--- description: Over four episodes, Netflix's The Witcher: Blood Origin tells an origin story to The Witcher series title: What to Know About 'The Witcher: Blood Origin' image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blta6b1b738c1b7567d/698a3913b21a9ca34c506cfa/LARK_106_Unit_01447-copy_RT.jpg?branch=production&width=3840&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 ---  * [Entertainment](/section/entertainment/) ## Entertainment Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close * [Television](/tag/television/) ## Television Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close # How _The Witcher: Blood Origin_ Prequel Relates to the Original Netflix Series by [Leigh Butler](/author/leigh-butler/) ## Leigh Butler Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close Dec 25, 2022 1:02 PM CUT  Michelle Yeoh in 'The Witcher: Blood Origin' Michelle Yeoh in 'The Witcher: Blood Origin'Courtesy of Netflix by [Leigh Butler](/author/leigh-butler/) ## Leigh Butler Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close Dec 25, 2022 1:02 PM CUT **_Warning: Spoilers ahead for_** **The Witcher: Blood Origin** For anyone looking to ring in the holiday season with some [good old-fashioned mayhem and monster-killing](https://time.com/6220602/vampires-pop-culture-2022/ "undefined"), Netflix’s _The Witcher: Blood Origin_, out Dec. 25, is a must-watch. _Blood Origin,_ a prequel to [_The Witcher_](https://time.com/6129305/the-witcher-season-two-improvements/ "undefined"), Netflix’s series about a witcher named Geralt of Rivia, who finds himself embroiled in human politics more deadly than the monsters he hunts, is set some 1,200 years before the events of that series. Here’s what to know about _Blood Origin_ and how it fits into the world of _The Witcher_. ## **_The Witcher: Blood Origin_** **is not a new season of** **_The Witcher_** Over four episodes, _Blood Origin_ tells an origin story to _The Witcher_ series, showing not only how [the witchers](https://time.com/5762248/witcher-netflix-game/ "undefined")—superhuman warriors created to hunt the monsters that plague humankind—came to be, but how their world was created from a cataclysmic event known as the “Conjunction of the Spheres,” which introduced humans and monsters to a new land. The story follows the elf Éile (Sophia Brown), a warrior turned bard, as she becomes embroiled in the politics of the empire. She and a band of outcasts must come together to protect their people, first from their own leaders, but then from the otherworldly threat those leaders unwittingly unleash in their quest for power. Since this was the story of the world of _The Witcher_ before there were any humans (or witchers) in it, there are technically no human characters at all, which speaks to how well-established the overall series is. Even in the realm of fantasy and science fiction, few stories are willing to eliminate the relatable human element entirely, unless they can be sure the audience is invested enough. Of course, arguably, the elves in this story are basically just humans with pointy ears, going by their failings and foibles—but still.  A still from 'The Witcher: Blood Origin' Courtesy of Netflix While Henry Cavill’s Geralt of Rivia is not in Blood Origin, at least one familiar face from The Witcher turns up in the prequel: Jaskier the bard, whose task it becomes to learn the long-forgotten story of Éile and her companions, and bring it back to the present day, and whose appearance is one of the highlights of the entire miniseries. Blood Origin’s cast notably includes [Michelle Yeoh](https://time.com/6239974/michelle-yeoh-2022-person-of-the-year-reception/ "undefined") (meaning the show is guaranteed to have at least one great character). Yeoh plays swordmaster Scian of the Ghost Clan, the last of her tribe, and as always, is a force to be reckoned with in her role as mentor and comrade in arms to Éile, Fjall (Laurence O’Fuarain), and the rest of their band. **Read More:**[**_Michelle Yeoh Is TIME’S 2022 Icon of the Year_**](https://time.com/icon-of-the-year-2022-michelle-yeoh/ "undefined") Other standouts include Francesca Mills, who is hilarious and affecting by turns as the foul-mouthed and vengeful dwarf Meldorf, and Mirren Mack, whom you may know from the [Netflix series ](https://time.com/5492639/sex-education-netflix-review/ "undefined")_Sex Education_, who fascinates as the unpredictable elven princess Merwyn (and definitely gets to wear all the best costumes, hairstyles, and makeup in the show). Also featured is [Minnie Drive](https://time.com/6222045/rosaline-movie-review/ "undefined")r, who makes a lovely elf, and beloved veteran British actor Sir Lenny Henry as Chief Sage Balor. ## **So, who becomes the first Witcher?