You are correct. There are three linear timelines: Yennefer's, Geralt's, and Ciri's, which start at different times but all coincide by the final two episodes.

Here is a timeline of the events depicted in the show:


Dates and relative position of events are taken from 3 sources:

In-show dialogue:

Ep.1 Ciri: You won your first battle at Hochebuz when you were my age.

Ep.1 Renfri: Queen Calanthe of Cintra, she just won her first battle at Hochebuz.

Ep.3 Tissaia: Princess Calanthe? Good luck with that. Word is she's even more stubborn than her father is.

Note: This event occurring in 1210 contradicts the official timeline stating Calanthe was born in 1216.

Ep.3-4 Yennefer: Instead, I've spent the last three decades cleaning up stupid political messes.

Ep.4-5 Jaskier: What's it been, months? Years? What is time, anyway?

Ep.2-5 Jaskier: Oh, are we not using "friend"? Yeah, sure. Let's just give it another decade.

Ep.4-7 Geralt: I've been away twelve years and I'd planned on staying that way.

Ep.7-8 Yurga: Cintran refugees, dead at least a week.

Ep.8 Sabrina: It hasn't been two days yet. How is Nilfgaard's army here already?

Showrunner's comments:

... Ciri's story takes place over two weeks, Yennefer's takes place over, you know, it's like 70 years. Geralt's takes place over 20 years.

- Interview with tvguide.com

Note that Geralt's timeline spanning 20 years does not match up with:

1. Ep01 occurring shortly after the Battle of Hochebuz (which Calanthe won at Ciri's age ~13).
2. Pavetta being pregnant with Ciri at the Banquet at Cintra.
3. Ciri being ~13 in the present day.

A more reasonable timespan is around ~30 years, which coincides with the dates given in the books.

Official Netflix timeline

  1. https://www.witchernetflix.com/

  2. A quick crash course in the multiple timelines of The Witcher. #TheWitcher

    - NX - @NXOnNetflix, 10:52 AM - 7 Jan 2020

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Express.co.uk
express.co.uk › showbiz › tv-radio › 1220850 › The-Witcher-episode-4-explained-S01E04-1x04-Of-Banquets-Bastards-and-Burials-law-surprise
The Witcher episode 4 explained: What happened in Of Banquets, Bastards and Burials? | TV & Radio | Showbiz & TV | Express.co.uk
December 29, 2021 - WARNING: This article contains spoilers from The Witcher season 1 ... Of Banquets, Bastards and Burials sees Geralt (Cavill) and bard Jaskier (Joey Batey) in Cintra, heading to the palace of Queen Calanthe (Jodhi May). They were there well before the fall on Cintra from episode one, which means these events happened in the past and before Ciri (Freya Allan) was even born.
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Reddit
reddit.com › r/witcher › confused about ep 4 and the timeline of the show
r/witcher on Reddit: Confused about ep 4 and the timeline of the show
August 10, 2019 -

Im on ep 4 right, and during all the episodes it cuts between geralt yen and ciri, but in episode 4 when geralt goes to the ball ciris grandma and grandpa are alive, are all the episodes when transfering back and forth during different times? Are certain moments showing the different characters in completely different moments or do some episodes take place in different times while others all at the same time?

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Forbes
forbes.com › forbes homepage › innovation › gaming
Confused About 'The Witcher'? This Timeline ...
November 18, 2024 - Geralt reveals his last wish, though ... which upsets her. Timeline #4 — 1263 — 53 years have passed since the beginning of the show and Ciri is only just entering the story....
Top answer
1 of 3
27

You are correct. There are three linear timelines: Yennefer's, Geralt's, and Ciri's, which start at different times but all coincide by the final two episodes.

Here is a timeline of the events depicted in the show:


Dates and relative position of events are taken from 3 sources:

In-show dialogue:

Ep.1 Ciri: You won your first battle at Hochebuz when you were my age.

Ep.1 Renfri: Queen Calanthe of Cintra, she just won her first battle at Hochebuz.

