Copyright Screen Rant
Warning! Spoilers for The Witcher season 4 ahead! The Witcher season 4 ends as Emhyr (Bart Edwards) turns his sights toward Geralt (Liam Hemsworth), setting up the story for the series' final season. This instalment in the Netflix fantasy franchise picks up as Geralt and Yennefer (Anya Chalotra) set out on their respective journeys to save Ciri (Freya Allan), whom they both believe is being held captive by Emhyr. What they don't know is that Vilgefortz (Mahesh Jadu) delivered an imposter to the Emperor of Nilfgaard. The real Ciri had joined up with a group of young criminals known as the Rats, taking on the alias Falka. During Geralt's long journey toward Nilfgaard with Jaskier and Milva, he is gradually joined by Zoltan's (Danny Woodburn) company, their old friend Yarpen (Jeremy Crawford), a vampire named Regis (Laurence Fishburne), and Cahir (Eamon Farren). The group goes through various misadventures leading up to the Battle for the Bridge on the Yaruga, during which they head up the charge against the Nildgaard soldiers for Queen Meve of Rivia. As all this goes on, Yennefer leads the surviving mages of Aretuza in a resistance against Vilgefortz, and Emhyr continues the desperate search to find the real Ciri to fulfill the prophecy. Meanwhile, Ciri (AKA Falk) settles into a life of crime with the Rats in The Witcher season 4, fully embracing the darker parts of herself. However, the bounty hunter Leo Bonhart (Sharlto Copley) shatters the new life Ciri created for herself. This all leads to the final moments of The Witcher season 4, which sees Emhyr enact a plan to get Geralt out of the way of his destiny with Ciri. Emhyr's Plans For Geralt In The Witcher Season 4's Ending Explained Emhyr's efforts to claim his daughter continue to be thwarted throughout The Witcher season 4. Though he has announced his engagement to the imposter, thereby establishing a weak hold over Cintra, there are too many people who know the truth. If word got out that the real Princess Cirilla was nowhere to be found, it would be disastrous for Emhyr's rule. With the help of his fairly traitorous adviser, Stefan Skellen, Emhyr concludes that the reason he hasn't been able to get his hands on Ciri is because of Geralt of Rivia. Ciri is the Witcher's Child of Surprise, which means their destinies are intrinsically linked. This leaves Emhyr's daughter entirely unavailable for his own plans. However, if Geralt were to die, Ciri's destiny would shift toward the prophecy. Of course, finding Geralt will be no easy task. The Nilfgaardian Emperor ironically chooses to set a monster on the Witcher. We don't see exactly what sort of beast Emhyr has locked away in his palace. The twist of The Witcher season 4's ending is that Emhyr has Renfri's brooch, which he uses to expose the monster to Geralt's scent. There are several layers of irony here. Renfri's brooch was Geralt's most sentimental possession and served as a reminder to stay out of human affairs. When Geralt chose to put everything he had into saving Ciri, it was clear that he could no longer maintain this neutrality. He traded the brooch at the end of The Witcher season 3 as a symbol of this change in mindset. Now, this same symbol is being used against Geralt. Leo Bonhart Murdered The Rats & Has Ciri Held Captive While Emhyr makes efforts to eliminate Geralt, he doesn't know that Skellen's hired sword already has her captive. Leo Bonhart is easily among the most brutal and frightening villains of The Witcher. He takes immense pleasure in killing Geralt's kind, which makes him uniquely equipped to defeat Ciri in combat. Bonhart quickly discovers that the Princess of Cintra is hiding out among the Rats, whom he happens to have tangled with before. Bonhart sets a trap for the Rats, but Ciri isn't initially among them. After learning that her friends had lied to her, Falka set out to stop Hotspurn and correct her wrongs. It was then that she learned of Bonhart's trap and rushed back to Jealousy. Unfortunately, Ciri arrived too late. The Rats had all been killed, and Ciri herself was defeated in battle. The last we see of Ciri in The Witcher season 4, she is bound to a pillar and forced to watch Bonhart decapitate Mistle's corpse. What Geralt's Knighting By The Queen Of Rivia Really Means While on their journey, Geralt and co. find themselves leading the Northern army at the Battle for the Bridge on the Yaruga. It was all thanks to them that Queen Meve was able to get safely across the river, and, as a reward, Geralt was Knighted. This is yet another ironic aspect of The Witcher season 4's ending. Though Geralt called himself "Geralt of Rivia," he wasn't actually from that country. It was simply a name he took on to make himself