** Now, that would be telling. ## **How does the prequel fit into** **_The Witcher_** **’s overall story?** Without giving away specifics, many events in _Blood Origin_ illuminate previously unknown facts about characters and events in _The Witcher_ series, and strongly hint that they will feature in the third season as well. ## **_The Witcher_** **stands well on its own** If you are already invested in _The Witcher_ series, the prequel adds depth to its world. It’s framed as a story about the power of stories, and about restoring the lost history of the witchers to the world they were created to protect. It’s also about big, bloody, elaborately choreographed, profanity-laced battles against lots and lots (and lots) of bad guys and monsters, of course. This is _The Witcher_ we’re talking about, after all. Admittedly, _Blood Origin_’s theme about the power of stories would have landed better if its own narrative had been a bit less choppy. Some characters’ backstories and development are given short shrift, which made it harder to care about them or their fates compared to the characters who got better treatment. And most puzzling of all, the scene with Minnie Driver’s character which _should_ have bookended the entire prequel story just…wasn’t there. A real shame—her character was one of the most interesting in the entire miniseries. Flawed though it may be, _Blood Origin_ is undoubtedly enjoyable. In some ways, the simplicity of the pared-down narrative works well, especially considering that the entire conceit of the story was of it being turned into a song. In the world of _The Witcher_, songs are not just stories, but history, and the singing of them is what ensures that history is not forgotten. But even a really long song can’t contain that much nuance. A bard’s voice has to get a rest sometime, right? ## **In short, should we watch it?** _The Witcher: Blood Origin_ is not perfect, and it does sadly lack of a Geralt, but the series proper is hardly free from flaws either. Fans of the main series who are invested in the world therein will find no real reason to dislike this one as well. ```json [{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"NewsArticle","@id":"https://time.com/6243286/the-witcher-blood-origin-explained/","mainEntityOfPage":{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https://time.com/6243286/the-witcher-blood-origin-explained/"},"headline":"How The Witcher: Blood Origin Prequel Relates to the Original Netflix Series","datePublished":"2022-12-25T13:02:53.000Z","dateModified":"2026-05-11T04:53:38.126Z","description":"Over four episodes, Netflix's The Witcher: Blood Origin tells an origin story to The Witcher series","url":"https://time.com/6243286/the-witcher-blood-origin-explained/","keywords":["Television","Explainer","freelance","culturepod"],"thumbnailUrl":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blta6b1b738c1b7567d/698a3913b21a9ca34c506cfa/LARK_106_Unit_01447-copy_RT.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","author":[{"@type":"Person","name":"Leigh Butler","jobTitle":null,"url":"https://time.com/author/leigh-butler/"}],"articleSection":"Entertainment","image":[{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blta6b1b738c1b7567d/698a3913b21a9ca34c506cfa/LARK_106_Unit_01447-copy_RT.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","width":1200,"height":675,"headline":"Lark Season 1","caption":"Lark Season 1","creditText":"Courtesy of Netflix","representativeOfPage":true}],"publisher":{"@type":"Organization","name":"Time","url":"https://time.com/","logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://time.com/images/logo.png","width":528,"height":156},"foundingDate":"March 3, 1923","sameAs":["https://www.facebook.com/time","https://www.instagram.com/time/?hl=en","https://twitter.com/time","https://www.pinterest.com/timemagazine"]}},{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"BreadcrumbList","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"item":{"@id":"/section/entertainment/","name":"Entertainment"}},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"item":{"@id":"/tag/television/","name":"Television"}},{"@type":"ListItem","position":3,"item":{"@id":"https://time.com/6243286/the-witcher-blood-origin-explained/","name":"How The Witcher: Blood Origin Prequel Relates to the Original Netflix Series"}}]}] ```