Heartwarming / The Witcher (2019)

They were linked by destiny, and found each other.

Season 1

Episode 1: The End's Beginning

• Eist is a doting grandparent towards Ciri, letting her play with common children and teaching her knucklebones.
• The banter between first Eist and Ciri, gossiping behind Calanthe's back during a ceremony, only for Calanthe to join in, under the guise of chiding them both for a lack of royal decorum. It really cements the bonds of family between them - and, of course, sets up the devastation of Eist and Calanthe's deaths.

Episode 2: Four Marks

• Ciri is welcomed by Adon and his family, particularly his mother who chooses to shelter and care for Ciri without a moment's hesitation, even though she's a medieval widow and refugee who's stuck in a war zone. She even stays up at night to comfort the young girl when her trauma keeps her awake.
• Geralt convinces the elves to stop being grain thieves in a way that spares their pride. Leave the area, go away from humans, rebuild, grow strong again. He even gives them the 150 ducat he was paid to slay the "devil" to help them on their way.
• Jaskier starts following Geralt for inspiration for new songs. After seeing Geralt in action, and how non-butchery he is, he decides to fix his Hero with Bad Publicity problem. The first song he devises is about how heroic the witcher is, defeating an "army of elves" and driving out a pesky "silver-tongued devil". Far from being a butcher, Geralt of Rivia is "a friend of humanity". He calls the song, "Toss a Coin to Your Witcher".

Episode 3: Betrayer Moon

• Geralt, after what happened to Renfri, succeeds in freeing Princess Adda from her curse as a striga.
• Giltine, the enchanter, telling Yennefer that while she may be a "first draft of what nature intended", every girl he enchants leaves as a living work of art no matter how "challenging the clay". He doesn't put her down for her looks and seems to be looking forward to working on her. You can tell he enjoys his work and loves the looks on the students' faces when he shows them the possibilities he can give them. Also his concern about Yennefer being awake for the enchantment when she comes to him later and his attempt help her through the pain is also very sweet.

Episode 4: Of Banquets, Bastards, and Burials

• Calanthe giving her blessing and letting Pavetta and Duny marry.
• The whole tavern singing "Toss a Coin to Your Witcher" for Geralt after he returns having killed the selkimore, proving that Jaskier has succeeded in healing his reputation after Stregobor turned him into the Butcher of Blaviken.
  • Think about it. Everyone in this random tavern knows the lyrics, and they need very little prompting to sing them. That is how popular it is. And they sing it when the witcher in question returns triumphant. Truly, a hero's welcome.
• Eist's sheer hearteyes for Calanthe when she kills an attacker heading for him, and the fact that Calanthe defends Eist. They may be on opposite sides of the conflict, but Calanthe shows she doesn't want harm to come to the man she will eventually marry.

Episode 5: Bottled Appetites

• While it is also sad, Tissaia's visit to Yennefer is also heartwarming. Tissaia sees her student/surrogate daughter in dire straits: listless, unhappy, and desperate for something she can never have. Leaching off a charmed village mayor is a far cry from Court Mage. She advises Yennefer to come back to Aretuza and help her "shape a new generation". All she has done since abandoning her post, which she broke the rules to get in the first place, will be forgiven if she does. It is very easy to see this scene as a mother urging her way-ward daughter to give up a self-destructive lifestyle and return home.
• Geralt is easily annoyed by Jaskier, but he doesn’t waste any time finding medical attention for him.
• Geralt is genuinely worried that one of the last things he'll ever say to Jaskier was insulting his singing.
• Geralt's first real smile in the series is when he sees Jaskier has recovered.
• When Jaskier thinks Geralt is dead, he sincerely promises to write the best song about him so that everyone knows who he was and all the good things he did.

Episode 6: Rare Species

• Yennefer abandons her desire to obtain a fertility cure when it's revealed the golden dragon and his mate are nesting an unhatched egg.

