‘The Witcher’ Season 3 Changes Both Jaskier and Radovid for the Better

The Big Picture

• The Witcher Season 3 takes liberties with Andrzej Sapkowski’s novels, rewriting characters’ histories and making Jaskier and Radovid fall in love with each other, which may be controversial but makes them more interesting as a couple.
• Season 4 of The Witcher could see Jaskier become a big political player, as he becomes involved in Redania’s politics and tries to help free Radovid from Philippa’s influence.
• The Netflix adaptation’s change of Radovid could be laying the groundwork for a tragic transformation into a deranged dictator, adding depth to the character.

While fans can be enraged if a movie or TV show alters some aspects of their favorite literary works, there can’t be an adaptation without changes. Since television is a different format from print media, some things need to be reworked for the story to make sense. Still, an adaptation must remain faithful to the original work’s intentions to be successful. In The Witcher‘s case, Netflix’s series takes many liberties with the series of novels by Andrzej Sapkowski, which has been a point of debate among fans. Season 3 keeps this trend by rewriting some key characters’ history, making Jaskier (Joey Batey) and Prince Radovid (Hugh Skinner) fall in love with each other. However, while this change might be controversial, Season 3 of The Witcher makes both Jaskier and Radovid more interesting by making them a couple. Furthermore, the duo’s doomed romance anticipates their exciting character development in upcoming seasons.

Season 4 of ‘The Witcher’ Can Make Jaskier a Big Political Player

In Sapkowski’s books, Jaskier is cunning, proud, and never puts himself beneath Geralt. The two have a long-lasting friendship, and Jaskier is an intrinsic part of the political disputes in the Continent. In Netflix’s adaptation, Jaskier works more as a comedic relief. Season 2 did allow Jaskier to become a smuggler saving Elves from persecution in the North, but Batey’s take on the character is still quite different from the books. However, that’s about to change in Season 4, when Jaskier will be dragged into the turmoil of Redania’s throne succession.

In Season 3 of The Witcher, Jaskier and Radovid fall in love with each other. Unfortunately, as a loyal servant of Redania’s throne, Radovid betrays Jaskier’s trust and tries to kidnap Ciri (Freya Allan). The bard is heartbroken and decides to end their romance. After that, Radovid chooses to give away his noble position to travel the world with Jaskier, proving he’s more than a spy for King Vizimir (Ed Birch). Fate wants something different for Radovid, as on the same night the prince prepares to leave Redania, Vizimir is murdered by Philippa (Cassie Clare). The sorceress wants to increase her influence in the kingdom, so she takes out the king and crowns Radovid in his place. That shocking development immediately disrupts Radovid’s plans to go after his lover. More importantly, it opens the door for Jaskier to become more vital for The Witcher’s politics.

Jaskier ends Season 3 by the side of Geralt of Rivia (Henry Cavill), who’s marching to Nilfgaard to rescue Ciri. However, since Jaskier’s romance with Radovid was a key plot point in Season 3, we can expect the starstruck lovers to meet again soon. Netflix took a risk by changing Radovid’s history so that he could be with Jaskier, so it’s fair to assume they are laying the foundations for something bigger down the road. That means Jaskier is bound to play some part in Redania, maybe guiding Radovid and helping him be freed from Phillipa’s influence. That would represent a massive departure from Sapkowski’s original story. Yet, it would be a development that allows Jaskier to become more layered in the show, approaching the bard from his original version.

How Different Is Radovid From His Game and Book Version?

Radovid’s history was not the only thing Netflix changed for the TV show, as the monarch has a whole different personality in the books. Originally, Radovid was not King Vizimir’s brother, he was his son and the legitimate heir to Redania’s throne. Radovid is also only 12 years old when Vizimir is assassinated, preventing him from being crowned right away. Redania sinks into chaos as regents take over the throne until Radovid is of age. As a result, Radovid only became king years after the Second War ended, and Nilfgaard and the North Kingdoms signed a peace treaty. In the books, Radovid is known as “the Stern.” That should give fans of The Witcher a notion of how different the character is in the adaptation. The show introduced Radovid as a joyful playboy who likes to spend his days with food, wine, and other people’s company. In the books, on the other hand, Radovid is a tyrant who uses Redania’s forces to hunt down sorceresses and burn them at stakes. Radovid is such a grim character that CD Projekt Red even turned him into a boss battle in The Witcher 3.

While the Radovid we see on television doesn’t sound like the same character in the books, Netflix might be playing the long game and showing how a reasonably noble man can become a deranged dictator. That would give the character more depth than in Sapkowski’s novels while also using Jaskier’s presence to turn the monarch into a tragic villain. While Radovid wasn’t always on the good side of the fight during Season 3 of the show, he was willing to trade a life of comfort for true love. Now, imagine if Netflix takes this sympathetic character and slowly twists him until Radovid becomes the bloodthirsty commander he is in the books and games. That would be devastating, but still great storytelling.

The Witcher can still allow Radovid to have some sort of redemption and stir away from the nefarious path that leads to his death. Nevertheless, it seems likely that Radovid will turn against mages once he finds out Phillipa had a hand in King Vizimir’s death. That only makes the choice to give Radovid a romance with Jaskier better. For Radovid, Jaskier might be the voice of reason that helps him fight the impulse to become a cruel leader. Meanwhile, by watching the man he loves make terrible decisions, Jaskier will be forced to rethink his role in the Continent. Like Geralt, Jaskier often tries to remain neutral in the Continent’s conflicts, as he doesn’t want to put a target on his back. That won’t be possible after Jaskier finds out Radovid is the king of Redania. Sooner or later, the bard must accept his heroic calling and stand against oppression, even if it means fighting the man he loves. That would be a delicious development and one more reason to support The Witcher‘s changes to both Jaskier and Radovid.

The Witcher is available to stream on Netflix in the U.S.

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