‘The Witcher’ Season 3 Episode 4 Recap: It’s All Connected – Armessa Movie News

With each new episode, Season 3 of The Witcher approaches what seems to be the most significant conflict the series has seen so far. Episode 4, “The Invitation,” keeps this trend by getting the whole gang back together in Aretuza, the den of a powerful unknown mage who has nefarious purposes for Ciri’s (Freya Allan) unique magic abilities. By now, we are all confident that things will end bloody before the mid-season finale, as there’s just no way so many opposing forces will find a peaceful way to solve their differences. Still, while the storm is on the horizon, Season 3, Episode 4 also allows its main character to enjoy some calm, forging emotional bonds that’ll be put to the test when swords start to swing.

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The Battle on the Raft

After rescuing Ciri from the Wild Hunt, Geralt of Rivia (Henry Cavill) tells his daughter they should go to Aretuza. Ciri initially fled Yennefer (Anya Chalotra) because she didn’t want to spend time with the pompous and self-centered mages of Aretuza. Nevertheless, Ciri knows Geralt must have his reasons and still follows the White Wolf. So, Geralt and Ciri meet Jaskier (Joey Batey) to board a raft that will help them travel straight to the Brotherhood of Sorcerers’ headquarters.

Once they get to the raft, however, the trio finds that it won’t depart due to the threat of a monster. Wanting to show how good she has become at monster hunting, Ciri convinces Geralt to offer their services in exchange for a free ride. Feeling safe with the presence of a Witcher, the raft owner decides to leave port and take the passengers to Aretuza, and the trio is joined by a musical group led by Valdo Marx (Nathan Armakwei Laryea), Jaskier’s nemesis. Valdo and his troupe were invited to perform at Aretuza’s Conclave of Mages, which only makes Jaskier more irritated by his presence.

Despite warnings from Ciri and Geralt, Valdo and his musicians still find the need to steal the spotlight and start to sing in the middle of the trip. The noise attracts an aeschna, the aquatic creature that threatened to drive the raft’s owner out of business. The aeschna knocks down one of Valdo’s fellow musicians before Geralt and Ciri engage the beast. Their combat is fierce, with Ciri showing how much she learned under Geralt’s tutelage. Ciri is even the one to land the final blow to the aeschna, an action that makes Geralt visibly proud.

After the fight, Ciri teases Geralt with the idea of leaving the Continent’s strife behind and forging a new life, hunting monsters for gold. Impressed by how much Ciri has grown, Geralt shares the horrors he witnessed at the abandoned castle in Episode 2 with the girl. The villain behind Rience (Sam Woolf) wants to control Ciri’s power, and he has been hurting dozens of girls as part of his twisted experiments. As such, Geralt and Ciri must go to Aretuza, unveil the truth, and slay Rience’s master. Otherwise, they would just be dooming more innocent lives. Ciri agrees with Geralt, and while she’s still unsure about her purpose, she knows they must do whatever it takes to take down the monstrous mage behind everything.

Yennefer Is Targeted by the Unknown Mage

While Geralt, Ciri, and Jaskier travel to Aretuza, Yennefer presents herself to the Brotherhood of Sorcerers to ask for a Conclave. The mages are still mad at Yennefer for choosing not to execute Cahir (Eamon Farren), a decision that shattered the trust of the Northern Kingdoms in the Brotherhood. Still, Yennefer is humble and apologetic, convincing the Brotherhood that union is the only thing that can save them from the Nilfgaardian threat. Because of that, the Brotherhood is almost unanimous in support of Yennefer’s idea. One of the few mages who don’t vote in favor of the Conclave is Stregobor (Lars Mikkelsen), who we know from Episode 1 is working with Rience.

All the mages of Aretuza start to send invitations and prepare the premises for the Conclave of Mages, hoping to host all the magic wielders of the Continent and put their differences aside. Since some mages are harder to convince than others, Yennefer volunteers to deliver Philippa’s (Cassie Clare) invitation in person. So, Yennefer goes to Redania through a portal conjured by Vilgefortz (Mahesh Jadu), a gateway that’s supposedly impossible to be intercepted.

