Naturally drawing comparisons to Game of Thrones, Netflix’s The Witcher also has another thing in common with HBO’s dark fantasy hit show: incest.
Since its 2019 Netflix release, The Witcher has been naturally compared to Game of Thrones; often tagged as the replacement high-fantasy series for audiences of the HBO show. Struggling to make a mark on its own, The Witcher is generally scrutinized side-by-side with its contemporaries (House of the Dragon and Rings of Power), rather than appreciated and celebrated for its own identity. Despite this predicament, The Witcher season 2 and Blood Origin proves that the franchise has potential to become one of the greats.
In The Witcher season 2 ending, it’s revealed that the Nilfgaardian Emperor, Emhyr var Emreis (Bart Edwards) is actually the Knight Duny or Urcheon of Elderwald, Pavetta’s (Agata Buzek) husband and Princess Cirilla’s (Freya Allan) biological father. While this detail may come as a shock to show-audiences, it’s a well-established one (and of great significance) in Andrezj Sapkowski’s The Witcher books and even The Witcher video games. Essentially leading to a notorious Game of Thrones plot point revolving around incest, The Witcher is apparently swerving its narrative to adapt a major conflict from its book counterpart, assuredly reigniting the franchise’s long-suffered juxtaposition.
Witcher’s Incest Storyline Could Make Game Of Thrones Comparisons Worse
In The Witcher’s source material, Emhyr comes across Ithiline’s dark prophecy, which details an end-of-the-world cataclysm, as well as the coming of a son of Elder Blood destined to rule the Continent. As a power hungry expansionist, Emhyr obviously wants nothing more than to be the father of this prophesied son — even if that means marrying and impregnating his own daughter, Ciri. While this is already problematic in and of itself, the added fact that Game of Thrones did this storyline first means that if The Witcher decidedly stays faithful to the novels in season 3, it’ll appear as if it’s riding on the coattails of Game of Thrones‘ incest plot line.
Of course, the fantasy incest storyline didn’t originate from George R.R. Martin’s A Song of Ice and Fire series nor Andrezj Sapkowski’s The Witcher series. However, HBO’s Game of Thrones and House of the Dragon clearly has the advantage after sensationalizing the controversial plot device, with the show’s execution of this trope being widely considered well-done. As if The Witcher hasn’t already borne the brunt of the comparison discussions, Netflix’s dark fantasy series is about to experience a worsened version of it come The Witcher season 3 should Emhyr pursue Ciri romantically.
Why Comparing Game Of Thrones & The Witcher Would Be Bad For The Witcher
Game of Thrones and The Witcher share many similarities from its dark and grotesque palette to its use of fantasy elements like dragons and magic, among many others. While both series might not be that different, The Witcher always seems to draw the short-end of the stick; more criticized than praised, all owing to the fact that it came after Game of Thrones ended. Although it’s natural for audiences to compare shows for their own enjoyment or as a referential guide to help them find their poison, there’s no denying that The Witcher being compared to Game of Thrones hasn’t boded well for the Netflix produced series.
As a fairly young series grappling to solidify its place in the high-fantasy genre, The Witcher needs to strategize on how to put an end to the comparison wars or, at least, lessen the blow. The Witcher franchise, if handled correctly, can become a pop culture hit like Game of Thrones, and it can start with its world expansion. Blood Origin’s release and other potential The Witcher spinoffs are a great way to diversify The Witcher franchise’s offerings and enrich its Continent.
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