What the fuck is going on in episode 4?

reddit.com › r › witcher › comments › ehhlff › what_the_fuck_is_going_on_in_episode_4

There are three timelines going on for each episode. Ciri is the present. Yenn and Geralt are the past. Yenn being far into the past, while Geralt being in the middle with Yennefer eventually catching up with him and then Geralt eventually catching up with Ciri. Also keep in mind that Yennefer doesn't age, and Geralt ages slowly. Answer from Arsenic_Touch on reddit.com

reddit.com › r/witcher › what the fuck is going on in episode 4?

r/witcher on Reddit: What the fuck is going on in episode 4?

December 30, 2019 -

Didn't Calanthe and Mousesack die in the first episode? How are they back again? And what is Yennefer talking about when she said she spent three decades with political messes? Is something fycky going on with timelines?

There are three timelines going on for each episode. Ciri is the present. Yenn and Geralt are the past. Yenn being far into the past, while Geralt being in the middle with Yennefer eventually catching up with him and then Geralt eventually catching up with Ciri. Also keep in mind that Yennefer doesn't age, and Geralt ages slowly.

To be fair, you have to work a little more at paying attention if you haven’t been exposed to the Witcher before. What I might suggest is watch it all the way through and understand it as best as you can and start a rewatch and you’ll catch a lot of details that went over your head the first time.

reddit.com › r/netflixwitcher › the witcher - 1x04 "of banquets, bastards and burials" (no book spoilers)

r/netflixwitcher on Reddit: The Witcher - 1x04 "Of Banquets, Bastards and Burials" (No Book Spoilers)

June 28, 2019 -

Season 1 Episode 4: Of Banquets, Bastards and Burials

Released: December 20th, 2019

Synopsis: Against his better judgment, Geralt accompanies Jaskier to a royal ball. Ciri wanders into an enchanted forest. Yennefer tries to protect her charges.

Directed by: Alex Garcia Lopez

Written by: Declan de Barra

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Honestly the way Geralt paused and then said “fuck” after Pavetta threw up and he realised he would get her child was goddamn hilarious

Yennefer’s speech to the baby was brutal.

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reddit.com › r/netflixwitcher › the witcher - 4x01 "what doesn't kill you makes you stronger" (tv show only discussion)

r/netflixwitcher on Reddit: The Witcher - 4x01 "What Doesn't Kill You Makes You Stronger" (TV Show Only Discussion)

October 30, 2025 -

Season 4 Episode 1: What Doesn't Kill You Makes You Stronger

Released: October 30, 2025

Directed by: Sergio Mimica-Gezzan

Written by: Lauren Schmidt Hissrich

Use spoiler tags for book spoilers. Please keep the discussion focused on the show.

I'm gonna watch the rest later, but after watching 20mins or so, I think i like Liam's chemistry with the supporting cast better. I always felt Henry was playing a loner really well, but his interactions with other characters felt off to me. I think I'm gonna watch this and stay away from any reviews with this one. The way I interpreted the first few scenes is that this is a new retelling of the witcher's story, and Henry's portrayal never existed if that makes sense. I really liked it, I can't lie. Looking forward to watching the rest.

Gotta tip my hat off for Liam. He's doing his best to embody the role of Geralt — not Henry — and I appreciate it.

reddit.com › r/netflixwitcher › can someone help explain episode 4?im about 10 minutes in and confused af

r/netflixwitcher on Reddit: Can someone help explain episode 4?im about 10 minutes in and confused af

October 19, 2017 - Ya but to see them spend an entire season doing it can be disappointing for people who haven’t read the books ... Ok so ep 1 showed the slaughter of cintra which happened in the year 1263. Ep 4 occurs in either 1251 or 1252 ... This timeline graphic might be helpful (minor spoilers about timelines converging): https://www.instagram.com/p/B6V2rSaiN7L/ ... This made everything make so much more sense. Thank you! ... WELCOME TO R/NETFLIXWITCHER Netflix Witcher discussion, pictures, memes, and more.

reddit.com › r/netflixwitcher › [spoilers] episode 1 and episode 4 - i'm confused

[SPOILERS] Episode 1 and Episode 4 - I'm confused : r/netflixwitcher

November 4, 2019 - 39 votes, 178 comments. 1.2M subscribers in the netflixwitcher community. WELCOME TO R/NETFLIXWITCHER This is a respectful, inclusive place to enjoy and discuss Netflix's The Witcher Universe. Watch THE WITCHER: SEASON 4 and THE RATS: A WITCHER TALE now on Netflix!

reddit.com › r/witcher › episode discussion - s01e04: of banquets, bastards and burials

r/witcher on Reddit: Episode Discussion - S01E04: Of Banquets, Bastards and Burials

November 3, 2019 -

Season 1 Episode 4: Of Banquets, Bastards and Burials

Synopsis: The Law of Surprise is how one repays.

