The worst The Witcher exit happened in season 2

Fantasy fans have already marked the date in their calendars: Am June 29 starts the first part of the third season of The Witcher at Netflix. The new episodes will be the last with Henry Cavill as Geralt of Rivia, with Liam Hemsworth already confirmed as the successor.

Many find that sad. This fundamental change even makes some question whether they even have to watch Season 4 of The Witcher at all. For me this question does not arise. Because saying goodbye to Cavill can’t be as emotional and leave such a huge hole as the loss we suffered in Season 2: Sudden Death.

Following Spoilers for The Witcher Season 2!

The horse Roach was the actual soul of The Witcher

In fantasy films, horses are primarily a means of transport that carry their riders from one heroic deed to the next. Roach in The Witcher, on the other hand, is an actual character. In season 1, the mare seems like the best friend of the chronic loner Geralt. He can interpret their disparaging looks, stern snorts, and affectionate headbutts as comments on his actions. She understands the facets of his signature “Hmmm”.

Roach doesn’t look terribly elegant. Her mane is short. She trots more than prances. But one look at the unimpressed chestnut mare is enough to understand: This horse has seen a lot with Geralt in the last few decades and saved the witcher’s ass more than once. Something has to happen to break the two up.

Netflix released a dramatic farewell video for Roach:

It is all the more shocking that Roach is attacked by a monster in Season 2 Episode 6 (“Dear friend …). The mare throws Ciri (Freya Allan) off and saves her life. The monster then buries its claws in the flank of the horse and mortally wounded it. In tears I sat on the couch and listened to Geralt say goodbye to his mare. A monologue about welcoming death, which by the way wasn’t scripted that way, but Henry did Cavill was enforced:

“Easy, my girl. Enjoy your last ride across the meadow and through the fog. Don’t be afraid of her. She’s a friend.”

Then Geralt ended Plötze’s suffering with his knife. There is for me not a moment in Netflix’s The Witcher that hurts like this. Since then, there has been a horse-sized hole at the heart of the series.

Sorry, Netflix: Ploeze’s sequel is an interchangeable fantasy cliché

Now some of you will say: But Lisa, there is a new roach! And of course you are right. Geralt von Rivia gives all his horses, mostly mares, the same name – Plötze in German, Roach in English, Płotka in the Polish book. Already in episode 7 of season 2 we see who the new four-legged companion at the witcher’s side is. Unfortunately, this is quite a disappointment.

The new roach (played by a male horse) is jet black, with a flowing mane and the kind of brawny, awe-inspiring physique reserved in films and series for the horses of high-ranking officers, nobles, or other story-relevant figures. In other words: a real fantasy or medieval film cliché.

Of course, the drama horse itself can’t do anything about it. But, isn’t it enough that Henry Cavill’s Geralt looks like an action figure incarnate? One hypermasculine mix of muscles and sweaty wigwhich the equally absurdly handsome Liam Hemsworth will probably portray exactly like this?

If Netflix had been brave, they would have opted for a slightly scratched-up character animal, at least for the new roach – instead of an interchangeable Barbie horse that thousands of Wendy readers have in their children’s rooms: hanging over the bed in exactly the same way.

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