‘The Witcher’ Season 2: Showrunner Has Advice for Yennefer From Woman to Woman: ‘I Don’t Think That She Sees Things in a Macro Way’
The Witcher Season 2 has developed powerful, upstanding female lead characters like Yennefer. She went from a deformed outcast to a powerful and beautiful mage. Behind the beauty, Yennefer still battled her own demons and desires to become a mother. Showrunner Lauren Schmidt Hissrich has some wise words of advice for Yennefer and her complex journey moving forward.
[Spoiler alert: This article contains spoilers for The Witcher and Season 2.]
Yennefer sought power that came at a cost in ‘The Witcher’
When fans are first introduced to Yennefer’s timeline, she is outcasted by the villagers and sold by her father to Tissaia. Her humpback and deformities made her a social pariah. At Aretuza, Yennefer found a new purpose and sought power over people who ridiculed her. But Yennefer’s journey led to her losing a vital part of her.
The process of becoming beautiful left her infertile. Fans watched in the first season as Yennefer looked for any possible magical and non-magical way to have a child. She was willing to become a djinn’s vessel despite the possibility of death.
Like she told Geralt, she always dreamed of being important to someone. But her true desire was sometimes muddled with her greed for power. In The Witcher Season 2, Yennefer’s story changes. Not only does she remain infertile, but she loses her magic after the Battle of Sodden Hill.
Yennefer faces a new dilemma and must fend for herself without the help of magic. It becomes a battle of survival. When tantalized by Voleth Meir, she becomes slightly swayed to use Ciri to regain her magic and power. But she soon realizes, Ciri could be the missing piece she was looking for.
Lauren Schmidt Hissrich believes Yennefer is not looking at the bigger picture in ‘The Witcher’ Season 2
The Witcher showrunner spoke to 1883 Magazine about Yennefer. She sees Yennefer as a character still figuring out what she truly desires for herself. Hissrich explains Yennefer still makes decisions “in a very black and white manner.” In the first season, her reasoning was one-minded. Yennefer was willing to give up everything for a child.
“I don’t think that she sees things in a macro way yet,” said Hissrich. She explains Yennefer’s journey in The Witcher Season 2 is about discovering she does not have to give up who she is to become a mother figure to Ciri. For Yennefer to find fulfillment, she has to find a balance and sacrifice.
“My advice to her would be to find your priorities without giving yourself up. I’ve always described my personal fulfillment as a puzzle. I need a lot of different things,” said Hissrich. The showrunner turns to her own experience and explains she needs to be a mother, a writer, see her friends, and needs alone time.
For Hissrich, the priorities that make her complete need to fit together perfectly. “It’s only when all of those pieces are properly in place that I feel like I can truly shine. I think that’s what Yennefer is getting to this season,” said the showrunner. Yennefer still wants power, security, to become a mother, and to have love.
Will Yennefer find herself in season 3?
The Witcher Season 3 was greenlit by Netflix before the second season’s premiere on the streaming platform. Hissrich has given fans small teasers of what can be expected from exploring the sexuality of certain characters to its overall storyline. But fans are left to wonder if Yennefer will finally be on her way to feeling whole.
Without her magic in season 2, she is left to fight as a human. It helps her realize her own strengths. But she is still adamant about regaining her magic, even if it means betraying Geralt. When Yennefer escapes with Ciri, fans see a change in her.
She becomes a mentor to Ciri and teaches her to control her Chaos magic. A bond forms between them that could be the mother/daughter connection Yennefer longs for. By the season finale, Yennefer is willing to give up her life to save Ciri. Afterward, Ciri, Geralt, and Yennefer band together to protect each other like a family.
