"The novels that follow - like the past few seasons of the TV show, which adapted Sapkowski's Blood of Elves and Time of Contempt - considerably narrow the path to focus on Ciri, whose life is so overwhelmingly tragic that The Witcher has largely lost its comedic edge. Your mileage may vary, but I still miss the era in which The Witcher 's stakes were lower than, you know, the end of the world as we know it."
"So I'll say this for The Witcher's fourth season: This is, at least, still a TV show where someone can say, "You did not put the Queen of Elves in your cleavage" and have it make perfect sense in the context of the plot. That line belongs to Triss Merigold, who is shocked when Yennefer pulls a small jade statue out of her decolletage and transforms it back into Francesca Findabair, the elven queen still grieving the loss of both her husband and her infant heir."
"Yes: The Vilgefortz problem has grown big enough that Yennefer will resort to a little magic-assisted kidnapping if it might help resolve it. And while the odds of toppling Vilgefortz and saving Ciri might seem long, she is making progress. In addition to winning Francesca to her cause, the episode also reveals that Fringilla Vigo is also acting as Yennefer's mole, insinuating herself with Vilgefortz while passing information back to the sorceresses."
Over the course of its lengthy story, The Witcher's scope narrows significantly. The first two Witcher books are short story collections with varied tone and content, presenting standalone Geralt adventures alternating between comic and tragic. Later novels concentrate on Ciri, whose overwhelmingly tragic life shifts the series away from its earlier comedic edge. The television adaptation follows this narrowing, increasing stakes toward existential threats. Season four preserves occasional levity, exemplified by a line about a Queen of Elves in a cleavage. Yennefer resorts to magic-assisted kidnapping to recruit Francesca, while Fringilla acts as a mole within Vilgefortz's circle.
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