The Witcher: A Look Inside the Episodes (2020) s01e06 Episode Script
Episode 6
"Rare Species" is based on a short story
that's about Borch Three Jackdaws,
who is a dragon.
I'll show you what you're missing.
What am I missing?
We talked about shying
away from this story,
'cause dragons are something
that have been done in fantasy a lot.
But there was one thing
that we really wanted to hit on
from the short stories,
which is that Borch
is kind of a truth-teller
to Geralt and Yennefer.
They have met in episode 105.
They have slept together.
They have this undeniable attraction.
But when we find them in episode six,
it's been several years,
and they basically keep coming together
and being back apart again.
Basically, it's one of those, um,
"can't live with you, can't
live without you" situations,
and, of course, we, as the audience,
are hopefully rooting
for them to be together.
Disregard for others' freedom
has become quite your trademark.
I made that wish to save your life.
I didn't need your help!
Like fuck you didn't!
Borch kind of breaks their hearts
and breaks the audience's hearts
to an extent as well.
I'm going to save you both
a lot of hurt with a little pain now.
The sorceress will
never regain her womb.
And though you didn't want
to lose her, Geralt
you will.
The sad part is that, at the end,
when Geralt and Yennefer split up,
Geralt turns and rages at Jaskier.
Damn it, Jaskier!
Why is it whenever I find myself
in a pile of shit these days,
- it's you shoveling it?
- That's not fair.
If life could give me one blessing,
it would be to take you off my hands.
We get to see this man,
who, we've been told from the beginning,
has no emotional capacity,
that he is not a human
and has no sort of ability to love,
isolate himself from the two people
that mean the most to him.
You can tell that Geralt
has maybe felt a bit too much
and is incapable of processing
everything that he's going through,
and the only way
he knows how to deal with it
is to fully isolate himself.
See you around, Geralt.
Keep walking.
This episode presents
a big turning point for Ciri.
There was something
we talked about a lot
when we were crafting these stories,
which is in episode 102,
we see Ciri, she picks up a stick
right before she meets Dara.
She hears a sound and she says:
"Who's there?"
as she's backing away.
And what we wanted
to aim for, for this season
is we wanted her to pick up
a stick and go toward danger,
and this episode really is
that changing point for her.
So, she starts feeling,
throughout the episode,
that maybe Mousesack
isn't who he says he is,
and we watch the moment
where she decides to test him.
- Did you miss the cold too?
- Yes, very much.
You watch her realize
that she's been duped.
you have arthritis!
You hate the cold!
You always said Skellige
was where you came from,
but Cintra was your home, with us!
- I've had enough of you.
- Mousesack, stop!
Our name is not Mousesack!
And the most amazing thing
is seeing her response to being duped,
which is not to run away,
but to actually pick up a knife.
This has a couple
of important things about it.
One, we've just never
seen Ciri be like that,
but two, we've also been
hearing a lot about Calanthe,
Ciri's grandmother,
and how many people
she was willing to kill,
including elves, which Dara is,
and we hear about how
sort of vicious Calanthe was,
and there's something in this moment,
when Ciri picks up a knife
and is ready to kill someone,
that we start to see that Ciri
actually has inherited some traits
from her grandmother.
- Kill him!
- What?
It's a little bit scary.
It's a little bit of a girl
coming into her own
and sort of recognizing her
own power and the good of that,
which is standing up for herself,
but also the potential pitfalls of that,
and is she prone to violence,
and is she prone to hatred?
This is the beginning of Ciri
sort of questioning who she is.
And you say you're so special.
What you really mean is
that you're just like Calanthe!
You bring terror and you
bring death wherever you are!
And where we end this episode really
is seeing all of the stories that
we've been building to
really come crashing down.
What we were trying to strive for
when we were in the writers' room
was the sense that: "Oh my God,
we're finally going to get to see
this family coming together",
and yet, I just don't
think the characters
are all ready to be together yet.