Director: Alex Garcia Lopez

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Please remember to keep the topic central to the episode, and to spoiler your posts if they contain spoilers from the books or future episodes.

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It’s been said before but I’ll say it again, Geralt and jaskier are literally a shrek and donkey duo and i can’t get enough of it

I enjoyed Yen's speech to the dead baby. The music that was playing while she was talking was slightly positive. Maybe I'm just weird. The actress who plays Calanthe is awesome.

reddit.com › r/witcher › season 1, episode 4 - i'm confused as hell

r/witcher on Reddit: Season 1, Episode 4 - I'm confused as hell

February 19, 2024 -

So Geralt is at a ball with the Lioness of Cintra and his pet Bard. But the Lioness died in the invasion by the Nifel guys..... meanwhile her grand daughter who bolted from the castle during the invasion and is now slumming it with some eleves in some forrest with magical healing water...

The hell is going on ????

Do it yourself a favor. The show is shit. Just read the books and play the games.

The story isn't told in a straight forward timeline, it jumps back and forth years, sometimes decades. It is very confusing at first.

reddit.com › r/netflixwitcher › possible spoilers. i just watched episode 4. could someone answer some questions please. and please do not spoil anything past episode 4, thank you.

r/netflixwitcher on Reddit: Possible SPOILERS. I just watched episode 4. Could someone answer some questions please. And please do not spoil anything past episode 4, thank you.

June 6, 2019 -

What is this "suprise" thing? And what did Geralt swear by before he left and why was everyone so shocked? 2. Was it ever stated at the start of the episode that the feast was a flashback? 3. Does this mean that everything we've seen of Geralt in the series so far has been set in the past before the city sacking in episode 1? 4. What was that magic whirlwind happening between the princess and the cursed man? And why did Geralt stop it so desperately? 5. What happened to Ciri's parents? 6. Why did the princess vomit followed by Geralt saying, "fuck." Thank you.

1.The law of surprise is an ancient custom of the world of the Witcher and I believe the episode shows that and explains it pretty clearly 2. Geralt's and Ciri's stories happen at different points in time 3. Yes 4. The whirlwind was caused by an unknown power that the princess possesed, and Geralt wanted to stop it because it was tearing the castle apart 5. Ciri's parents were on a ship that was wrecked when she was a baby 6. Geralt said fuck because he invoked the law of surprise and asked them for that which they did not know they had, followed by the princess showing signs of pregnancy, meaning that Geralt had bound his destiny to that of the unborn child.

The law of surprise. It's a way of paying a life debt. Basically, say I save your life and I claim the surprise thingy. So when you get home you have to give me what you have but are unaware of. So if you get home and find soup on the table then I get that. If you get home and find out your girls pregnant, then I get the baby.

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reddit.com › r/witcher › i need someone to explain this to me until episode 4 end cause i am lost..

r/witcher on Reddit: I need someone to explain this to me until episode 4 end cause i am lost..

November 19, 2019 -

Wtf is happening in episode 4. Why is yennifer all of a sudden on a horse ride protecting someone. Wtf is going on with geralt how did he get to the family shit. Also isnt the family the same one from episode 1. Im so fukin confused.

Thanks

The way the series is structured is that we're following three separate timelines - one for Geralt (and Jaskier), one for Yennefer, and one for Ciri. And while the series presents the timelines in an interspersed manner, they're actually not happening concurrently. Yennefer's timeline is the earliest, starting nearly eighty years before the first season's final episode, when she was not yet a beautiful sorceress but a deformed teenager. Geralt's timeline starts roughly 15 years before the final episode - and Yennefer's timeline catches up with it at episode 5 - after that their two timelines take place roughly concurrently. Finally, there's Ciri's timeline, which begins only a year before the final episode. And it doesn't catch up with Geralt and Yennefer until the very last ep. So, technically, when we're following Ciri in these early episodes, we're watching the present time. And when we're following Geralt, we're watching events that happened about 15 years or so before Ciri's timeline. And when we're following Yennefer, we're watching events that took place decades before both Ciri and Geralt.