In Redania, Yennefer meets Dijkstra (Graham McTavish) and Philippa at the queen’s funeral. At first, the mage and the spymaster refuse to attend the Conclave as they don’t think the Brotherhood can help them achieve their goals. However, King Vizimir (Ed Birch) realizes Yennefer is at the funeral and confronts her. Yennefer uses the occasion to apologize and preach about the need to unite the North against Nilfgaard. Since the king thinks Nilfgaard assassinated his wife, he orders Dijkstra and Philippa to attend the Conclave. Vizimir also sends his brother, Prince Radovid (Hugh Skinner), to report on the event.

Everything seems to unfold as Yennefer wants it, but when she jumps back into the portal to Aretuza, she gets teleported to distant shores, where Geralt awaits her. Geralt asks Yennefer where Ciri is. Confused, the mage replies she thought the girl was with her father. Geralt then attacks Yennefer. Realizing that everything is part of an illusion, Yennefer fights back and jumps through another portal to Aretuza. Vilgefortz’s portal was intercepted after all, and now the enemy knows the whereabouts of Ciri.

‘The Witcher’ Season 3 Sets the Stage for a Huge Fight

Once Geralt, Ciri, and Jaskier arrive in Aretuza, the whole party is back together. Ciri apologizes to Yennefer for escaping, and the two mend their broken bond. Geralt also meets Yennefer with a kiss and warm embrace, showing he has forgiven her for her past mistakes. Furthermore, Jaskier and Ciri have some time to spend alone, growing closer to each other. Finally, Radovid knocks at Jaskier’s door, which leads the two men to profess their passion for each other and make love. There’s a lot of character growth packed in Season 3, Episode 4, and it feels great that our protagonists find the time to enjoy each other’s company before fate inevitably tears them all apart. That’s because The Witcher is setting the stage for a huge fight.

By discussing the clues they collected in their adventures, Geralt and Yennefer conclude Stregobor must be the mage behind everything, which makes sense considering his inclination for bizarre experiments. They can’t just kill Stregobor, though, as first, they must present proof of his actions before the Brotherhood. Similarly, Dijkstra and Philippa decide to use the Conclave to expose Rience’s true master and eliminate the competition. Finally, Triss (Anna Shaffer) and Istredd (Royce Pierreson) join forces to investigate the disappearance of Aretuza’s students and the vanishing of the Book of Monoliths. And after they use a location spell to learn the book’s whereabouts, they supposedly figure out the identity of the person behind all the woes afflicting the Brotherhood. Together, they also want to use the Conclave to reveal the truth. While many different players are in action, everyone’s objectives finally converge. It’s almost time for the battle to begin.

Is Nilfgaard Crashing the Party?

While almost every main character of The Witcher is in Aretuza by the time Episode 4 ends, some major forces still make their moves elsewhere. After killing his friend Gallatin (Robbie Amell) to prove his allegiance to Nilfgaard, Cahir receives a mysterious mission from the Emperor (Bart Edwards). And while we don’t know the details of this mission, we know it involves Francesca (Mecia Simson) and an invitation that looks much like the ones sent to announce the Conclave of Mages.

Cahir takes men, supplies, and weapons to Francesca’s camp, revealing that Gallatin tried to perform a coup but was stopped by the White Flame. Cahir also tells Francesca they should be working together to find Ciri. In doing so, the White Flame is willing to let Francesca use the girl’s power to find Elves a new home, while Francesca’s forces can ensure the young princess will sit on the throne of Nilfgaard. Francesca is unconvinced until Cahir gives her the piece of paper he got from the Emperor. After that, Francesca agrees to work once more for the White Flame. And considering what’s happening elsewhere, it seems likely Nilfgaard will crash the Aretuza party.

Episode 4 also includes two tiny loose threads that might pay off later this season. For starters, once Fringilla (Mimi Ndiweni) escapes Nilfgaard’s dungeons, she decides to party like there’s no tomorrow. However, she gains a new mysterious purpose after she learns boats are being attacked. In addition, King Vizimir sends one of his commanders to summon the Navy of Redania to seize Aretuza, but the man is murdered on his way to the military camp. We don’t know why the commander was killed and what Vizimir’s intentions are with sending troops to Aretuza. But once all hell breaks loose in the next episode, we should know better how these hanging threads are connected to the Conclave of Mages.

The Witcher Season 3, Volume 1 is currently available on Netflix. Volume 2 will be released on July 27.