The Witcher Fans Hated Lauren Hissrich for This Decision; Showrunner Explains [SPOILERS]

Netflix Geeked hosted a candid conversation with the creators of The Witcher Season 2. Through it, we learned more about some of the controversial decisions made by the screenwriters.

SPOILER ALERT!

If you haven't watched the second season of The Witcher and you're allergic to somebody revealing information crucial to the plot, for your own good, stop reading at this point.

"In all honesty, the very first version of the script we wrote was a brand new Witcher that we’d never met before, we’d never heard of, and all of a sudden, we were like, Oh. Our audience is going to meet Coen, Lambert, Eskel, and John. Who’s going to die? John is going to die."

This is how showrunner Lauren Schmidt Hissrich talks about one of the most controversial moments in The Witcher season 2 in an interview with the show's crew. It's about, you've probably guessed it, about Eskel's death, with which majority of fans of Andrzej Sapkowski's universe cannot come to terms.

As Hissrich argues:

"His death is what changes everything for Geralt, and I think it propels Geralt’s need to find out what’s going on with Ciri and to do it fast because he knows that he knows he’s gonna risk losing her and his brothers if he doesn’t.”

The Witcher Fans Hated Lauren Hissrich for This Decision; Showrunner Explains [SPOILERS] - picture #1

Eskel! Eeeeskel!

Personally, I understand those who criticize the series for going in this direction, but I approach it a little differently. On the one hand, you can be angry with the writers for making such a bold decision. On the other hand, however, it gives the audience a certain element of unpredictability and introduces confusion. A flag goes off in the viewer's head: "hey, anything can happen here". Nothing is certain, even if I know Sapkowski's original work inside out. The actors themselves make similar comments:

"It keeps us on our toes. Now everyone thinks nobody is safe," explains Paul Bullion, who plays Lambert.

It's to be hoped that this brash approach to the source material will be matched by an increasingly high production value. Otherwise, it will only add fuel to the fire of initiatives similar to the recent petition to dismiss Hissrich from her position as showrunner.