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The Witcher showrunner Lauren Schmidt Hissrich has spoken about season 2’s most shocking death – and how Henry Cavill helped elevate the scene.
Warning: we're going into major The Witcher season 2 spoilers. Continue at your own risk...
The Witcher season 2 wasn’t going to be without its fair share of turmoil and trauma. This is, after all, a Continent filled with monsters, rogue mages, and political strife.
But we weren’t prepared for this. When Geralt (and Ciri) help stave off an assault from a Chernobog, it’s Geralt’s trusty steed, Roach, that’s caught in the crossfire.
Roach is mortally wounded at the hands – or, rather, claws – of the beast, and it’s up to Henry Cavill’s Geralt to put the horse out of its misery.
For Hissrich, it was a moment that had to happen – as the show’s leaps in logic (and time) could only take it so far.
"Witchers live a very long time and season 1 went through a lot of time and space. We were already pushing the boundaries of how long a horse can live," Hissrich tells GamesRadar+, while adding that he also gave the show a chance to add a new dimension to Geralt.
"One of the things I love about the books and the games is he continues to name his future horses Roach. I want to be able to start talking about that and who was Roach in his life and what happens when he loses his best friend? How does he gain a new one?"
As for the moment itself, Hissrich was adamant that it should be a major on-screen scene.
"In terms of how we killed off Roach – I thought, if we’re going to do this, I want to make it part of the story," Hissrich says. "I don’t want Roach to die off-screen and no one ever mentions it."
Surprisingly given his gruff demeanor, Geralt even has a few parting words for his long-time companion. Hissrich reveals that the monologue was all written by Henry Cavill, not the show’s writing staff.
"When we kill Roach on-screen, Henry actually wrote what he says to the horse,” Hissrich says. "It was wildly emotional… it really felt like saying goodbye to a character. We wanted to make sure that we honored it in the right way and that we made his death heroic."
Finished all eight episodes? You might need The Witcher season 2 ending explained guide to clear up some questions. Then there's the small matter of something tucked away in The Witcher season 2 post-credits scene that you really need to watch for yourself.