Yennefer mentions she's been a Kings advisor for 3 decades, so this is 30 years after her segments in the previous episodes. Geralt is in Cintra at Ciri's mother's party at which she is supposed to be chosen a husband. At the end it's revealed Pavetta is pregnant so this story is about 10-15 years before Ciri's segments in the show.

reddit.com › r/witcher › i don’t understand the ending of episode 4. minor spoilers

r/witcher on Reddit: I don’t understand the ending of Episode 4. Minor spoilers

November 12, 2019 -

Why is Geralt forever bound to the unborn child in Episode 4 and why does he say, “fuck,” when it’s revealed that the princess is pregnant?

“The bond between you and this child, when it is born, will be extraordinary.” - Mousesack

I don’t understand this part of the episode.

In the Witcher world, there’s something called the Law of Surprise... you save someone’s life, and in payment you ask for “that which you have, but do not know”. The reward is a surprise... the debtor goes home and finds his dog has had puppies, or his fields have yielded a bumper crop... and that’s the payment, a puppy or some grain. But, sometimes, it’s something more. Sometimes it’s a child... the debtor goes home and finds out his wife is pregnant, or has given birth while he was away. The child is called a Child Surprise, and destiny links the two parties, the saviour and the child. That’s what happened to Duny (the hedgehog guy) and Pavetta... Duny saved her father, and claimed the law of surprise in payment, that surprise was Pavetta, and through him claiming her, having Calanthe accept their marriage, his curse was lifted. Geralt asked Duny for the law of surprise in payment because he didn’t really want a reward, and he doesn’t believe in destiny, he expected a puppy or bumper crop... not a child. He says “fuck” because a child is not something he wants to deal with, a Witchers life is not a good one for a child, as he explains in episode 6. Why the bond between Geralt and Ciri is particularly extraordinary... it’s probably due to a few things, like Ciri being special in her own right, and because she is the child surprise born of a child surprise... her mother was Duny’s child surprise and Ciri is Geralt’s... it’s like a double helping of Destiny, or Destiny squared.

Gerald saved Ciri father so he called the payment via Law of Surprise, Ciri was the surprise so she is now bound to him. Nothing weird she is just like his daughter Edit: adding What Mousesack means was that The child will born with real power and he is a Witcher so the power the will have is amazing

reddit.com › r/witcher › s04e01: episode discussion - what doesn't kill you makes you stronger

r/witcher on Reddit: S04E01: Episode Discussion - What Doesn't Kill You Makes You Stronger

September 16, 2025 -

Episode 1- What Doesn't Kill You Makes You Stronger

The sheer stupidity of the scene where Keira gets stabbed after she opened the gates to yell at Yennifer while THERE'S A FUCKING MOB. That pissed me off

10 minutes in and the story time with this child and her book is possibly the worst exposition dump I’ve ever seen. Feels like it’s written for children. Dialogue is similarly terrible.

reddit.com › r/netflixwitcher › i'm confused (episode 4 spoilers)

r/netflixwitcher on Reddit: I'm confused (episode 4 spoilers)

October 15, 2019 -

I've never played the game or read the novels soo..

In episode 4, is there some timeline jump I'm missing? Why does pavetta look like ciri? Is she her mother? And the Queen, wasn't she killed in episode 1? Pavettas's pregnant.. With ciri? But isn't ciri already alive? Is this the past or something? Could someone explain it to me without giving to much spoilers for the remaining episodes? Or do I need to continue watching to understand it all

Keep watching. The show is jumping between the past and present which makes it a little confusing at first.

Everything you see with Ciri is the present, Geralt & yen is in the past Pavetta is Ciri's mother yes

reddit.com › r/witcher › season 4 - discussion hub - the witcher

r/witcher on Reddit: Season 4 - Discussion Hub - The Witcher

September 8, 2025 -

This thread is for sharing your thoughts and discussing Netflix’s The Witcher Season 4. Feel free to share your reactions, theories, and opinions full spoilers are welcome here.