Ep.3 Tissaia: Princess Calanthe? Good luck with that. Word is she's even more stubborn than her father is.

Note: This event occurring in 1210 contradicts the official timeline stating Calanthe was born in 1216.

Ep.3-4 Yennefer: Instead, I've spent the last three decades cleaning up stupid political messes.

Ep.4-5 Jaskier: What's it been, months? Years? What is time, anyway?

Ep.2-5 Jaskier: Oh, are we not using "friend"? Yeah, sure. Let's just give it another decade.

Ep.4-7 Geralt: I've been away twelve years and I'd planned on staying that way.

Ep.7-8 Yurga: Cintran refugees, dead at least a week.

Ep.8 Sabrina: It hasn't been two days yet. How is Nilfgaard's army here already?

Showrunner's comments:

... Ciri's story takes place over two weeks, Yennefer's takes place over, you know, it's like 70 years. Geralt's takes place over 20 years.

- Interview with tvguide.com

Note that Geralt's timeline spanning 20 years does not match up with:

1. Ep01 occurring shortly after the Battle of Hochebuz (which Calanthe won at Ciri's age ~13).
2. Pavetta being pregnant with Ciri at the Banquet at Cintra.
3. Ciri being ~13 in the present day.

A more reasonable timespan is around ~30 years, which coincides with the dates given in the books.

Official Netflix timeline

  1. https://www.witchernetflix.com/

  2. A quick crash course in the multiple timelines of The Witcher. #TheWitcher

    - NX - @NXOnNetflix, 10:52 AM - 7 Jan 2020

2 of 3
4

Here's a chart I made recently. It briefly covers the events and their time of occurrence in the series.

