The Witcher’s showrunner, Lauren S. Hissrich, has just given viewers an update on what they can expect to see in the first episode of Season 2 of Netflix’s The Witcher.
And, for fans of HBO’s Game of Thrones, it is exciting news indeed.
Already, it had been established that Kristofer Hivju, who played Tormund Giantsbane in Game of Thrones, had a role in the upcoming season of The Witcher. He will play the part of Nivellen, a character who appears in one of the short stories associated with the original source matter, the book series by Andrzej Sapkowski.
Episode 1 title ‘A Grain of Truth’
For those who have read the acclaimed book series, the title of Episode 2 of Season 2 of The Witcher should have been a pretty good giveaway as to which episode Hivju would appear in. As previously released during Netflix’s Geeked Week, the titles for the first seven episodes from Season 2 were released.
The first episode is titled “A Grain of Truth,” which is the very same title for the short story that involves Nivellen. This story appears in The Last Wish and tells the “story of a father and daughter,” according to Hissrich.
Episode 2 of The Witcher Season 2 is titled “Kaer Morhen,” so will likely deal with Geralt (Henry Cavill) and Ciri’s (Freya Allan) arrival in this location. This indicates that Nivellen’s story will likely occur during their travels there.
Lauren Hissrich gives further details of Episode 1
Hissrich recently appeared in a short video that detailed this story and its inclusion in Season 2 of The Witcher, and, according to her, this is one of her favorite stories from this universe.
It is a story that the showrunner thought might have been sent to the wayside after Season 1 dealt more specifically with the short stories that led up to the meeting of Geralt and Ciri.
“It’s been the worst-kept secret that we’ve had, but we are adapting A Grain of Truth for the opening of our season 2 of The Witcher, and I have to say, after season 1, I thought maybe that our chance to finish the short stories…that we lost that, and instead, we were able to adapt this story and to bring Ciri [played by Freya Allan] into it,” Hissrich explained.
“It’s a story of a father and daughter coming together in a place that doesn’t quite feel safe for them – and of course, we really get into Nivellen who’s played by the incomparable Kristofer Hivju, and we get to explore his character and his backstory with Geralt as well.”
As Digital Spy points out, Nivellen’s story involves a curse that is placed on him after he raped a priestess. He is unsure exactly of how to lift the curse, only remembering that it had “something to do with a loved one.”
This story seems pertinent to where the current storyline involving Geralt and Ciri currently stands, and it makes sense to include it now after the pair have finally met up, and Hissrich also acknowledges this.
“It’s really the perfect kick-off for season 2 because it’s about family. It’s about the secrets that we keep from each other, and it’s about the monsters that we are inside sometimes,” she further explains in the video clip.
Season 2 of The Witcher will premiere on Netflix on December 17.