarity and normally placid nature. He is surprised that a dragon has attacked the kingdom that is sponsoring the hunt, finding it abnormal for a dragon to defend territory. Borch explains that he just wants one last adventure before he dies, pleading with Geralt to join him. Geralt continues to refuse, especially after he is informed that there are three other teams vying for the dragon hunt’s reward. There is a group of Reavers, a vicious and murderous bunch, a group of dwarves led by Yarpen Zingren (Jeremy Crawford, Titans), a surly and hilarious dwarf. When he asks Borch about the fourth team, in walk Yennefer and an errant knight named Eyck of Denesle (Jordan Renzo, Class).

It is upon Yennefer’s arrival at the hunt that Geralt decides he is in.

The groups travel along the only path to the dragon and, of course, it is too narrow for their horses, so they have to travel on foot. This gives the characters a chance to breathe and stakes to be set. The dwarves inform the rest that the Reavers are murderous thieves, a label which the Reavers accept proudly. They also tell the group that their people used to mine these mountains before being forced out. The knight errant turns out to be a sword-happy idiot who bloviates at length about kingdom and glory while Yennefer rolls her eyes. This is shown especially true when he kills a helpless, starving monster instead of listening to Geralt. Jaskier tells Eyck not to eat the monster’s meat, which he disregards. This leads to a funny scene of him racing towards the woods with a grumbly tummy.

Borch talks to Geralt about the different kinds of dragons. He is especially curious about gold dragons. Geralt informs him that, while green dragons are common and red dragons are a bit more rare, gold dragons simply don’t exist. Shortly afterwards, Jaskier asks Tea and Vea why they are following Borch, to which their only reply is, “he’s the most beautiful.”

Hmmm, are the clues piling up that there’s more to Borch than meets the eyes?

We go back to Ciri, Dara, and DoppleMousesack who are trudging through the woods. Ciri begins asking Mousesack questions about his life before Cintra. DoppleMousesack answers the questions using the stolen memories of Mousesack, an ability where he not only takes the form, but the mind of the person he is impersonating. Ciri realizes, though, that this isn’t Mousesack due to some wrong answers and he is outed as a doppler. The doppler attacks and Dara fights him with a silver knife. The silver burns the doppler, causing him to take his true form, a cool creature design reminiscent of the bald vampires in Blade II. The fight goes back and forth, with Dara finally pinning the Doppler to a tree with the knife at his throat. The doppler informs them that he was taking them to Cahir. Dara wants to kill the doppler, but Ciri wants to let him go. They argue, and finally the doppler seizes the opportunity, knocking Dara unconscious and chasing Ciri into the woods.

Back at camp, Yarpen yells from the woods. Geralt, et al. run to see what is going on, only to find Eyck dead with his pants around his ankles, killed while pooping. I cannot think of a worse way to go. The Reavers all but admit to the crime and start off towards the dragon. This leads to Geralt and his crew to team up with the dwarves as a matter of safety. Geralt then approaches Yennefer, to convince her to go home. He asks her why she is even on the hunt. She tells Geralt that she wants to use the fresh dragon’s heart to regrow her ovaries. Geralt says that dragon hearts can’t do this and also questions her ability to be a mother. This leads to an argument between the two. Ultimately, though, Yennefer decides to join Geralt and the dwarves as they head for a shortcut to the dragon.

As always with a shortcut through a dwarven mine (looking at you Lord of the Rings) all does not go well. The path is a narrow and rickety bridge cut into the side of the mountain. It is easy enough for the dwarves, but difficult for the rest. So difficult, in fact, that Borch, Tea, and Vea seemingly fall to their deaths.

Seemingly.

Now on the other side of the shortcut path, the groups set up camp. The dwarves inform Geralt that now the race is on and to the victor go the spoils. They are no longer allied. Jaskier, distraught at the death of Borch and his bodyguards, begins questioning what he truly wants out of life while comforting Geralt. Geralt all but ignores Jaskier, deciding to enter Yennefer’s tent to discuss their relationship and kids. This leads to a flashback of their past encounters, where one or the other always leaves before the morning. Apparently, lots of time has passed since the last episode, which is actually hard to tell because nobody seems to age.

Anyway, Geralt and Yennefer do what Geralts and Yenneffers do and they wake up next to each other in the morning. Then they rush out, realizing the dwarves have run off to kill the dragon.

Back to the future, Ciri is tied up in Cahir’s residence. He is trying to get her to drink and eat, but the utensils he is using are silver. It is at this point he realizes that Ciri is in fact the doppler (gasp)! They fight, Cahir is stabbed several times, but manages to slash the doppler’s face. The doppler says he won’t deliver Ciri because of what she is. The doppler escapes, but Cahir kills a pub full of people just in case he is still there.

Yennefer catches up to the dwarves, freezing them in their tracks with magic. Then Geralt and she enter the dragon’s lair, where they find the green dragon, now dead, protecting an egg. Geralt now understands why she attacked the countryside unprovoked. And that’s when it happens: the golden dragon swoops down from the sky. The CGI for this bit is dodgy and the mouth doesn’t move particularly well when Borch’s voice comes out, but it is pretty cool all the same. That’s right, Borch was the golden dragon the whole time and Tea and Vea are alive as well. Yay!

Borch informs Geralt that he wanted him on the hunt to protect the dragon egg and that only he can help the dragons from going extinct. Enter the Reavers, ready to kill everyone to get the egg and the prize for killing the dragon. This leads to a well-choreographed fight between Yennefer, Geralt, Tea, Vea, and the Reavers where, usurprisingly, the Reavers all end up dead. Jaskier finally shows up and makes a few jokes, Borch in human form gives the dwarves the proof they need to claim the reward and everyone lives happily ever after.

Okay. All of that happened besides the “happily ever after” bit. The victorious warriors are sitting around when Borch decides to let all the truths fly. He tells Yennefer that she will never be able to have children. She also tells her that Geralt’s final wish to the djinn was to bind them together. Realizing this means that her feelings of love towards the witcher are likely the cause of magic, she leaves in a fury. Jaskier tries to console Geralt, who turns of him, screaming of all the bad luck he’s brought him and storming off himself. Jaskier also storms off.

Then we cut to Ciri, who is tied up in the woods. Dara stumbles upon her and frees her, then informs her he is leaving and will no longer be traveling with her.

So, everyone hates each other and there’s only two episodes left.

I am happy to say that this episode was miles above episode 5 in terms of quality of production and the furthering of the narrative. There are still some nagging mysteries in the show: who is Ciri? How is Yennefer connected to the overarching narrative? When is Jaskier going to write another hit song? These, however, are welcome and I’m confident after seeing how much farther they moved with the story in a few dialogue scenes that they will be answered in time. This was a great return to form for the show after a bad hiccup and I’m still looking forward to what is to come.