WARNING: The following article contains major spoilers for The Witcher Season 2 as well as Andrzej Sapkowski's Witcher novels.
Season 2 of Netflix's The Witcher may have even more surprises in store for audiences than previously expected, with at least one major twist from Andrzej Sapkowski's novels arriving far earlier in the story.
According to Redanian Intelligence, The Witcher Season 2 will reveal that Emperor Emhyr Var Emreis of Nilfgaard and the formerly cursed knight Duny -- father of Ciri -- are one and the same. This was not revealed in Sapkowski's novels until the fifth entry in the main saga, The Lady of the Lake. The major twist will not be immediate in the Netflix show. Instead, it will reportedly be done toward the end of the season with a face reveal featuring the return of actor Bart Edwards, who played Duny in the first season.
Emhyr Var Emreis does appear in Blood of Elves and Time of Contempt, which much of Season 2 will adapt, however, the novels do not reveal the truth of who he is before late in the saga, which is something the Netflix adaptation cannot feasibly accomplish, given the nature of television as a storytelling medium. It's worth mentioning that Ciri's relationship to the Emperor of Nilfgaard is something that fans of CD Projekt Red's video games are more than likely aware of already.
Official clips and stills showcase how the show will adapt Blood of Elves, which sees Geralt bring Ciri to Kaer Morhen, where the Cintran princess trains to fight under the tutelage of Geralt and his fellow witchers-- Lambert, Eskel, Coën and Vesemir. The Netflix series will introduce a new witcher to the handful that remain at the School of the Wolf. Hemrik, whose role in the upcoming season is currently unknown.
Duny was introduced in The Last Wish, set years before Geralt first encountered Ciri in the forests of Brokilon. The cursed knight, back then named Duny, Urcheon of Erlenwald, attended Princess Pavetta's 15th birthday celebration to claim her, as she was promised to him by her father King Roegner through the Law of Surprise-- much to the fury of Queen Calanthe.
The story was adapted in The Witcher Season 1 episode, "Of Banquets, Bastards and Burials." It ended with Geralt saving Duny's life and persuading Calanthe to give Pavetta and Duny's union her blessing, which removed the curse that transformed Duny into a hedgehog-like creature. In gratitude, Pavetta, Duny and Calanthe offered Geralt a reward through the Law of Surprise, unknowingly entwining his destiny with that of the yet-to-be-born Cirilla.
The Witcher Season 2 is scheduled to be released on Dec. 17.
Source: Redanian Intelligence