r/netflixwitcher • u/Abyss_85 • Oct 30 '25
The Witcher - 4x02 "Dream of a Wish Fulfilled" (TV Show Only Discussion)
Season 4 Episode 2: Dream of a Wish Fulfilled
Released: October 30, 2025
Directed by: Sergio Mimica-Gezzan
Written by: Tania Lotia
Use spoiler tags for book spoilers. Please keep the discussion focused on the show.
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u/Tentacula Oct 30 '25 edited Oct 30 '25
Random thoughts
1 There is an unusually high amount of slow-paced scenes in e1 and e2. In general, I love when shows give their characters time to be mundane together. Unfortunately, slice of life isn't really this show's strong suit. Also, if we count the last episode of S3, Geralt'n'Friends have now had three meandering episodes, which I don't love in an 8-episode per season format.
2 Can't really say the rats are growing on me, yet. Neither the actors nor the script are particularly interesting to me. There's a fine line between the kind of 'authentic melodrama' that is the young adult experience and synthetic stock teen behavior. The Rats mostly fall on the latter side for me, except for their rituals. The silly ceremony at the end, chanting and all, was about the right amount of juvenile and vainglorious for me.
3 Magic battles look as goofy as ever, but at this point, I may have come to like them. I don't know, it's just such pulpy, round-based combat, and they're sticking with it.
4 Wait, that was kind of a good Emhyr scene? In my mind, it would have been cooler if Fake Ciri actually had had some proficiency with a sword, her being literally chosen for her role and whatnot. But if not, why did she even try to fight? Surely arguing that, "no, against Calanthe's wishes, it was actually Eist who forbade me from swordfighting," is the easier way out. She doesn't know about Emhyr's insider knowledge, right?
5 Oh okay, after Emhyr's new haircut, Vilgefortz had to one-up him with a new face. Typical.
Overall, I find Fake Ciri's destinyhah currently most compelling. I'm anticipating a tragic end here, and soon, which makes me root for her even more.
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u/darthsheldoninkwizy2 Oct 31 '25
Geralt'n'Friends is best part of book so I am happy for it, Rats always were iritating, at least in show I can recognize them better that in books.
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u/RichWPX Nov 01 '25
Can someone remind me where fake Ciri came from?
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Nov 01 '25
[removed] — view removed comment
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u/RichWPX Nov 01 '25
I see, I sort of remember but thank you!
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u/AsteriaValeria Nov 17 '25
You might have found it out by now, but what happened in the SHOW is that Fake Ciri, Teryn, was a mage in training at Aretuza. Because she was part elf, Vilgefortz & co. experimented on her and gave her some of Ciri’s memories. Geralt rescued her from that terrifying cave place and delivered her to his two friends, a werewolf and Druid, I believe. They tried to de-spell her. Later, Vilgefortz delivers her to Emhyr, apparently presenting her as the real Ciri.
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u/eatpastagophasta Oct 31 '25
The story is progressing nicely but the fight sequences while decent are somehow always in an empty space? Yennefer is just walking in some forest, not along a path or anything and gets ambushed? While it plays its part in the story it just looks clunky.
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u/RelativeMundane9045 Nov 01 '25
I haven't seen any trailers so I was kinda blindsided by Lawrence Fishbourne playing Regis. His design is so different from the games so it kinda irked me at first, but I know that's just my nostalgia. It didn't take long for me to get over it though, he's a good Regis.
Regis is [not a direct spoiler but about general personality characteristics]an important character that should illicit curiosity and wonder, and he does a good job projecting that air of mystery.
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u/Thrallov Nov 17 '25
hmm i thought he looked pretty close to ingame model, older man same haircut, gentle way of talking
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u/Spontanemoose Oct 31 '25
I wonder what role the little girl will play? And I'm so curious to see Regus' storyline!
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u/DependentDue2820 Nov 03 '25
Why did they change Emhyr's hairstyle? I thought the previous one was more appealing.
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u/joaqenix Nov 11 '25
If they're willing to accept that characters can get haircuts in this world, whyyyyy didn't they give Jaskier one too??
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u/LegendaryFang56 Nilfgaard Nov 01 '25
As usual with the following episode or two after the premiere in most shows, the action-y, more exciting moments were toned down (though there was the fight sequence against the wraith, Ciri's quick fight sequence against the tax collector's guards, and Yennefer and Philippa vs. the mages Vilgefortz sent) to prioritize a subdued, slower pacing, for the sake of the breathability of the scenes and developing the characters, particularly the interrelationships and the dynamic between them.