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IGN
ign.com › articles › 2020 › 01 › 08 › netflixs-the-witcher-timeline-explained
Netflix's The Witcher Timeline Explained - IGN
January 11, 2020 - In Episode 4, "Of Banquets, Bastards and Burials," Geralt has been already palling around with Jaskier, whom he met in Episode 2 ("Four Marks), for a spell. Jaskier asks Geralt to protect him at betrothal feast of Princess Pavetta - Ciri's mother.
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Vulture
vulture.com › 2019 › 12 › the-witcher-recap-season-1-episode-4-of-banquets-bastards-and-burials.html
The Witcher Recap, Season 1 Episode 4
December 21, 2019 - The Witcher’s chronology has been needlessly convoluted so far, but the events of this episode bring some clarity. Calanthe, who died by suicide in the premiere episode, is younger, cockier, and at the height of her power here. Her daughter, Pavetta, is in line for the throne, and Pavetta’s daughter — Princess Ciri, the star of her very own story in her very own timeline — hasn’t even been born yet.
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CBR
cbr.com › home › tv news › the witcher: season 1’s confusing timeline, explained (finally)
The Witcher: Season 1’s Confusing Timeline, Explained (Finally)
January 11, 2020 - After Yenn transforms and introduces herself to King Virfuril of Aedirn, she serves the kingdom for at least three decades, a fact Yennefer herself reveals in her conversation with Queen Kalis in Episode 4, "Of Banquets, Bastards and Burials," ...
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Cinemablend
cinemablend.com › streaming news
The Witcher's Timeline Explained: Everything You Need To Know | Cinemablend
December 10, 2024 - This very important episode (Episode ... saw Geralt accidentally bind himself to Ciri forever, sees Jaskier and the Witcher attend royal festivities at the court of Queen Calanthe of Cintra, held to find a husband for her daughter, Pavetta...
Find elsewhere
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Polygon
polygon.com › home › explainer › breaking down the witcher’s complicated, crisscrossing timeline
The Witcher: an easy breakdown of season 1’s complicated timelines
December 31, 2019 - The first season of Netflix’s The Witcher covers approximately 40 years of the main characters’ history. To make it through all those experiences, the series takes place in four different timelines. Unless you’re familiar with the books, the time jumping can make the action somewhat difficult to keep track of.
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Reddit
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 - There's a 30 year time skip for Yen's timeline in this episode bringing it closer to Geralt's. ... i got very confused with this, so it seems Geralt's and Yennefers Scenes are set in the past whilst Ciri's scenes are set in present? or was that just in this episode? which also baffles me at the 3rd episode. it seemed so familiar, with the striga. is it the recreation of the Witcher ...
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Reddit
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 - 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.
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Mashable
mashable.com › home › entertainment › tv shows
This is the actual timeline of events in Netflix's 'The Witcher' | Mashable
Later in the episode (but earlier in the timeline), Renfri tells Geralt that Calanthe recently won that same battle, putting the start of Geralt's adventures in whatever year Calanthe was as young as Ciri is at the banquet. We know from Calanthe's pre-Slaughter argument with Geralt in Episode 7 that the witcher hadn't been in Cintra for 12 years, having left when Pavetta was in her first trimester of pregnancy with Ciri.
Published   December 31, 2019
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Straight Dope Message Board
boards.straightdope.com › cafe society
The Witcher, S1:E4, I'm Confused (Open Spoilers) - Cafe Society - Straight Dope Message Board
January 5, 2020 - Been watching The Witcher on Netflix, just finished Episode 4. It bears noting that I have neither read the books nor played the video games (tried one, couldn’t get into it). So obviously there’s a lot of context that I…
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Vulture
vulture.com › 2019 › 12 › the-witcher-timeline-in-order-chronology-explained.html
‘The Witcher’ Timeline Jumps & Time Jumps Explained in Order
December 26, 2019 - For reasons that remain unclear, Geralt was abandoned by his mother, Visenna, and left in the care of a witcher named Vesemir, who put Geralt through the trials that made him a witcher as well. 3. Geralt has some adventures, Yennefer abandons life at court (episodes 1-3) You could get really granular here, because there are plenty of contextual clues that indicate, roughly, when each of these stories is taking place. (A rule of thumb: Listen for any reference to Cintra and/or Queen Calanthe. The better things are going for Cintra, the earlier we are in the timeline.)
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Forbes
forbes.com › forbes homepage › innovation › gaming
One Important Thing To Know To Make Netflix’s ‘The Witcher’ Less Confusing
November 18, 2024 - ... Yennefer’s story starts as oldest timeline. In one episode we see her meet two members of a royal family that Geralt ends up meeting when the young boy is now a 60+ year old king in his timeline.
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ScreenRant
screenrant.com › home › tv features › the witcher: timeline, flashbacks & connections you missed
The Witcher: Timeline, Flashbacks & Connections You Missed
December 29, 2019 - The split timelines of Yennefer, Geralt, and Ciri are going to be picked up on at different speeds by every viewer, but the time difference between what viewers think is happening concurrently -- Geralt meeting Renfri and the invasion of Cintra are in reality close to thirty years apart -- is given away in the very first episode. Which means if there is one line of dialogue that detail-oriented viewers will be kicking themselves over, it's this one. RELATED: The Witcher: Geralt's Last Wish For [SPOILER] Explained
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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 - Yennefer travels with Queen Karlis of Lyria, apparently on secondment bodyguard duty as they slowly travel on a track through a forest in heavy winter. It's 30 years after the ball for Yennefer, who either doesn't age or does it…
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Ready Steady Cut
readysteadycut.com › home › platform › netflix › the witcher recap: everybody likes surprises
The Witcher Season 1, Episode 4 recap: "Of Banquets, Bastards and Burials"
January 1, 2023 - Both Ciri and Dara (Wilson Radjou-Pujalte), who has been healed of his injuries, are to drink. The Witcher Episode 4 returns to court where an argument between two nobles has erupted over which of them has really killed a manticore.
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PC Gamer
pcgamer.com › games › rpg › the witcher › the witcher (tv series)
The Witcher episode 4 recap: Our heroes deal with a cursed knight and a magical assassin | PC Gamer
December 21, 2019 - Ciri visits an enchanted forest, Yennefer faces an assassin, and we learn the intricacies of the Law of Surprise.