Then, at the end of the episode,
everyone is incredibly alone.
that's about Borch Three Jackdaws,
who is a dragon.
I'll show you what you're missing.
What am I missing?
We talked about shying
away from this story,
'cause dragons are something
that have been done in fantasy a lot.
But there was one thing
that we really wanted to hit on
from the short stories,
which is that Borch
is kind of a truth-teller
to Geralt and Yennefer.
They have met in episode 105.
They have slept together.
They have this undeniable attraction.
But when we find them in episode six,
it's been several years,
and they basically keep coming together
and being back apart again.
Basically, it's one of those, um,
"can't live with you, can't
live without you" situations,
and, of course, we, as the audience,
are hopefully rooting
for them to be together.
Disregard for others' freedom
has become quite your trademark.
I made that wish to save your life.
I didn't need your help!
Like fuck you didn't!
Borch kind of breaks their hearts
and breaks the audience's hearts
to an extent as well.
I'm going to save you both
a lot of hurt with a little pain now.
The sorceress will
never regain her womb.
And though you didn't want
to lose her, Geralt
you will.
The sad part is that, at the end,
when Geralt and Yennefer split up,
Geralt turns and rages at Jaskier.
Damn it, Jaskier!
Why is it whenever I find myself
in a pile of shit these days,
- it's you shoveling it?
- That's not fair.
If life could give me one blessing,
it would be to take you off my hands.
We get to see this man,
who, we've been told from the beginning,
has no emotional capacity,
that he is not a human
and has no sort of ability to love,
isolate himself from the two people
that mean the most to him.
You can tell that Geralt
has maybe felt a bit too much
and is incapable of processing
everything that he's going through,
and the only way
he knows how to deal with it
is to fully isolate himself.
See you around, Geralt.
Keep walking.
This episode presents
a big turning point for Ciri.
There was something
we talked about a lot
when we were crafting these stories,
which is in episode 102,
we see Ciri, she picks up a stick
right before she meets Dara.
She hears a sound and she says:
"Who's there?"
as she's backing away.
And what we wanted
to aim for, for this season
is we wanted her to pick up
a stick and go toward danger,
and this episode really is
that changing point for her.
So, she starts feeling,
throughout the episode,
that maybe Mousesack
isn't who he says he is,
and we watch the moment
where she decides to test him.
- Did you miss the cold too?
- Yes, very much.
You watch her realize
that she's been duped.
you have arthritis!
You hate the cold!
You always said Skellige
was where you came from,
but Cintra was your home, with us!
- I've had enough of you.
- Mousesack, stop!
Our name is not Mousesack!
And the most amazing thing
is seeing her response to being duped,
which is not to run away,
but to actually pick up a knife.
This has a couple
of important things about it.
One, we've just never
seen Ciri be like that,
but two, we've also been
hearing a lot about Calanthe,
Ciri's grandmother,
and how many people
she was willing to kill,
including elves, which Dara is,
and we hear about how
sort of vicious Calanthe was,
and there's something in this moment,
when Ciri picks up a knife
and is ready to kill someone,
that we start to see that Ciri
actually has inherited some traits
from her grandmother.
- Kill him!
- What?
It's a little bit scary.
It's a little bit of a girl
coming into her own
and sort of recognizing her
own power and the good of that,
which is standing up for herself,
but also the potential pitfalls of that,
and is she prone to violence,
and is she prone to hatred?
This is the beginning of Ciri
sort of questioning who she is.
And you say you're so special.
What you really mean is
that you're just like Calanthe!
You bring terror and you
bring death wherever you are!
And where we end this episode really
is seeing all of the stories that
we've been building to
really come crashing down.
What we were trying to strive for
when we were in the writers' room
was the sense that: "Oh my God,
we're finally going to get to see
this family coming together",
and yet, I just don't
think the characters
are all ready to be together yet.
Then, at the end of the episode,
everyone is incredibly alone.