Episode 7: Before A Fall

• Even as he rebuffs her romantic advances, Istredd admits to Yennefer that he’s glad she kept her eyes, showing that he understands the significance.
• Also a Tearjerker but Yen's sad "Anica, is that you?" while showing the students the pool of eels. Even after all this time, she still remembers her Only Friend.
• It is a tense moment, but Tissaia saying "please" when asking Yennefer for help is a big deal. It shows how much Tissasia values Yennefer's aid and finally understanding that her former student doesn't take well to orders. It also shows how willing Yennefer was to offer help; all her former teacher had to do to recruit her was ask nicely.

Episode 8: Much More

• Zola tracks Ciri down and offers her comfort and a safe place to stay. The last time they saw each other Ciri was stealing one of her horses to go off alone. Zola doesn't hold this against Ciri, in fact she doesn't even mention it, and takes the poor girl in anyway.
• Yennefer and Triss Merigold having a light-hearted moment at Tissaia and Vilgeforz's expense. Suggesting that the latter may be their "new daddy", both recognizes Tissaia as their surrogate mother, but themselves as sister figures.
• Tissaia urging Yennefer to "let her chaos loose", leading Yen to save the Brotherhood at Sodden Hill, burning the Nilfgaardian forces alive.
• Geralt and Ciri finally meet. They immediately pull each other into a hug.

Season 2

Episode 1: A Grain of Truth

• The backstory between Geralt and Nivellen's friendship; Geralt saved Nivellen as a young boy from a Wyvern nest, then lied to Nivellen's father to make it seem that Nivellen had killed the first Wyvern on his own, causing his father to finally be nice to him.
• Verenna, despite being a blood-sucking Bruxa, shows nothing but kindness to Ciri, and doesn't want to hunt her. She even warns her not to run away, because her own predator instincts will compel her to chase her if she does.

Episode 2: Kaer Morhen

• The Witchers as a whole show themselves to be a close-knit Band of Brothers who all adore one another. Geralt actually smiles and hugs them warmly. Ciri is visibly surprised to see the affection he expresses.
• Though some are a bit salty with her (Eskel especially), the Witchers seem rather welcoming towards Ciri, with Vesemir treating her like a grandfather meeting his granddaughter for the first time.
• Geralt tells one of the prostitutes that Ciri isn't his daughter. The prostitute offers to take the girl off his hands which earns her a Death Glare from Geralt.
  Prostitute: And he says he isn't a father.
• The same prostitute scolds Lambert for storming into Ciri's bedroom with his sword drawn—even in an emergency, a man shouldn't just barge into a young girl's room like that, especially not with a weapon. She even makes him wait outside while she, Ciri, and the other women hide in the room.
• The episode ends with Geralt showing Ciri some basic swords forms which she eagerly starts copying.

Episode 3: What Is Lost

• It crosses into Tear Jerker, but the grief the Witchers express over Eskel shows how much brotherly love they share. In fact, Lambert's hostility towards Geralt (and to some extent, Ciri) seems to be born from misplaced anger at Eskel's death.
• Though they're initially quite cruel to her, Lambert and Coen start actively cheering Ciri on when she starts improving on the obstacle course. Lambert's jeering at her to stop also switches from insulting her for being unable to do it to telling her to stop because she's getting so beaten up he doesn't want her to seriously hurt herself. By the time Geralt arrives on the scene, he's actively coaching her to mind her breathing and her footwork.
  • Geralt, when he sees her almost complete it, doesn't yell at her for ignoring his orders about not pushing herself or express any Anger Born of Worry, but praise at how close she was to completing the course.
• Stregobor has been turning the brotherhood against Yenn, seemingly out of spite for her being Tissaia's favoured pupil and Fantastic Racism about her part-elf status, and as such they arrange to have Yenn "prove" her loyalty by executing Cahir. Though it's because she recognises this as a Batman Gambit on Stregobor's part (if she kills Cahir, she demonstrates herself to be a ruthless killer, if she spares him, it shows she's got compassion for the Nilfgaardian; either way it "confirms" his suspicion that she's been turned by Nilfgaard), she still chooses to spare him and flee, and even takes him with her to escape rather than leaving him to be recaptured and killed.
  • As Yennefer escapes, there is a moment that Tissaia watches her go, seemingly fighting to contain a smile - no matter the trouble caused, she is so PROUD of Yennefer that she is pleased to see her resist more of Stregobor's manipulations.