S04E01: What Doesn’t Kill You Makes You Stronger

S04E02: Dream of a Wish Fulfilled

S04E03: Trial by Ordeal

S04E04: A Sermon of Survival

S04E05: The Joy of Cooking

S04E06: Twilight of the Wolf

S04E07: What I Love I Do Not Carry

S04E08: Baptism of Fire

Hey Ciri, err I mean Falka, my mate just tried to force himself on you 10 seconds ago and you're clearly really upset, we'll bang ok? Ciri: sure thing!

God the writing is abysmal I’ve read better fanfiction. This is supposed to come from a professional writer? Jesus.

reddit.com › r/netflixwitcher › did i completely miss something with the time skip in ep 4?

r/netflixwitcher on Reddit: Did I completely miss something with the time skip in Ep 4?

November 12, 2022 -

I'm a bit drunk, so please don't mind that. But It took me a few minutes to realize at the beginning of Season 1 episode 4, we are now back in time to Geralt visiting the court with princess ciri there? Or are ciri's scenes always in the future? Thanks

Geralt, Yennfer and Ciri all start on their own timeline. The earlist is the one of Yennefer, then Geralts and last Ciri's. In Geralts scenes in episode 4 Ciri is not born yet, however. He meets her mother Pavetta, not Ciri.

There are more of those times skipps, they start right away from the beginning, it's actually pretty interesting to see if you can piece together the whole puzzle, may take several times to watch ;)

reddit.com › r/netflixwitcher › episode 4 has me so confused

r/netflixwitcher on Reddit: Episode 4 has me so confused

July 22, 2017 -

So why did Cintra fall and the queen commit sui then now they’re all back it seems like or are they not back idk. Is the green dressed princess the same one as the ciri girl or what? I’m so confused by basically the whole episode someone explain but don’t spoil at all

This is a jump back in time. The blond princess is Pavetta, Ciris mom. And this monster is Duny, Ciris dad.

Winter is Coming

winteriscoming.net › home › the witcher

The Witcher season 4 episode 1 recap and review: "What Doesn't Kill You Makes You Stronger"

October 30, 2025 - It's a creepy scene and my favorite of the episode for Yen. Burnita's character completely changes while she mocks Yen, before the possession suddenly dissipates and Burnita's eyes explode from a spell Vilgefortz laid to cover his tracks.

showsnob.com › home › netflix

The Witcher season 1, episode 4 recap: Of Banquets, Bastards and Burials

March 11, 2020 - Elsewhere, a portion of Queen Calanthe (Jodhi May) is eaten by a magical seer, who is then himself gutted to magically trace Cirilla to Brokilon Forest (yes, it’s a very weird scene, and not exactly the most useful form of magic imaginable). Later, by the episode’s end, Ciri has a vision of a magical tree in the desert — which must be the legendary Shan-Kayan. For new lyrical material, Jaskier the Bard (Joey Batey) listens to the story of a Witcher being swallowed by a Selkiemore.

The Review Geek

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The Witcher - Season 4 Episode 1 Recap & Review | The Review Geek

November 16, 2025 - The episode does try its best to soften the blow by quickly recapping Geralt’s past with Hemsworth recreating moments from the past seasons. But the problem is that he cannot commit. At times, he tries to mimic Cavill while other times, he decides to turn the witcher into a whole new person.

Autocrat on a Sofa

autocratonasofa.com › 2020 › 01 › 04 › the-witcher-recap-season-1-epsiode-4-of-banquets-bastards-and-burials

The Witcher Recap – Season 1 Epsiode 4: Of Banquets, Bastards and Burials

January 6, 2020 - Cirri hypno-walked to the edge of a forest at the end of last episode and Dara got hit by an arrow trying to follow her. She comes to in a forest and rapidly meets up with some peeps.

tvinsider.com › 842307 › the-witcher-season-1-episode-4-recap-of-banquets-bastards-and-burials

The Women of 'The Witcher' Say to Hell With Tradition in Episode 4 (RECAP)

December 22, 2019 - It’s an episode that explores the treatment of women within the Witcher-verse, the expectations thrust upon them, and the ongoing fight against those expectations. It’s a fight that, at times, seems unwinnable.