The Witcher’ Season 3 Part 1 Ending Explained: Stregobor is not the real threat to Princess Ciri but [SPOILER] is

Stergobor has been at odds with Geralt of Rivia since the time he persuaded the Witcher to kill Renfri who had developed a liking for Geralt
Stregobor was falsely accused of corrupting portals and kidnapping novices to hurt Ciri (@Netflix/YouTube)
Stregobor was falsely accused of corrupting portals and kidnapping novices to hurt Ciri (@Netflix/YouTube)

Spoilers for ‘The Witcher’ Season 3 Part 1

LOS ANGELES, CALIFORNIA: ‘The Witcher’ has returned for its third season on Netflix, taking us along into the world of fantasy once again. Geralt has one mission — train Ciri and save her from all the people, monsters, and sinister out there to take or kill her as per their convenience. He has Yennefer, the fire-inducing Mage who is now in love with him. She eventually calls for an alliance of all the houses on the continent to fight the Nilfgaard empire and appeals to the Brotherhood with unity. 

The houses of Verden, Kaedwen, Temeria, Aedrin, Lyria, and Redania all listen to her but she soon realizes that the task is more humongous than it looks. Geralt who now believes that Ciri is adequately trained as a Witcher, imparts wisdom that helps her believe that she can still be Queen. But in the final episode of Part One of the third season, Geralt and Yennefer learn that Stregobor is hellbent on killing Ciri and has devised a plan for it. He’s implanting Ciri’s memories in young women who he has captured and kept in a castle. Geralt believes that Stregobor is using Rience in his villainous endeavors and arrives at Aretuza along with Yennefer to expose and kill him. But to his horror, the duo learns that Stregobor is innocent.

Who wants to kill Princess Ciri?

Geralt and Yennefer learn that Stregobor is using a book of Monoliths to disrupt space-time which directory affects traveling through a portal. Yennefer along with the Council finds the book in Stregobor’s room which reveals his true intentions to hurt Princess Ciri. Stregobor denies these allegations but his trial is all but certain. Geralt thinks he’s outsmarted Stregobor and killed all his ploys to hurt Ciri. However, after conversing with Vilgefortz during the lavish ball, Geralt realizes that Stergobor may not be guilty. 

Vilgefortz is a Kovirian mage and the de facto leader of the Chapter of the Gift and the Art (@Netflix/YouTube)
Vilgefortz is a Kovirian mage and the de facto leader of the Chapter of the Gift and the Art (@Netflix/YouTube)                     

Vilgefortz narrates his journey as an orphan and how he was left to die in a gutter. He also stands before the painting of ‘The First Landing’, telling Geralt about how the Brotherhood came into being. And this eventually exposes him. Yennefer later tells Geralt that when her portal was corrupted, she went to the same place that Vilgefortz spoke about in the painting. His apprehensions are also confirmed when Philippa warns Yennefer about Vilgefortz. Yennefer and Geralt deduce that Vilgefortz is Reince’s master and the man behind the sick operation of using the book of the monolith to hurt Princess Ciri. It’s not Stregobor but Vilgefortz who is after Princess Ciri.

Why does Vilgefortz want to kill Princess Ciri?

Vilgefortz is incredibly ambitious and power-hungry and has secret ties with Emhyr var Emreis, the Emperor of Nilfgaard, also Princess Ciri's father. This had begun many years before the wars, while Emhyr was still hiding under the alias of Duny. Vilgefortz's thirst for unlimited power brought him to the conclusion that he needed the blood of Duny's daughter, Ciri, to claim her powers because she was a descendant of Lara Dorren.



 

He is said to have recruited Rience to find Ciri and bring her to him. Also, Emhyr had promised him the throne to the north after Nilfgaard wins the war against the alliance. If Vilgefortz finds Ciri, he might trade with Emhyr for a powerful position but if Emhyr backs down from his promise, Vilgefortz will use Ciri’s blood to become all-powerful. 

‘The Witcher’ Season 3 Part 1 is currently streaming on Netflix.

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