Netflix’s The Witcher is commonly criticized for its lack of loyalty to the source material, but there are ten moments from season 3 that happen just like they do in the books. The Witcher has been hounded for its interpretation of Andrzej Sapkowski’s Witcher novels to the point that the actual moments of loyalty to the source material go unnoticed. The show has definitely stepped up its faithfulness to the book series, but it gets little credit for that because of the distance that remains between the show and the books.
The Witcher season 3 is the most book-accurate season based on the actual events that dominate the story. Though many things are changed and shuffled around, The Witcher season 3 manages to follow the gist of Sapkowski’s story, something the previous season showed little interest in. With that in mind, it’s worth going back and giving the show some credit for these ten major moments that happen very closely to the way they happen in the novels.
10 Ciri Kills The Fake Basilisk
In one of The Witcher season 3’s best moments, Ciri calls out a man in Gors Velen for displaying a wyvern and telling a crowd that it’s a basilisk. Ciri ridicules the man in front of everyone, causing a bit of a stir. The real stir, however, comes when the wyvern escapes and Ciri has to fight the creature. Luckily, Ciri was raised by witchers, so she makes short work of the basilisk and then gives the credit to a boyish knight to avoid drawing attention to herself. All the above-mentioned things happen in both the books and the show, marking a true moment of loyalty in The Witcher.
9 Geralt Duels Vilgefortz
Geralt’s fight with Vilgefortz is another moment from the show that happens almost identically to the way it unfolds in the books. In both continuities, Geralt is severely overmatched and ends up on the brink of death by the end of the encounter. Notably, Vilgefortz uses a staff in the show that matches up perfectly with his weapon of choice in the books. Vilgefortz also uses one of the book series’ most iconic quotes at this moment, marking another important piece of loyalty to the books. Much of Vilgefortz’s story has not matched up with the books, so this is an important course correction.
8 The Coup On Thanned
The coup on Thanned in The Witcher season 3 also comes straight from Sapkowski’s novels. The exact construction of this scene is changed to fit better in the medium of television, but the overall coup happens much the same as it does in the novels. The invasion by the Scoia’tael and Djikstra/Phillipa’s plan to imprison the mages working with Nilfgaard are the core elements of the coup in both continuities. The show also makes Tissaia unwittingly complicit in Nilfgaard’s scheme, which is a critical part of this sequence in the books.
7 Ciri’s Flight From The Wild Hunt
Ciri being pursued by The Witcher‘s Wild Hunt after fleeing Gors Velen is another moment that happens almost exactly the same in the books. Ciri flees Gors Velen in this scene because she is not impressed by Yennefer’s mage friends and decides she no longer wants to attend the school at Aretuza. She decides instead to run to Geralt but doesn’t expect to be pursued by the spectral Wild Hunt. Luckily for Ciri, Geralt finds her before anything can happen, both in the books and the show.
6 Emhyr Props Up A Fake Ciri
In both The Witcher season 3 and The Time of Contempt, the novel this season is based on, Imperator Emhyr Var Emreis presents a fake Ciri to his court in Nilfgaard. In the books, Emhyr is fully aware that she isn’t his daughter, but wants the other nations to think he has the real Ciri, so they will stop pursuing her. It’s unclear at this point if the show is going the same route, but either way, Emhyr’s presentation of a fake Ciri to his court is another moment straight from the books.
5 Tissaia Takes Her Own Life
In The Witcher season 3’s most tragic moment, the mage Tissaia takes her own life following the coup on Thanned. It’s hard to say for certain why Tissaia made that choice in The Witcher, but it’s certainly related to her guilt over allowing the coup to occur and her heartbreak after finding out that Vilgefortz has been deceiving her. Regardless, this is another moment that comes straight from the books. It is one of the series’ saddest moments, but it represents another instance of The Witcher‘s growing loyalty to its source material.
4 Ciri Is Stranded In The Korath Desert
Ciri ends up stranded in the Korath Desert in The Witcher season 3 after traveling through the warped portal at the Tower of Gulls. This is exactly how it happens in the books, even if the events that follow don’t quite live up to the novels. Ciri jumps into the portal, both in the show and the books, because she is fleeing Vilgefortz and, after entering the Tower of Gulls, she has nowhere else to escape to. After Ciri travels through the portal, the tower explodes violently, severely scarring Vilgefortz’s face. This also happens in the books in much the same way.
3 Ciri Is Rescued By The Rats
After being found on the edge of the desert by Nilfgaardian brigands, Ciri is later rescued by a gang of miscreants known as, The Rats. This is another moment straight from the books, and it is significant because of the way traveling with this gang affects Ciri. This scene also happens much the same as it does in the books, with one of The Rats, Kayleigh, also being held captive by the Nilfgaardians. When the rest of his gang shows up to free him, they are impressed by Ciri’s skill with a blade and decide to take her in. This is almost an exact recreation of the book scene.
2 Geralt Recovers In Broklion
In both The Witcher season 3 and The Witcher books, Geralt is teleported to Brokilon to recover from the injuries he suffered in his duel with Vilgefortz. Geralt begins his search for Ciri in Brokilon, and begins the little gang that will eventually be called his hanza. This includes Milva, whom Geralt meets in Brokilon both in the show and the books. Jaskier’s arrival to check on Geralt also happens in both continuities, though Jaskier’s name is Dandelion in the books.
1 Geralt And Ciri Visit Shaerrawedd
Geralt and Ciri’s visit to the ruins of Shaerrawedd is another occurrence that happens in both continuities, though the circumstances of their visit are much different. Even so, Geralt tells Ciri the story of the elves’ tragic resistance to humans conquering their land in much the same way as the books. This is an important story because it provides context on how the elven race diminished so far despite living on the Continent far before humans arrived. This was a critical scene from the books for The Witcher to include because of the prominence the elven conflict has taken in the series.
