We meet Yennifer and get a closer look at magic in the world of The Witcher, as Ciri tries to stay alive after fleeing into the woods. Meanwhile, Geralt acquires another monster hunter contract, but nothing is ever as simple as it seems…

The episode opens by establishing Yennifer, wonderfully played by Anya Chalotra, as a potential magic-user. Throughout the episode, she quickly becomes a delightfully complex and interesting character, and her interactions with Tissaia and Istred, as well as several other girls who have been brought in for being potential magic wielders, really helps to flesh out the magic part of this world.

Ciri, however, experiences life on the run for the first time, and soon finds herself at a refugee camp with other people fleeing the attack by Nilfgaard. Despite her hardships, Ciri proves herself to be compassionate, and deeply unsettled by the apparent hatred and disdain casually demonstrated by her fellow refugees towards elves and dwarfs.

The presence of elves in particular and their complicated history with the world of The Witcher are also delved into by both Geralt and Yennifer’s stories. Geralt, after meeting and being forced to travel alongside Jaskier (some much need comic relief played entertainingly by Joey Batey), ends up kidnapped after trying to confront the ‘Devil of Posada’ by the elves. A conversation soon takes place between the elves’ leader, Filavandrel (Tom Canton), and Geralt that has many similarities to the one between Geral and Renfri in the previous episode. This time, the elven point of view and the weight of their history dealing with humans who have hunted them down for being inhuman adds a new layer of complexity to the matter.

The fact that elves taught humans magic and they repaid them by trying to wipe them out, is also something which is touched on in Ciri’s plotline, as it turns out the boy who saved her is also an elf. And on the other hand, Istred reveals to Yennifer that the place where they met and have been meeting is an old elven crypt, and she, in turn, reveals her ow parentage as one-quarter elvish. This uniting strand helps keep the three plot threads tied together. Maintaining the balance of these major, but currently mostly disconnected, plot lines will be the heart of the rest of this show, but so far this episode manages it well.

Verdict: A continuation of great world-building and the introduction of strong new characters and perspective makes this episode interesting. Jaskier is a breath of fresh air that stops the episode from getting too heavy, and Yennifer is a fascinating new character. 7/10

Emily Day