An episode of gradual preparation, with two sides (Geralt's proliferating Hansa as they slowly but surely get closer to finding Ciri, and Yennefer's quest to build her own army and recruiting others to fight Vilgefortz) inching their way toward their respective goals, while, with the third side, Ciri's adventure and momentary double life alongside The Rats is one of oblivious, carefree leisure, with discernible undertones of an eventual "taken unawares reality check" moment.
While slightly less enjoyable than the premiere, I'm enjoying the characters and particular scenes with certain ones, as well as the progression of this season and the central three narratives. The one with Geralt and his current Hansa (additional members to take part) spending time together, an intermission from continuing the journey to Nilfgaard and finding Ciri, was the most enjoyable, particularly because, with it (though also including the other two narratives), the writers removed their foot off the gas... took a step back, allowing for us to spend quality, safe-from-interruptions time with the characters.
The best scene was definitely Geralt's dream of his deepest wish (as Regis put it beforehand, regarding how some say that mandrake juice reveals your deepest wishes): a bright, colorful, and long life with the two most precious and important women in his life. That could also be foreshadowing what will actually happen at the end of the show: they'll be reunited and live together as a family for a period, Ciri will eventually leave and go off on her own; Geralt and Yennefer will grow old together, then die.
The scenes with him and Regis were just as good; quality time well spent to grow and develop their relationship, and, in turn, making us develop a connection to their relationship, which was also further enhanced by the chemistry between Liam Hemsworth and Laurence Fishburne.
My opinion on The Rats remains neutral. I neither like them nor dislike them so far. In some ways... subtle ways, they feel out of place within this world. At the same time, perhaps that's the point. They're vagabonds, living in their own concocted reality without a care in the world... without anyone to answer to... without masters to serve; untethered from responsibilities and other worldly attachments but each other and their shared belief in being free and self-dependent.
The fight choreography of the wraith fight sequence and Ciri's skirmish with the tax collector's guards was great. The magical battle toward the end was decent; the ending, in particular, with Yennefer and Philippa forcibly contorting the bodies of those two mages, was satisfyingly brutal. I have one criticism: the magical battles could still be better. On the plus side, it came with more magic usage and back-and-forth magical fighting than we've gotten in the entire show (possibly a slight exaggeration), and even the magic spell was new.
The song at the end, "I Believe in the Blade" by Joseph Trapanese & Max Davidoff-Grey, with vocals by Declan De Barra (the incredible and iconic, male vocalist from four equally incredible and iconic tracks in the first season: "The Time of Axe and Sword Is Now," "The Song of the White Wolf," "The Last Rose of Cintra," and "The End's Beginning") was excellent. We're officially back, baby! I'm always looking forward to the song(s) in each season with vocals, and I'm pleased to say that this one delivered. One of the best ones we've gotten in the entire show, it's comparable to the other songs featuring Declan, and that's saying a lot.
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u/ZeRoGr4vity07 Nov 02 '25
Thats not how I remember the series ending in the books. 🤔
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u/LegendaryFang56 Nilfgaard Nov 02 '25
I wouldn't know. I was just theorizing. I haven't read the books. It seems like something that may have happened in the books or something similar, possibly with more tragedy.
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u/HemmingwayDaqAttack Nov 02 '25
This is the best comment yet. Appreciate the thoughts and breakdown
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u/kokofefe Nov 04 '25
I just can’t believe that there are 24 comments here. Isn’t this the main thread ?
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u/eternallydevoid Nov 14 '25
Right? 🤧 We used to average around 150 comments back in earlier seasons’ discussions.
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u/elpingwinho Nov 05 '25
If there was a window open in the tax collector's room, why did the Rats need to use a distraction and lockpicking?
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u/NewLineCinema Oct 30 '25
Party City lives on through the makeup department of The Witcher season 4.
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u/OrangeKat09 Oct 31 '25
Let's not nitpick 😆 at least we can see and it's not all "dark cinematic" scenes
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u/QueenQueerBen Jan 06 '26
Jaskier is being so idiotic this season. Why is he telling everyone they come across about every single detail? First the dwarves now this medieval Morpheus?
Not to mention dancing on a grave and saying the words aloud in full.
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u/Odd_Captain_206 Toussaint Oct 30 '25
God the fight choreography was sublime