WhenThe Witcherseries premiered on Netflix, it soon became obvious that it was inspired less by the highly popular game series, and more by the book series by Andrzej Sapkowski, which created the whole world. Despite that, the first season took some creative liberties with the story and the characters as well, including some events that were barely mentioned in the books.
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The second season ofThe Witcherfollows the books more closely, specificallyBlood of the Elves,in which Geralt and Ciri go to Kaer Morhen and Ciri is discovering her powers. While the story is understandable and enjoyable even for the viewers who didn’t read the books, there are some details and references that only the readers of the novels will notice or truly appreciate.
6The Dying Mammoth
WhileLambert isn’t the friendliest Witcher of all, he and Ciri end up having a sort of friendship in the series. After all, Lambert is one of the people who teaches Ciri how to fight, alongside Geralt, Vesemir, Eskel, and Coen. When Ciri practices on the pendulum in the second season, she’s unaccustomed to the physical effort.
At one point, Lambert quips that Ciri sounds like a dying mammoth. Fans of the books will know that the exact line appeared in the first part of the novel series,Blood of the Elves. Funnily enough, Ciri later throws the same line at Lambert in the series, proving how much their relationship has grown over time.
5Geralt’s Dear Friend
One of the funniest moments in the book series takes place when Geralt sends a letter to Yennefer and calls her his dear friend. Yennefer then responds with a biting letter in which she repeatedly uses the same words, and when Geralt reads the letter, he immediately realizes Yennefer is angry at him.
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In the Netflix series, Geralt introduces Yennefer to Ciri as his dear friend when Ciri bursts into the room and sees them kissing. Yennefer’s incredulous reaction is priceless, and a hilarious nod to the books.
4Triss Defends Ciri
In the second season, there are multiple moments taken almost directly from the books. One of them happens when Triss arrives at Kaer Morhen, and later defends Ciri when Lambert makes fun of her for wearing pretty clothes and doing her hair.
In the show’s second season, Triss mentions several things she points out inBlood of the Elvesas well. One such example is her discussion of the fact that Ciri bleeds monthly, which is something the Witchers don’t take in consideration. While the scene in the show doesn’t contain her entire book speech, it’s still a nice nod to the novel.
Ciri considers Geralt her adoptive father, since he cares about her and she feels safe in his company. However, as the second season’s final episode revealed, Ciri’s biological father is still alive. And he’s none other than the emperor of Nilfgaard, the feared White Flame, and also the man responsible for the destruction of Cintra. This storyline is taken directly from the books, in which Ciri also has no idea that her father is still alive or that he’s searching for her.
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An interesting detail some viewers might have missed is when Ciri sees her grandmother, her mother and Mousesack all fade into dust in the dream created by Voleth Meir. Her father is the only one who stays solid, doesn’t vanish. That’s a clear sign that he’s still alive in the real world as well, unlike Pavetta, Calanthé and Mousesack. However, Ciri is too distraught to put two and two together, so ifher father indeed finds her in the third or future season, she’s in for a surprise, just like in the books.
2Lydia’s Injury
Lydia is one of the people who are after Ciri and don’t have good intentions. She’s responsible for releasing the sadistic mage Rience from prison, and sending him after Ciri. At one point, Lydia experiments with Ciri’s blood that Rience stole from Kaer Morhen, and the experiment blows up in her face… literally.
Book readers will know that Lydia got her facial injury in a similar way, when she experimented on a cursed object. After her injury in the books, Lydia can no longer speak and communicates telepathically — that’s how serious her facial wounds were.
1Triss’s Scars And Hair
Another potential Easter egg only readers might have noticedconcerns Triss’s scars. The show doesn’t explain what exactly happened to Triss or how serious her injuries were. However, there are two nods toward the books. The first is when Triss refuses to swim alongside other sorceresses, Yennefer included, and keeps her dress on. In the books, Triss has big scars on her chest, and thus never wears dresses that would show off her throat and her chest.
An even stronger reference is Triss’s hair. One reason that Triss has different-colored hair than she did in the first season could be that she lost her hair during the battle at Sodden. In the books, her hair burned off. Since this was how others recognized Triss, they thought she was dead as well, one of the fallen mages who died at Sodden. If Triss lost her hair in the show as well, there’s no reason why she or her healers couldn’t give her a different hairstyle and hair color altogether, should she so wish.
