The Witcher
I'm feeling bewitched by the Witcher! Despite being unable to make any progress in Witcher 3: Wild Hunt due to my pure stupidity and lack of strategy in video games, I really enjoy the story of the TV show. Yes I am a little biased in saying that Jaskier is without a doubt the only reason I still watch it, but that's just how my brain works.
An Overanalysis of Jaskier and Radovid's Fight
Warning that this analysis is purely self-indulgent, and spoilers for the Witcher Season 4, Episode 4.
My most favorite trope of all time is when two people just hate each other, but what happens when two people start to hate each other after having a small fling? Enter my favorite scene from the Witcher Season 4: Jaskier and Radovid’s fight. Now, I’m literally going to go shot by shot and line by line for this because this scene is just a work of art. I will preface this by saying that I didn’t like Jaskier and Radovid’s relationship and that I am incredibly biased towards Jaskier in terms of this fight. For context, Radovid just rose to power against his will and is trying to deal with this role he never expected to have. Meanwhile, Jaskier is traveling with Geralt and finds himself torn between his loyalties to his dear friend and his past fling. Radovid’s advisor is trying to get him in the kingly spirit by engaging Jaskier.
The scene starts with Geralt crying out from being tortured. Jaskier immediately recognizes Geralt’s scream, a sign of how close they have become and how well Jaskier knows Geralt in particular. He asks Radovid what is happening and Radovid says “I don’t know,” a sign of how even in leading his own kingdom, he is blind to the corruption and terror going on around him. It also shows how innocent and naive Radovid is because of his lavish upbringing in the castle, which automatically parallels Jaskier’s similar upbringing as the Viscount de Lettenhove. Unlike Radovid, Jaskier knew the importance of being a part of the people and left behind his comfy spot to do the thing that he believes he was “put on the Continent to do.”
Jaskier implores Radovid to make them stop, mainly because Radovid is literally the King of one of the largest players in the Northern Continent right now (it’s also hinted that Redania is one of the only parts of the North still strong in fighting Nilfgaard at the time other than Rivia, I guess.) Jaskier then starts cornering Radovid while basically begging him to let Geralt go and Radovid lets him get closer, despite Radovid being taller and more imposing than Jaskier. Radovid then talks about his advisor having a plan and Jaskier implores that Radovid doesn’t have to listen to anyone. Radovid then uses this against Jaskier to convince him to stay. Jaskier is a bard. This means that freedom is something that means a lot to him. The ability to travel and tell his stories are the reason that he thinks he’s still alive. For Radovid to use his words, one of his most powerful tools, against him in this moment of weakness for Jaskier is the lowest blow one could possibly make to him. Jaskier slowly takes his hands off of Radovid and distances himself from him.
Then, the most amazing line ever happens, where Radovid says, “Or will you go back to searching for that little girl with your Witcher?” Literally I am clawing at the screen. Not only did Radovid offend Jaskier by asking him to exchange his freedom for HIM, but also now bringing in the fact that he undermines Jaskier’s found family. Also, the use of “your Witcher” instead of “the Witcher” is so incredibly amazing because Radovid doesn’t understand why Jaskier would want to be around someone like Geralt instead of him other than Jaskier showing some type of ownership over Geralt like a pet. Once again just this teeny piece of dialogue shows how Radovid is unable to understand Jaskier’s character in every way. He attempts to take his freedom, the most important thing to Jaskier, his friend in Geralt, and undermines his motivation for wanting to help his friend find the girl that Jaskier had an enormous hand in raising and helping. (On the side, Radovid does this thing with his head when he says “your Witcher” where he sticks his chin out in defiance and it’s so good and only pisses Jaskier off more with his blatant ignorance.)
Jaskier voices his outrage and Radovid meekly says, “You’re the only one left who knows who I am.” Basically, Radovid’s naivety from living in luxury made him believe that he was special in some way to Jaskier. It’s stated and shown that Jaskier can tell what a person is thinking or he can usually spot someone’s motivations. It’s usually hidden underneath plenty of comedic relief and jokes, but Jaskier is incredibly intuitive. Radovid takes this character trait of Jaskier and warps it into some kind of love that Jaskier has for him, despite them not knowing each other for very long.
Jaskier then destroys the man by absolutely dissecting him. At this point, Radovid isn’t trying to be prideful by sticking out his chin, but he is sitting on his throne with tears in his eyes. Once again, Radovid tries to reiterate his “love” for Jaskier, which is really just the ownership he feels (or wants to feel) over Jaskier the same way he believes that Jaskier feels about Geralt. He does not want him by his side so that they make each other better, but so he feels better. He does not show any care about what Jaskier thinks or feels, and takes his insight as a deep obsession. Finally, Jaskier says “you will die like [your brother] too” and you can tell on Joey Batey’s face that Jaskier regrets saying it as soon as it leaves his mouth. HOWEVER, he follows it up with “…alone” which shows that maybe he doesn’t regret it at all. Jaskier has been beaten down by Radovid throughout this entire exchange and now he’s finally broken down his charming facade and is just expressing his anger.
Radovid then stands up and asserts his dominance immediately over Jaskier. It’s like a switch has flipped in his head and he says, “you can’t talk to me like that.” Once again, we see Jaskier’s words bite him in the ass and we can see it on his face that he regrets telling Radovid that everyone has to listen to him. Radovid orders him away, and he’s standing upright with his shoulders all the way back (I forgot to mention it earlier, but I don’t think Radovid ever had stood up straight until this scene). Jaskier then follows it up with, “you know, I might escape my shackles one day. What about yours?” Which harps on the idea of Radovid being forever linked to the throne until the day he dies, destined to be a selfish tyrant.
Anyways, this is my favorite scene in the Witcher Season 4 (second is Leo Bonhart pickling the Rats) because of how nuanced it is. Their facial expressions, Radovid’s movements, and the biting dialogue all amount to an incredibly engaging fight between two men who had similar upbringings but different life experiences. Radovid displays a fundamental disconnect with Jaskier’s character, while Jaskier can see through Radovid clear as day. Despite the power imbalance, Jaskier will always have the upper hand with Radovid because of his intuition. That is until Jaskier crosses a line and Radovid starts to realize the amount of power he truly has and uses it to manipulate and hurt those around him.
I hope we see Radovid go full-fledged tyrant in the next seasons because I want them to have another fight so badly.
UNDER CONSTRUCTION
UNDER CONSTRUCTION
