Geralt brings Ciri to Kaer Morhen, an abandoned castle that the witchers call home. Meanwhile, Yennefer and Fringilla find themselves captives of an army of elves.
Tropes present in this episode
- Adaptational Jerkass: Eskel could always be firm in the books and the games, but he is explicitly antagonistic here, openly disparaging Ciri and threatening the keep's secrecy by bringing in prostitutes. It's possible that this had something to do with being infected by the leshen, but nothing is stated outright.
- Armor-Piercing Question: The witch in the cabin without doors implies that she knows what makes Yennefer desperate. When Yen tries to brush her off, the witch asks why Yennefer doesn't just use her powers to teleport out.
- Cruel Mercy: The witch in the cabin without doors reveals that she could kill Yennefer, but she wants her to "marinate in desperation" longer. Since Yennefer lost the very magic she traded her womb to obtain, the witch feels that forcing Yennefer to live with this pleases her more than killing her.
- Dare to Be Badass: In the closing of the episode, Geralt decides that—with even Witchers now left unprepared and caught unawares by the changing nature of the Continent—the best he can do for Ciri is to actually train her to be able to fend for herself. His words are worth repeating:Geralt: When I first came to Kaer Morhen, Vesemir said to me that the world outside these walls is a dangerous place. But times are changing, even here. You can't run from the world. You can't hide from it. But you can find power and purpose. A chance to survive the horror. This Continent… Was meant for no one. All you have to do, Ciri, is keep your sword close and keep moving.
- Death by Adaptation: Eskel is one of the last witchers standing in both the books and the games, and can potentially be the only remaining Wolf School witcher left in the world. Here, he dies in his first appearance.
- Dramatic Irony: When Yennefer tries to warn Fringilla that Nilfgaard and the elves joining forces against the Northern kingdoms isn't the right choice since the witch in the cabin without doors is evil and not to be trusted, Fringilla shoots back at the witch could have killed Yennefer but didn't, so she can't be that evil. The audience knows the witch spared Yennefer because the latter lost her ability to to wield chaos magic (as well as her womb), and the witch spared her as a Cruel Mercy to force her to live with the desperation and helplessness of life without magic.
- Due to the Dead: The surviving Witchers mourn Eskel by pouring a row of drinks as Vesemir places his wolf pendant on the tree in the main hall.
- Enemy Mine:
- Yennefer and Fringilla tolerate each other just to try to survive their elven captives.
- Francesca of the elves and Fringilla of Nilfgaard decide to join forces against the Northern kingdoms, who despise and mistreat them both. Neither like each other, but the White Flame wants more land and converts and the elves wish to regain their stolen land and revive their dying culture.
- Hates Being Touched: Fringilla now hates being touched, as it's strongly implied that she suffered sexual abuse under the Usurper until Emperor Emhyr freed her from her fate.
- The Hecate Sisters:
- The three women who enter the cabin fall under this pattern. Fringilla is the Maiden, as she's the most insecure and willing to follow others. Francesca is the Mother, currently pregnant and seeking a way to ensure her child survives. Yennefer is the Crone, seeking wisdom but expressing skepticism about what's happening.
- The witch presents herself in this pattern as well. She appears to Yennefer as a teenage girl (maiden), to Fringilla as Emhyr (who speaks to her like a father addressing a child) and to Francesca as an elderly version of Ithlinne (crone).
- Kill It with Fire: Stabbing a leshy through the heart with fire is the only way to kill it.
- Lie Back and Think of England: When describing her nightmare to Yennefer, Fringilla claims the Usurper rounded up all the mages and threw them in the "playhouse" where soft hands caressed her in the dark. She couldn't fight it, so she had to just lay back and "let it happen" ... until Emperor Emhyr slayed the Usurper and freed her. She now Hates Being Touched.
- Marathon Boss: Eskel fought the leshen for several hours before managing to make his escape. This is the first sign that something is wrong; as Vesemir points out, every witcher knows to kill a leshen with fire through the heart, and the fight took several hours?
- Outside-Context Problem: Leshen are dangerous, but witchers know how to deal with them, and they're going extinct because they have no way to reproduce. The one Eskel fought not only proved far more powerful, but it managed to infect him with something that slowly transformed him into another leshen.
- Papa Wolf: Geralt and to a lesser extent, Vesemir, regarding Ciri.
- Past Experience Nightmare: Fringilla has a nightmare where she moans not to be touched over and over in her sleep. When Yennefer tries to shake her awake, Fringilla cries, "Don't touch me!" When Yennefer asks about the nightmare later, Fringilla reveals it was due to the Usurper rounding up all the mages and putting them in the "playhouse," where it's strongly implied she was sexually abused.
- Rape as Drama: Fringilla strongly implies she met this fate after the Usurper took Nilfgaard, as she and most other mages were thrown into a "playhouse" that has left her afraid of being touched. Her Undying Loyalty to Emperor Emhyr is party due to his freeing her from that fate, and her fanatical devotion to the White Flame is implied to be a coping mechanism to deal with her trauma.
- The Reveal: The witch in the cabin without doors reveals that Yennefer lost her magic during the battle at Sodden Hill; the fire magic burned through her connection to chaos magic.
- Screw This, I'm Outta Here: The whores that Eskel brought to Kaer Morhen decide to bolt for the exit halfway through the night, as they can't fight and don't want to sit around and wait to be killed if the witchers aren't able to handle the monster.
- We ARE Struggling Together: Yennefer tries to invoke this with her elven blood to appeal to the elven captors. Francesca shuts this down by reminding her that she made no effort to connect to Elven culture and hasn't suffered with them.