Episode 4: Redanian Intelligence

• Triss almost immediately takes an interest in Ciri's well-being, quickly acting like a Cool Big Sis to her, and in turn Ciri is quick to start trying to impress her. When Lambert makes a mean-spirited remark about Ciri dressing feminine and insults her looks, then dismisses her anger as her "princess knickers being in a twist", Triss lectures him about how he's treating a teenaged girl who is likely having a lot of self-esteem and insecurities about her appearance. This apparently impacts Lambert so much that Geralt later delivers to Ciri some food that they'd saved for her.
• Since we last saw him, Jaskier has become the lead operator of an Underground Railroad for Elves seeking to flee Redanian persecution. When asked, he can barely hold back tears while recounting about being at an artist's club that was raided; he's clearly disturbed by what his people are doing, and so is actively using his fame and influence as a famous bard to help as much as he can.
  • Likewise, while he hates Yenn, when he finds out she's on the run, he connects that it has to do with her part-elf lineage, and is immediately sensitive to what she's going through. From then on, he's much kinder to her, albeit they both trade friendly barbs.
  • In turn, when Yenn realises that he's in trouble, she abandons her escape to Cintra and instead goes out to find him.
  • When Yenn first hears Jaskier singing and recognises his voice she looks so utterly relieved to have found someone she can trust after the hell she's been through recently. She even hugs him, to his confusion.
    Yennefer: I miss the days when my biggest problem was an ever-present, sing-songy twit.
    • The hug itself is INCREDIBLY heartwarming when one considers not just the vitriolic nature of their prior interactions, but just Yennefer's personality and attitude in general - since when does Yennefer of Vengerberg INITIATE a gesture of affection?

Episode 5: Turn Your Back

• Yenn rescues Jaskier from a sinister sorcerer she dubs "fire fucker"; she does this, bear in mind, after having lost her magic, and thus she's relying solely on her wits to aid him.
• After being told her blood can help create new Witchers, Ciri is quick to agree, though she wants to also be the first to test it. Vesemir, Triss, and Geralt all object separately when they find out because of the high chance of this killing her, with Geralt giving her an emotional assurance that she doesn't have to change anything about herself, and should never feel the need to.
  • When the Dol Durza visions get too intense Ciri screams out for Geralt who is, somehow, able to hear her in the real world. Geralt asks Istredd to open a portal so he can get back to Kaer Morhen to check on her.
• Gage signs Dara into Xin'trea and greets him with a warm "welcome back to your land, son".

Episode 6: Dear Friend

• Geralt and Yennefer finally reunite, and are immediately awestruck at seeing one another. Despite how things ended between them, neither has a mean thing to say and are just happy to finally see one another again. In fact, they seemingly forget about all their baggage.
• Ciri and Yenn meet for the first time, and despite the awkwardness of Geralt's adopted daughter meeting his long-term ex-girlfriend, the two become amicable very quickly. Ciri even excuses herself to leave Yenn and Geralt to reconnect, giving them both a knowing look that pretty much says "I know you two want to bang, I'll leave you to it".
• When Francesca goes into early labor Filavandrel keeps his promise to be by her side and drops what he's doing to be with her. At first it appears that the baby is another still birth, but Fringilla wraps her in a blanket and holds her until she warms up and starts moving. Francesca and Filavandrel's joy at finally having a healthy baby quickly spreads throughout the rest of the elves who rejoice at a new, full-blood elf being brought into the world.

