In the The Witcher, Yennefer betrayed Geralt by endangering Ciri’s life simply because she was desperate to restore her own powers.
Yennefer has definitely made some questionable decisions during the first two seasons of The Witcher. But by the beginning of season three Geralt is still upset about her betrayal and she is perhaps the loneliest that she has ever been.
It is not difficult to understand why Yennefer would consider sacrificing Ciri in order to get her powers back, especially since she and Ciri did not have a very strong relationship at that point.
Yennefer’s history of loneliness
It can be difficult to feel sorry for Yennefer sometimes, the formidable sorceress from Vengerberg in The Witcher. But there is no denying that she has always been an outsider seeking acceptance.
Even before her ascension, Yennefer (who is played by Anya Chalotra) was deformed and sold to Tissaia for a shockingly low price by her own stepfather.
Thereafter, she continued to be an outsider even while training and eventually ascending at Aretuza. By the second season of the show, she no longer felt fulfilled by her life, could not bear a child, and even lost her powers.
The Witcher: Why did Yennefer betray Geralt?
Unfortunately, as the third, and long-awaited, season of The Witcher kicks off, it seems as though Yennefer has also lost Geralt’s companionship.
If you are here because like thousands of other The Witcher fans you have forgotten most of the finer details of what happened in season two of the series in the almost two years since it finished airing, you came to the right place.
The most important thing to know before you dive deeper into season three’s twists and turns, is that Yennefer betrayed Geralt by concocting a secret deal with Voleth Meir (also known as the Deathless Mother) to trade in Geralt’s child of destiny, Ciri, to get her own powers back.
By this point in the season, Yennefer had channeled fire (a highly-forbidden element) to perform her magic at the Battle at Sodden Hill, and in the process, she had given in to Chaos completely.
This allowed her to protect her peers from the Nilfgaardian forces, but it also resulted in her being captured by Fringilla and losing her powers.
Yennefer may have eventually changed her mind about handing Ciri over to Voleth Meir, but since her powers were really the only thing that Yennefer could rely on to protect her and give her life meaning up to this point, she was likely willing to betray Geralt (and Ciri, or anyone else, for that matter), if it meant that her powers would be restored.
This choice also makes sense if you remember that Yennefer and Ciri barely had any sort of relationship at this point in the show, and she likely did not mean much to Yennefer beyond the fact that she was important to Geralt.
How Yennefer and Ciri’s relationship differs in the books
Yennefer manipulating Ciri into creating a portal which would take her straight to her own sacrifice may not have seemed as out of place for fans who had been following Yennefer’s powerless struggle for the entirety of season two of The Witcher.
However, in the books, Yennefer and Ciri have a much stronger relationship and Yennefer acts as a role model to Ciri instead of an adversary who plans to sacrifice her.
The irony of Yennefer’s betrayal
Yennefer’s decision to (almost) hand Ciri over to Voleth Meir was a complicated one, fueled by her desire to have a child of her own. This was after she had to sacrifice her ability to bear a child of her own in season one.
What Yennefer failed to see at the time, of course, was that Ciri could easily become a sort-of surrogate child (like in the books), whose magical abilities and destiny she could help to nurture.
Will Geralt ever forgive Yennefer for her betrayal?
If you have been following The Witcher’s immensely complicated plot since the first season, then you will know that Geralt is not the only one who is fated to be a strong influence in Ciri’s life.
The first part of season three starts out with Geralt and Yennefer communicating solely through written letters, and it seems unlikely that Yennefer will ever be able to join Geralt and Ciri’s inner circle.
However, it does not take long (in terms of screen-time, at least) for Geralt to soften his resolve and invite Yennefer to dinner. In fact, it seems like they may just be able to reconcile and get back to where their relationship was in the books.