The Witcher: A Look Inside the Episodes (2020) s01e04 Episode Script
Episode 4
1
["GERALT OF RIVIA" BY SONYA BELOUSOVA
& GIONA OSTINELLI PLAYS]
Right, so stick close to me, look mean
and pretend you're a mute.
Can't have anyone
finding out who you are.
[YELLS] Geralt of Rivia,
the mighty Witcher!
Oh, shit.
[WOMAN] In episode four,
Geralt is brought into
the story by Jaskier,
who wants to sing at the
wedding feast of Pavetta,
who's Calanthe's daughter.
The fun part of this story
is the realization
that we've been operating
on several different timelines.
So, this is the episode
when we start to understand
how Geralt gets drawn
into the destiny of Ciri.
Geralt goes to this banquet
kind of against his will,
doesn't want to be there,
doesn't want to be part of it,
and yet, this is the episode
that really changes his journey
when he ends up claiming something
called the Law of Surprise.
The Law of Surprise is
when someone saves your life
and you don't know how to pay them.
You can pay them with something
called the Law of Surprise.
They don't know what
the payment will be,
but it'll be the next
unexpected surprise
that they have.
Fine.
I
claim the tradition as you have,
the Law of Surprise.
Give me that which you
already have, but do not know.
[CALANTHE] No!
What have you done, Witcher?
Destiny can go fu
- [HEAVES]
- [SPLATTERING]
[COUGHS]
[LAUREN] Geralt claims
the Law of Surprise
and Pavetta vomits all over the floor,
and that's how we realize
that she's pregnant with Ciri.
So, Geralt, through, sort of,
no intention of his own,
ends up at this banquet,
ends up with a daughter,
and this is, sort of, the beginning
of, uh, their coming together.
You can't outrun destiny just
because you're terrified of it.
It's coming, Geralt.
- Not believing won't change that.
- [MUSIC INTENSIFIES]
[LAUREN] Yennefer, in episode 104
We find her,
and it's been about 35 years
since episode 103, in her story.
And basically, she got
everything she wanted.
So, at the end of episode 103,
she is beautiful, she's powerful,
she's a transformed sorceress,
she ends up going to the court
that she wants to
go to, which is Aedirn,
and she's still unhappy
and where we find her
is coming to terms with this.
She's with the queen and she's saying:
"I don't know what I expected,
but I need more out of life".
[YENNEFER SCREAMS AGGRESSIVELY]
[LAUREN] This is our first introduction
to the idea of Yennefer
wanting to be a mother.
In order to become a sorceress,
you give up your
ability to have children,
and at the time, Yennefer didn't care.
She wanted that transformation
at any cost.
And so, we introduce the idea
of a legacy in her world.
She wants something to outlive her
and in her mind, in this episode,
it becomes a baby.
[MOURNFUL MUSIC PLAYS]
[RHYTHMIC, MYSTICAL MUSIC PLAYS]
[LAUREN] In episode four, Ciri arrives
in a place called Brokilon Forest.
This forest is this ancient place
that has been protected since
the Conjunction of the Spheres,
and there's a race of women
who live there, only
women, called dryads.
And what we come to realize
is that the dryads are
actually afraid of not surviving,
and Ciri, to them, represents a savior.
[EITHNÉ] You
really don't remember how you
came to be in Brokilon Forest?
Yet you heard it call to you.
[DRAMATIC, DISORIENTING MUSIC PLAYS]
[LAUREN] The temptation, for Ciri, is:
does she want to stay there
or does she wanna continue on this quest
that's been laid out for her?
But if you find yourself someplace
that feels like it could be home,
isn't that where you'd wanna stay?
So, we really start to get
into Ciri's psyche
and try to understand
the decisions that she makes
and why she would continue moving.
It's one of the stories
we hope will resonate the most
in terms of questioning everything
you've been told,
questioning your own belief system.
[SOFTLY] I have to find my destiny.
Why? Because your grandmother
said you should?
Maybe you should start
thinking for yourself,
because she is dead,
and you are here.
[LAUREN] Shan-Kayan is a tree,
which the dryads are worshipping.
There's a voice at the end that booms:
"What are you, child?"
and it's the first inclination
that the dryads have
that she is special, that there's
something bigger about her.
But as the series continues,
much, much later,
we're gonna start to get into exactly
what voice was speaking to her
and what agenda that voice has.
It's a mystery, actually,
that we're gonna keep building up
throughout the series.
[DISTORTED FEMALE VOICE]
What are you, child?