sound more trustworthy. Queen Meve made it clear that being a knight of Rivia meant that Geralt was bound to her, completely and totally. After Geralt's knighting in The Witcher season 4, the title he had claimed for himself all those years before became official. However, there's a catch. Queen Meve made it clear that being a knight of Rivia meant that Geralt was bound to her, completely and totally. He would have to follow her orders and could no longer prioritize his own goals. It's another obstacle in Geralt's mission to save Ciri. Yennefer Is Closing In On Vilgefortz In The Witcher Season 4's Finale Throughout The Witcher season 4, Yennefer did all she could to build up a resistance against Vilgefortz. Now established at Montecalvo, the remaining mages joined forces with Vesemir and the Witchers to defend the castle. Without portals, however, their resistance slowly began to buckle. It wasn't until Istredd sacrificed himself to undo the portal blocker he had unwittingly helped Vilgefortz create that the tides of the battle changed. Defeated, Vilgefortz fled Montecalvo and returned to Stygga Castle in The Witcher season 4. With Triss' help, Yennefer was able to take a portal as near to Vilgefortz's location as possible. The last we saw of Yennefer, she had emerged from the portal in the middle of the ocean, where she began swimming toward the vortex that would carry her to Vilgefortz's hideout at Stygga. Stribog & Nimue's Roles In The Witcher Explained Warning! The remainder of this article contains spoilers for the Witcher book series and potentially for The Witcher season 5. The first episode of The Witcher season 4 introduced Stribog and Nimue, two characters who live near Yaruga about 100 years after the central events of this installment. Stribog is a traveling storyteller, while Nimue is a young girl obsessed with his tales about Geralt, Yennefer, and Ciri. The pair return again in The Witcher season 4's finale. This time, Nimue is an adult, and she's preparing to train to be a mage at Aretuza. Nimue states in The Witcher season 4 that she feels that her destiny is somehow linked to Ciri's. According to the Witcher books by Andrzej Sapkowski, she's entirely correct. After becoming a mage, Nimue will encounter Ciri, who becomes lost jumping through portals through time and space. Knowing that Ciri needs to get to Strygga Castle to save Geralt and Yennefer, Nimue creates a portal that will take her to this location (and in the right century). Thus, Nimue proves pivotal to Ciri's story. Nimue comes to be known as The Lady of the Lake, which is also the title of the last book in the Witcher series. What's Next For Geralt After The Witcher Season 4 (According To The Books) Just as The Witcher season 4's ending implies, Geralt's knighthood will prove to be a problem. In Sapkowski's Witcher books, Queen Meve refuses Geralt's request to continue his journey to find the Druids, leaving him no choice but to escape the Rivian army's encampment without permission. From here, Geralt's story takes a direction that is unlikely to play out in Netflix's The Witcher. After more travel, Geralt and his companions end up in Toussaint, where he comes to believe that Yennefer has betrayed him to Vilgefortz. During this time, Geralt takes up a relationship with Fringilla, who manipulates him into staying in Toussaint rather than continuing his quest. Given Yennefer and Fringilla's alliance in The Witcher, and the far more stable relationship between Geralt and Yennefer, this doesn't quite fit with Netflix's version of the story. Instead, The Witcher season 5 is more likely to jump to the next stage in Geralt's adventures, which sees him run in with Skellen and discover that Vilgefortz is hiding out at Stygga Castle, where Yennefer has been taken captive. Geralt's arrival at Stygga results in a reunion with both Ciri and Yennefer, as well as a massive showdown with nearly all The Witcher season 4's biggest villains. How The Witcher Season 4 Sets Up The Show's Final Season There's only one season left in The Witcher after season 4, and there's a whole lot to cover. As of now, each primary character is set up for their journey to and reunion at Strygga Castle. Yennefer is essentially at Vilgefortz's doorstep, and, according to the books, will be captured and held captive there as bait for Ciri and Geralt. Ciri's captivity by Leo Bonhart will lead to a long, dark arc in The Witcher season 5. However, the introduction of Nimue suggests that Ciri will soon discover her ability to portal through time and space—though she will need some help learning to control this power. The conflicts with Emhyr, Vilgefortz, and Leo Bonhart will all come to a head at Strygga Castle in The Witcher season 5.
