Top 10 Best Moments From The Witcher Season 1

What better place to start than with one of the White Wolf’s most famous quotes? After making his way to the town of Blaviken, Geralt is contacted by the wizard Stregobor and asked to slay Renfri; a princess turned bandit whose supposedly cursed origin threatens the natural order of things. Cutting down a person in such a manner doesn’t sit well with Geralt, who refuses the conjurer’s contract out right, but not before delivering this insightful monologue on how even lesser evils are unjustifiable in his eyes.

It took all season, but we finally we got to see destiny converge as Geralt and Ciri’s fated meeting comes to pass. Given the grief both endured getting to this point, seeing the two embrace makes for a beautiful and heart-warming moment amidst the storm of chaos currently consuming the Continent, all leading to Ciri asking a question in regards to a vision she had, one that saw Geralt wandering the ruins of Soddon Hill crying out for Yennefer. It’s not an easy question to answer either, though we have no doubt come Season Two Ciri will have all the time in the world to learn about her new surrogate mother.

You would have thought that after witnessing everything that happened at the Cintra banquet that Geralt would be a little more cautious when it came to using the Law of Surprise as a means of payment. With Duny free of his hedgehog curse and his marriage to Pavetta officially sanctioned, he pleas with Geralt to allow him to repay all the kindness bestowed. Seemingly on a whim, Geralt invokes the Law of Surprise, likely thinking nothing will come of it…only for Pavetta to instantaneously vomit, revealing herself to be pregnant, her unborn child now bound to Geralt. Turns out destiny is quick on the draw when it comes to these shindigs.

It’s this surprise attack that puts everything else in motion, tumbling the northern kingdoms and everything in-between into a bloody scuffle for the future of the Continent. Under the banner of their newfound religious zealotry, Nilfgaard lays waste to Cintra, forcing the wounded Queen Calanthe to send her beloved granddaughter Cirilla out into the world in order to find Geralt of Rivia. Witnessing the citizens being slaughtered by the Nilfgaardian troops, the nobles poisoning themselves and Calanthe falling to her death make for truly harrowing sights, all the more so when we’re given context later down the line on how this massacre could have possibly been avoided.

The long-awaited meeting between Geralt and Yennefer was certainly explosive. Following on from their flirtatious first encounter during Yen’s very adult oriented party, the rogue mage aided the White Wolf in healing Jaskier before a wayward Djinn’s wish nearly robbed him of his life. Alas, it turns out that Yen has darker machinations on the brain, planning on becoming the wish-giver’s vessel in order to become more powerful and have a child of her own. Geralt’s only chance at saving her is to use his third and final wish, something we’re not privy to, but it gets the job done.

In spite of her rocky start at Aretuza, Yennefer seemed to be excelling as an apprentice mage, and had even found love with Istredd. Things couldn’t be better…until the Brotherhood of Sorcerers found out about her elvish heritage, planned to send her packing to Nilfgaard, and she discovered her new lover had been spying on her on Stregobor’s command. This proves to be the final straw. Deciding to take what she feels is owned, she pressures the magical artisan to make her beautiful. This is no simple task however, as the operation doesn’t only rob her of her fertility, but it’s also agonising. How she made it through so much pain we’ll never know…

And this was the moment all Witcher fans knew that, despite lacking Gwent, this series had managed to nail the landing, and it’s all down to this beautifully brutal rampage that sees Geralt take on Renfri’s henchmen, and proceeding to slice through them like they’re paper dolls. Despite being outnumbered, the White Wolf easily slays each bandit that comes his way, carving limbs and impaling torsos everywhere he goes, concluding with one hell of a beheading. It’s certainly one way to earn yourself an infamous nickname, not to mention confirm that Henry Cavill was indeed born to play Geralt!

Nilfgaard may have an army, but they don’t have a patch on Yennefer! In a desperate bid to halt the march the Empire before they conquer the Continent, a band of mages including Yen and Triss make one last stand at the keep on Soddon Hill. It’s here that Yennefer’s story comes full circle, choosing to protect others instead of herself, and after some last words of encouragement from her teacher/mother figure Tissaia, Yennefer finally allows her chaos to erupt, unleashing a torrent of fire magic that ends up incinerating the encroaching forces into dust! Atta girl!

You couldn’t ask for a better bard than Jaskier. Sure, he never knows when to shut his mouth, but as comedic foil, the man just can’t be beat. And besides, he did give us a ballad that ended up enrapturing most of the Continent, and us at that. Not only is it one hell of a catchy rhyme, but its palpitated with this underlining sadness, at least from Geralt’s perspective, since for all the strides Jaskier and his song take to highlight how much of a beacon of hope the Witcher is, it’s layered with fabrications about his deeds, further enforcing the myth that all non-humans are monsters. But hey, respect doesn’t make history.

Before we reveal our number one pick, here are a few honourable mentions.

Geralt vs Kikimora
“The End's Beginning”

Geralt and Yennefer Split
“Rare Species”

Burying the Baby
“Rare Species”

Geralt's Mother
“Much More”

For those of you who were worried that this on-screen interpretation of the White Wolf wouldn’t live up to his potential as a monster-hunter, lay your fears to rest. After some sleuthing, Geralt discovers the beast slaughtering the citizens of Temaria is a former princess who was cursed at birth, which consequently turned her into a hellish creature known as a Striga. Hoping to save her from this affliction, the Witcher is left with no other choice than to keep her out of her crypt until dawn. Which proves to be easier said than done. From the Striga’s haunting appearance, the fight chorography, right down to that bittersweet conclusion, this battle is quintessential Witcher!