This movie was eagerly awaited by fans of the popular fantasy genre in general and the talent of Polish novelist Andrzej Sapkowski in particular. Among Polish fantasy writers, the name of Andrzej Sapkowski can be compared in fame only with the name of the author of “Solaris” Stanislaw Lem, who was recognized as a world classic during his lifetime. And the most famous of Sapkowski’s works is, of course, the cycle “The Witcher”, translated into dozens of languages and screened by the Poles themselves back in 2002. This “budget” 13-episode adaptation caused a lot of complaints, so that fans of the “witcher” saga eagerly awaited the release of the series from Netflix and wondered what adventures await the fearless fighter with monsters Geralt, his girlfriend Jennyfer, moody and lovable minstrel Lutik, named daughter of Geralt and Jennyfer young Ciri and other characters.
But not all fans of the saga were able to watch in full the third season of “The Witcher”, released in 2022. What concludes “The Witcher 3”, which is an adaptation of “The Hour of Contempt” – the fourth book of Sapkowski’s “series”? After all, if the first season fairly closely followed the storyline of the source material, then in the second and third series, the screenwriter allowed a lot of deviations from the original.
The second season, devoted to training Ciri in the magical arts in the witch citadel and her adoptive father’s attempts to protect the girl from a threatening sinister fate in the plans of the oldest of the witches ends with a powerful demon-destroyer entering Ciri’s body to do battle with the witches. At the most tense moment on the stage appears Emperor of the kingdom of Niflgaard – Tsiri’s own father. Further adventures of the girl develop separately from the stories of Geralt and Jennyfer, still worried about the fate of their named daughter and fear that her unique magical abilities will be put at the service of the forces of evil. In addition, the charismatic and ambitious couple will have to finally sort out their own feelings.
So far, only five episodes of the third season have been released, and the fifth episode, which takes place during the ball with Geralt and Jennyfer, is called “Shroud of Illusion”. Judging by the fact that “The Shroud of Illusion” is a fairly accurate adaptation of the relevant chapters of “The Hour of Contempt”, the ending of the third season may be the same as in the source novel “The Lord of the Lake”, where Geralt and Jennyfer, who miraculously survived the deadly ordeal, and Ciri, who has realized her destiny, are finally reunited. But their reunion is followed by a merciless beating of non-human races – red-humans (analogous to the dwarves familiar to fans of traditional magic tales) and elves, reminiscent of scenes from a familiar earthly story.
Geralt, who stood up in defense of his friends, will receive a mortal wound, which even Yennifer’s sorcery cannot heal. But at this point the book lives up to its title, which refers to the legend of King Arthur’s last battle and his sailing in a magical rook to the enchanted island of Avalon. Ciri transports the bodies of her parents, a half-dead witch doctor and a fainted sorceress, to another world, where they, like King Arthur, find healing. But for the girl, who has already tasted the charm of exciting wanderings, there is no rest – after making sure that Geralt and Jennyfer are alive, healthy and happy, Ciri sets off into the vast world in search of new adventures, singing ballads about the exploits of the brave witch, cunning enchantress and other heroes who have become legends.
