Season four of Netflix's The Witcher didn't really manage to defy the odds. The show faced a lot of backlash after Henry Cavill's high-profile departure. While I personally feel that Liam Hemsworth is a good replacement, given the circumstances, Cavill's impressive presence was evident in previous seasons, and it was missing in parts of season four.
However, it's not like the previous season was phenomenal, even with Cavill in Geralt's shoes, and that's down to the show's writing and pacing. He famously left the show because it deviated from the source material, and season four was no different, with major characters killed off but they survived in Andrzej Sapkowski's books.
Major spoilers for Netflix's The Witcher ahead
Is Vesemir Really Dead in The Witcher Season 4?
During the great battle against Vilgefortz and the wizards of the lodge, Tris asks Vesemis to help her strengthen the defenses of Castle Montecalvo. He brings two other witchers to add some blade to the fight. However, everyone's favorite witcher doesn't survive his duel against Daddy Vilgefortz, which many fans may have found surprising.
“We've had some conflicts with characters that we've already killed, that haven't been killed in the books,” showrunner Lauren Schmidt Hissrich said in an interview with GamesRadar+, perhaps in a nod to Eskel's divisive Lessen-shaped death in the second season. “Yet we always do it for a reason.”
A few major characters meet their end in the episode, with Istredd also dying when Vilgefortz's control over the portals is removed. However, Hissrich said these decisions weren't just for shock value. “I don't think anyone is sitting around saying, 'Let's just kill that person. Let's have that shock value.' One of the things our characters have to deal with is the trauma of losing someone and how it changes who you are and how you see the world.”
For those who only play the games, it's worth noting that Vesemir is still alive and well in the books, unlike his counterpart in The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt, who died protecting Ciri from Eredin and the gang.
- Release date
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December 20, 2019
- network
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Netflix
- showrunner
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Lauren Schmidt Hissrich
- directors
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Stephen Surczyk, Charlotte Brandstrom, Edward Bazalgette, Lonnie Peristere, Louis Hooper, Bola Ogun, Alex Garcia Lopez, Gandja Monteiro, Sarah O'Gorman
- The authors
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Haily Hall, Clare Higgins, Javier Grillo-Marxuach, Jenny Klein, Tania Lotia
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Anya Chalotra
Yennefer of Vengerberg
