Why Yennifer Looks like That in The Witcher TV Series

After captivating us with the “Castlevania” animated series, Netflix is set to adapt another franchise close to gamers’ hearts - “The Witcher”. As the TV series is based on the books, not the video games, fans of Andrzej Sapkowski’s Witcher short stories and novels have a lot more insight into what’s going on. Early trailers and promotion have created some confusion, especially among gamers who haven’t gone back and read the Sapkowski’s stories. One thing in particular really stands out, why does Yennefer look so . . . different in the initial trailer. Welcome to MojoPlays, and in this video, we’ll be taking a look at Why Yennefer doesn’t look like the Yen gamers are used to. In Sapkowski’s short stories and novels, we learn a few things about Yennefer’s origins. In the world of “The Witcher”, for the most part, only daughters who can’t be conveniently married off are sent to become sorceresses. Yennefer is one such unfortunate, having been born a hunchback. In “The Tower of Swallows”, it’s also revealed that her parents were incredibly abusive. Her father hit her, and blamed Yennefer’s deformity on her mother, due to the elf blood and magic in her family line. And eventually, Yennefer’s mother turned on her daughter too, continuing the abuse. Her painful youth was almost too much to bear, and Yennefer nearly took her own life. So, if she went through such physical traumas, how did she become the beautiful and ravishing woman of Geralt’s dreams? Well, it’s implied that Yennefer used magic to change her appearance. Her looks aren’t an illusion, though; she went through a complete physical transformation. Although, there are a few details that give away her previous appearance. In the short story “The Last Wish”, Geralt’s keen and highly trained Witcher senses notice her slightly too long nose, somewhat receded chin, irregular brows, and lopsided shoulders. From this, and her “angry” eyes, he divines that she was once a hunchback. That’s . . . some level of observation! But hey, Geralt has gotten familiar with and known more than a few women in his time, so we’ll take his word for it. If you’re wondering why this was never explained in the games, its due to several factors. First off, Yennefer didn’t make a full appearance until the last game, “The Witcher III: Wild Hunt”. Before that, she was only mentioned in the first game and was shown in a cutscene in the second game. Then, of course, there’s the setting. “The Witcher” games take place after the events of Sapkowski’s books, meaning the games are their own thing. So, Yennefer was already her breaktaking self when the first game launched. This is where some gamers may be unsure of Netflix’s adaptation. “The Witcher” TV series is aiming to be as faithful to Sapkowski’s works as possible. As confirmed by showrunner Lauren Hissrich, the show has nothing to do with CD Projekt’s games, besides perhaps a few cosmetic inspirations. What this all means is that the series will take place BEFORE the timeline of the games. So, if you haven’t read the books, expect to see a lot of unfamiliar sides of Yennefer, Geralt, and Ciri. Judging from the stills and teaser trailer released so far, the show could go one of two ways. The first few episodes could focus entirely on character backstories, showing how Yennefer became the sorceress we know her as, or it’ll do the TV standard of focusing on major events with flashbacks sprinkled in-between key moments. If the teaser trailer or Yennefer’s appearance caught you off guard, don’t be ashamed; “The Witcher” TV series is going to be a new experience for many of us. While we’d love to see the games get the same treatment as “Castlevania”, we understand why Netflix chose to adapt the books specifically. Either way, this show is going to encourage gamers to read the books and those who read the books to play the games. We’ll see what happens when “The Witcher” premieres on Netflix later this year.