Is That Beloved Character Dead After The Witcher Finale?

When you enter Netflix’s Witcher finale, “Much More,” you expect one mystery to be solved: Can our heroes defeat Nilfgaard, the bloodthirsty nation tearing through The Continent? The 2019 season-ender does hint at a resolution there, as Yennefer (Anya Chalotra) helps lead the Brotherhood mage’s final stand against Nilfgaard. Yennefer guides various Witcher mages through successful battles and, in a final act of heroism, unleashes waves of fire upon Nilfgaard’s army. It’s a moment that suggests that all hope isn’t lost just yet.

But then Yennefer disappears. 

Did Yennefer sacrifice herself for the greater good? Is she dead? Although the mage's finale vanishing act is deeply troubling, The Witcher does leave a few breadcrumbs to signal we haven’t seen the last of Yennefer of Vengerberg. 

The most obviously promising clue is the fact that we don’t see a body after Yennefer finishes her extreme act of magic. She may be crying blood and look exhausted, but once she’s done, we don’t see her gory, tired corpse crumbled on the battlefield. In fantasy series like The Witcher, you shouldn’t consider the possibility of someone being dead — particularly a lead character — until you see their dead body. And even then there could still be some hope — ask Jon Snow (Kit Harington). 

This point is particularly powerful since “Much More” shows us what a mage looks like when one fatally overextends themself during battle. At the top of the episode, Nilfgaard mage Fringilla (Mimi Ndiweni) orders her magical underlings to send deadly fireballs to the side of the Brotherhood rebels. One of the underling mages looks terrified by the request after Yennefer blocks the first attack. The camera then pans to reveal the fate of the mage who tossed the first fireball: They are dead and left as a smoking pile of ashes on the floor. 

When the second mage creates a fireball, we see her face quickly cave in and begin to turn to ash. Once she successfully produces the weapon, her body disintegrates and falls to the floor. Now Fringilla is standing next to two burning corpse piles. Both of those piles were the result of dangerous fire magic. 

Yet when Yennefer produces streams of fire in her final scene of season 1, we see no such deadly results. As previously mentioned, Yennefer does start crying blood, but she still powers through the magic. Since we never see a single piece of ash flying off of Yennefer and her flowing gown in this last moment, it’s difficult to believe she died in the precise manner Fringilla’s subordinates did performing a similar task.. 

Then there are the narrative clues Witcher leaves to hint Yennefer is still alive. Towards the end of the finale, Witcher’s titular hero Geralt of Rivia (Henry Cavill with a Legolas wig) speaks to his estranged mother Visenna during a fever dream vision. Visenna, apparently a powerful mage herself, tells Geralt to “find what he let go of” and “find her.” 

We’re supposed to assume Visenna, who may be all-knowing, is talking about Geralt’s ex Yennefer. 

This is a detail that is bolstered by three subsequent scenes. Firstly, Visenna’s comments are immediately followed by the camera's return to Yennefer’s narrative on the battlefield. We literally “find her” in the same way Geralt is supposed to. Then, the next time we see Geralt after his conversation with Visenna, he is screaming for Yennefer. This moment is so powerful it forces Ciri (Freya Allan), who is connected to Geralt by destiny, awake. Ciri is miles from Geralt at this point. The last words of Witcher season 1 are about Yennefer rather than the possible end of the world. When Geralt and Ciri meet in “Much More’s” last scene, she asks him, “Who is Yennefer?” 

With three words, The Witcher has laid the groundwork for a season 2 all about tracking down Yennefer. It’s here you remember that our very first introduction to Yennefer in second episode “Four Marks” told us she is able to instantly teleport during the most stressful of situations. Raining fire down upon The Continent’s thinly-veiled allusion to World War II-era Nazis classifies as stressful. 

Luckily for Geralt, and now Ciri, as everyone on The Continent keeps saying, people linked by destiny will always find each other.