[MUSIC INTENSIFIES TO FINAL CLOSE]
["GERALT OF RIVIA" BY SONYA BELOUSOVA
& GIONA OSTINELLI PLAYS]
Right, so stick close to me, look mean
and pretend you're a mute.
Can't have anyone
finding out who you are.
[YELLS] Geralt of Rivia,
the mighty Witcher!
Oh, shit.
[WOMAN] In episode four,
Geralt is brought into
the story by Jaskier,
who wants to sing at the
wedding feast of Pavetta,
who's Calanthe's daughter.
The fun part of this story
is the realization
that we've been operating
on several different timelines.
So, this is the episode
when we start to understand
how Geralt gets drawn
into the destiny of Ciri.
Geralt goes to this banquet
kind of against his will,
doesn't want to be there,
doesn't want to be part of it,
and yet, this is the episode
that really changes his journey
when he ends up claiming something
called the Law of Surprise.
The Law of Surprise is
when someone saves your life
and you don't know how to pay them.
You can pay them with something
called the Law of Surprise.
They don't know what
the payment will be,
but it'll be the next
unexpected surprise
that they have.
Fine.
I
claim the tradition as you have,
the Law of Surprise.
Give me that which you
already have, but do not know.
[CALANTHE] No!
What have you done, Witcher?
Destiny can go fu
- [HEAVES]
- [SPLATTERING]
[COUGHS]
[LAUREN] Geralt claims
the Law of Surprise
and Pavetta vomits all over the floor,
and that's how we realize
that she's pregnant with Ciri.
So, Geralt, through, sort of,
no intention of his own,
ends up at this banquet,
ends up with a daughter,
and this is, sort of, the beginning
of, uh, their coming together.
You can't outrun destiny just
because you're terrified of it.
It's coming, Geralt.
- Not believing won't change that.
- [MUSIC INTENSIFIES]
[LAUREN] Yennefer, in episode 104
We find her,
and it's been about 35 years
since episode 103, in her story.
And basically, she got
everything she wanted.
So, at the end of episode 103,
she is beautiful, she's powerful,
she's a transformed sorceress,
she ends up going to the court
that she wants to
go to, which is Aedirn,
and she's still unhappy
and where we find her
is coming to terms with this.
She's with the queen and she's saying:
"I don't know what I expected,
but I need more out of life".
[YENNEFER SCREAMS AGGRESSIVELY]
[LAUREN] This is our first introduction
to the idea of Yennefer
wanting to be a mother.
In order to become a sorceress,
you give up your
ability to have children,
and at the time, Yennefer didn't care.
She wanted that transformation
at any cost.
And so, we introduce the idea
of a legacy in her world.
She wants something to outlive her
and in her mind, in this episode,
it becomes a baby.
[MOURNFUL MUSIC PLAYS]
[RHYTHMIC, MYSTICAL MUSIC PLAYS]
[LAUREN] In episode four, Ciri arrives
in a place called Brokilon Forest.
This forest is this ancient place
that has been protected since
the Conjunction of the Spheres,
and there's a race of women
who live there, only
women, called dryads.
And what we come to realize
is that the dryads are
actually afraid of not surviving,
and Ciri, to them, represents a savior.
[EITHNÉ] You
really don't remember how you
came to be in Brokilon Forest?
Yet you heard it call to you.
[DRAMATIC, DISORIENTING MUSIC PLAYS]
[LAUREN] The temptation, for Ciri, is:
does she want to stay there
or does she wanna continue on this quest
that's been laid out for her?
But if you find yourself someplace
that feels like it could be home,
isn't that where you'd wanna stay?
So, we really start to get
into Ciri's psyche
and try to understand
the decisions that she makes
and why she would continue moving.
It's one of the stories
we hope will resonate the most
in terms of questioning everything
you've been told,
questioning your own belief system.
[SOFTLY] I have to find my destiny.
Why? Because your grandmother
said you should?
Maybe you should start
thinking for yourself,
because she is dead,
and you are here.
[LAUREN] Shan-Kayan is a tree,
which the dryads are worshipping.
There's a voice at the end that booms:
"What are you, child?"
and it's the first inclination
that the dryads have
that she is special, that there's
something bigger about her.
But as the series continues,
much, much later,
we're gonna start to get into exactly
what voice was speaking to her
and what agenda that voice has.
It's a mystery, actually,
that we're gonna keep building up
throughout the series.
[DISTORTED FEMALE VOICE]
What are you, child?
[MUSIC INTENSIFIES TO FINAL CLOSE]