Today, I want to rant talk about why Geralt's s2 apology felt so inadequate. For comparison, I would like to first look at Geralt and Yennâs reunion in s2e6 at the Temple of Melitele.
In this episode, Geralt and Yenn see each other for the first time since the dragon hunt, and they are first and foremost relieved that they are both alive. Then, Ciri walks in and interrupts them, and we see the 3 of them having a conversation about unicorns and stuff, just very domestic fluff. After Ciri leaves, Geralt and Yenn take a little walk, and Yenn tells Geralt that he hurt her, which he acknowledges, and he responds that he was also in pain. This gives some sort of catharsis after all the heartbreak and suffering they went through. They reach a better place, a place of understanding, where they can reasonably start to rebuild their relationship. Finally, they discuss what is going on in their lives with Ciri and Jaskier, and they go to find Ciri after Geralt figures out that the fire fucker was looking for Jaskier in order to get to Ciri.
For me, the progression of this conversation mostly makes sense. If I were to outline how the conversation went, it would be something like this:
(1) express relief that they are both physically ok
(2) talk about the issues between them, acknowledge what happened, reach some sort of understanding of where their relationship is, which prepares the ground for the process of healing their rift
(3) discuss other people, other issues in their lives and the implications
of which point (2) is obviously the most significant part of the conversation.
Now letâs look at Geralt and Jaskierâs reunion in s2e7. I think the analogous reconciliation they had was split up into 2 conversations:
(A) their conversation in the jail cell when Geralt breaks Jaskier out
(B) the conversation, after they meet the dwarves again and they are on their way to find Yenn and Ciri, where Geralt finally apologizes
In (A), we see first the hug and Geralt's âIâve missed you tooâ (which, I concede, is a LOT for Geralt to admit and also he uses âtooâ as in he knows that Jaskier missed him, but letâs not go off on a tangent). This is essentially point (1) in the outline: them expressing relief over the fact that they both seem at least visibly ok. But then Geralt jumps straight to (3) with his âWe donât have time, we need to goâ since Ciri is in danger. And after Jaskierâs little rant about Geralt leaving him on that mountain, Geralt doesnât acknowledge what he did, he just asks for Jaskierâs help (and damn it of course Jaskier canât resist his puppy-dog eyes I mean, not many people could).
Ok fine, they have somewhere to be, a girl to save, so they canât just stand in the jail cell all day talking about their feelings, I get it. But in (B), they are talking while they are on their way, so it would be a good time to have a serious conversation that includes point (2) right? Nope.
Jaskier asks whether taking care of Ciri is what pleases Geralt (a callback to the what pleases you conversation on the mountain, which broke my heart all over again), to which Geralt, again, doesnât really answer, just says he was wrong to think that ignoring Ciriâs existence would make things better. Then, Jaskier asks about Yenn and basically says that he has already forgiven Geraltâs words by saying âPeople do stupid things when they think they are trapped in a corner, and they say stupid things, and thatâs what friends do, they come backâ. And then Geralt apologizes, to which Jaskier makes the joke about Geralt always being emotional.
Again this conversation is mostly about point (3).
- Itâs Jaskier trying to understand whatâs going on with the other people in Geraltâs life and how Geralt is feeling. But there is NOTHING here about how Jaskier is feeling, even the apology only comes after Jaskier basically gives Geralt an out by preemptively forgiving him.
- Also, I wish Jaskier didn't make that joke. I wish Jaskier had let Geralt apologize and told Geralt how much it hurt him. That would have been the point (2) I wanted.
In both (A) and (B), whenever there is an attempt to discuss what Jaskier went through, the writers put in a joke, which basically reduces his feelings to a joke. And with the skipping of point (2) and an overemphasis on (3), their reconciliation feels very rushed and incomplete, like they are just being forced back together for Ciri's sake.
It seems to me that for the writers, Jaskier's character quintessentially revolves around others, with the only point of his storyline being to provide comedic relief and to support the other arcs. And that is such a shame for a great character that they worked so hard to build and that so many people love.
PS. I honestly wish that, in s3, they would give us Jaskier putting his foot down and saying âok, you needed my help, and I gave it to you because an innocent girlâs life was on the line, but this doesnât fix what happened between usâ and Geralt and Jaskier actually having this conversation, but obviously thereâs like -200% chance of this happening, soâŠ
