'The Witcher' Season Two Changed A Major Character's Fate, And Fans Aren't Happy

The Witcher's second season is available now on Netflix, and it's safe to say that it makes some pretty substantial deviations from the source material.

The first season of the hit fantasy show was, of course, based on the original collection of short stories from Andrzej Sapkowski. And for the most part, season two continues on as a fairly faithful retelling of Geralt and Ciri's saga. But there are a handful of major changes in this new season that have taken fans by surprise - and not necessarily in a good way.

Major spoilers for The Witcher season two follow. Do not read on if you don't want to know what happens!

The Witcher season two had a huge shocker in store for fans of the books as early as episode two, when Geralt's friend and fellow Witcher Eskel was killed off.

Even if your only experience with the franchise outside of the Netflix show is with The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt, you'll know that Eskel is a major character - one that absolutely doesn't die in the way he does. And yet the new season saw the monster hunter meet a tragic fate when he's transformed into a Leshen and ultimately killed by Geralt. Our hero was, to be fair, rather backed into a corner when the monstrous Eskel started trying to kill everyone.

Obviously, Eskel's death was surprising for two reasons: the first is that in The Witcher universe, Leshen have never been known to infect or transform victims. The second, as mentioned, is that Eskel doesn't die in the books. Personally I'm all for showrunner Lauren S. Hissrich making changes to the established story and world in order to keep things relatively surprising - but the change hasn't gone down brilliantly so far.

"They did him so dirty," wrote one fan on The Witcher subreddit. "First, they make him a complete asshole and a creep with Ciri, he would never be like that, he was a caring teacher for her and Geralt’s best friend... Finally, he is infected and turns into a Leshen even though Witchers are supposed to be immune to infections, makes no sense.

"It was an awful decision, poorly written and if they wanted to go with it, they could easily have used one of the nobody Witchers for that plot."

Elsewhere, a dedicated fan has outlined all the changes between The Witcher season two and the source material. While none are quite as drastic as killing off Eskel, there are still a fair few of 'em.

"Why adapt The Witcher, if you just, straight up, aren't going to adapt The Witcher?" asked another user. "Why not make another show about the story you are trying to tell?"

"The Witcher and Cowboy Bebop finally have something in common," agreed one commenter. "Netflix sponsored fanfic cashing in on established franchises."

It's not all doom and gloom, of course. While divisive, many have taken to social media to defend The Witcher's new season and the changes made. As always, it's impossible to please everyone.

Topics: The Witcher, Netflix