Episode 7: Voleth Meir

• After being separated from Geralt, Ciri plans to travel to Cintra to free him, believing he's been captured by Nilfgaardians; bear in mind she's only got partial Witcher training and doesn't currently have a sword or any weapon, but she's literally rushing to get back to him. Everyone else she's cared about has been killed because of her, and she won't let the same thing happen to her newfound father figure.
• Yenn is with Ciri, and has directed her towards Cintra and the broken monolith as part of a gambit with the Deathless Mother to trade Ciri for her magic back. However, travelling alone with her, teaching her magic, and seeing how much Ciri cares about Geralt (and having seen Geralt's own affection for her), she can't bring herself to do it and tries to warn Ciri at the last minute, profusely apologising to both her and Geralt.
• Jaskier is freed from prison by Geralt, and the two reunite after months of not speaking. Jaskier immediately hugs him (and Geralt hugs back, admitting he missed the bard too), and it takes very little convincing to make Jaskier join back up with him.
  • Once they're on the road Geralt finally apologizes to Jaskier for lashing out at him on the mountain. Jaskier, having clearly fully forgiven him at this point, sarcastically complains about how Geralt is always so annoyingly talkative and emotional — "It's just yap, yap, yap..." You can see Geralt barely containing a smile at the banter.
  • Similarly, the two reunite with Yarpen Zigrin, who despite only meeting them once, has such affection for them that he gifts them one of his horses to help them on their "secret mission". He then decides to just outright join them on their quest, abandoning his job to do so.
• After catching up to them, Geralt holds his sword to Yennefer's throat while telling Jaskier and Yarpen to take Ciri back to Kaer Morhen.
  Yarpen: The girl, yours?
  Geralt: (glaring at Yennefer) Mine. Mine, Zigrin.

Episode 8: Family

• A Demonically Possessed Ciri is loose in Kaer Morhen, killing the other Witchers in their sleep. Geralt, upon returning, immediately is able to tell Ciri is possessed just by talking with her, showing just how close the two have gotten in their time together.
• Similarly, despite having previously killed Eskel for being possessed, Geralt refuses to do the same to Ciri, instead opting for a "I Know You're in There Somewhere" Fight. In fact, Geralt briefly fights Vessemir to stop him going the Mercy Kill route. Bear in mind this is after she's already killed several Witchers, and her actions have led to more being killed by monsters she's summoning.
  • The other Witchers too deserve props here, as though Vessemir was willing to kill her, the others seemed only willing to back up whatever play gets played, and immediately follow Geralt's lead. Lambert is even heard joining in with Geralt compelling her to fight from the inside.
• When they realise that Ciri can't expel Voleth Meir on her own because the demon requires a physical host, both Geralt and Yenn are quick to offer up themselves. Voleth Meir has no desire for either because Ciri is an Apocalypse Maiden, so Yenn slits her own wrists then chants an exorcising spell to pull Voleth into her own body, trying to sacrifice herself to free Ciri. Thankfully Ciri is able to teleport them to a world where Voleth can leave Yenn's body without possessing anyone.
• In the end, Yennefer decides to stay at Kaer Morhen to help raise and guide Ciri with her growing power, as she has evidently grown to care for her the same way Geralt does. Geralt is still pissed that Yenn tried to sell Ciri and is unwilling to forgive her, but is grateful for her sacrifice and recognises Ciri needs a good mage to guide her. It appears the two are even willing to give their relationship another go, for the sake of raising a teenager together.
• After Filavandrel and Francesca's baby daughter is murdered Dara comes clean to them that he was Dijkstra's spy. Despite their grief, the couple don't blame him for what he did as they understand he was just doing what was necessary to survive in a continent that hates his kind. When the Elves leave Cintra they bring Dara with them, proving that there's no resentment or hard feelings towards him.

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