Ever since Netflix’s The Witcher, about a monster hunter, a princess, and a mage premiered, the memes have been as bountiful as the amount of times Geralt goes “Hmm.” The eight-part fantasy series, which has been described as a cross between Game of Thrones and the 90s show Hercules: The Legendary Journeys has proven to be a winner among both fans of the video games and novels surrounding the famous witcher.
Each episode, Geralt of Rivia (Henry Cavill) saves a new town from a supernatural bully, receiving coin for his kill and material for a legendary ballad from his bard Jaskier. The circumstances the pair find themselves in are often unintentionally comical, which makes the self-serious nature of the show that much funnier. Geralt isn’t known for his sense of humor, but even he’d have to crack a smile at some of these memes. Here are the best so far!
BEST DAY EVER!
Admit it, until you saw this meme, you never thought much about the hilt of Geralt’s sword. In fact, you probably just wondered why he didn’t have two, like he does in the games. But now that you’ve seen this meme, you’re paying closer attention, and you cannot unsee the smiley face.
Geralt’s personality is pensive the majority of the time. Witchers have a hard life, beginning with incredibly strenuous training, and continuing with zero attachment to anyone or anything. Geralt often fights his true nature of being more gregarious because it’s simpler to not have any emotions at all and just kill monsters. So his sword does the smiling for him.
ONE BARD TOO MANY
The Witcher is getting a lot of comparisons to that other medieval fantasy series, Game of Thrones. It could be the dragons, it could be the knights, or it could be that at all times, people are getting stabbed, eaten, or manipulated by magic in a never-ending cycle of Dark Age misery.
One of the ways The Witcher actually avoided seeming like a carbon copy of Game of Thrones was by avoiding the heretofore “Ed Sheeren Incident.” When Ed Sheeren showed up in Game of Thrones, it was for no other reason than to sing a song, because he’s Ed Sheeren. When Jaskier showed up in The Witcher, it was to sing a song, and join Geralt on his quests in a meaningful way.
THERE CAN BE ONLY ONE
By now there have been comparison between The Witcher and just about any media remotely related to medieval fantasy, which brings up the subject of The Highlander, but not because Geralt of Rivia and Christopher Lambert look similar. As it turns out, Henry Cavill in Geralt’s wig looks strikingly similar to Christopher Lambert as Raiden.
He played Raiden in the early ’90s film Mortal Kombat, and was later replaced by James Remar. Luckily, the wig Henry Cavill wore for early hair and makeup tests for Geralt didn’t end up the final one selected, which we personally think made him look a bit too much like Orlando Bloom from The Lord of the Rings.
TOSS A COIN TO YOUR WITCHER
Chances are if you’ve watched The Witcher, you’ve got a certain song stuck in your head. “Toss A Coin To Your Witcher”, the catchy ditty by Joey Batey as Jaskier has proven so popular that it’s topping iTunes in the few weeks since the series has been released.
Jaskier initially follows Geralt on his adventures to get a first-hand account of the sort of feats of heroism he previously made up in his ballads. Geralt finds it incredibly annoying, both because it stretches the truth and because it’s so happy, but fans of the series can’t get enough of it.
DUNY THE HEDGEHOG
Geralt was as surprised as anyone in Queen Calanthe’s court when the knight who pledged to wed her daughter turned out to be a hedgehog (not the blue kind). But the Witcher has a lot of compassion for nonhumans, and when Duny’s life was threatened simply for being different, he defended it even at the expense of his own safety.
Ultimately the Queen had to concede she was in the wrong and pledged her daughter’s hand to Duny, who had been cursed by a spell to appear like a woodland creature. He rewarded Geralt for saving his life by granting him the Law of Surprise. Geralt received, in payment of the life debt owed, Duny’s daughter Ciri.
ONLINE VS. IN PERSON
Leading up to The Witcher premiere, a lot of fuss was made about casting Henry Cavill as Geralt of Rivia. Some fans thought he didn’t fit the physical description of Geralt from either the video games or the books, and questioned whether or not he’d be able to convincingly play their favorite monster hunter.
So far, they’ve been thoroughly satisfied with his performance, which might be why they’ve turned their ire towards Triss. In the books, she’s barely mentioned, but in the games, she is the only other woman besides Yennefer to be romantically linked with the Witcher in a big way. And one of her most iconic attributes is her flaming red hair, which appears totally absent in the series.
GAME OF WITCHERS
It was inevitable that The Witcher and Game of Thrones would get compared, the former debuting so soon after the latter finished to lackluster fanfare. Hoping to fill the void in their lives, fans jumped ship from one series to another, excited to once again return to a land of magic, mayhem, and monsters.
But where Game of Thrones focused on complex interpersonal relationships and convoluted politicking, The Witcher is much more rooted in spectacle and flash. Relationships begin and end with little build-up or resonance, any political intrigue has been reduced to simply one kingdom invading another, and there are only 3 plotlines to follow, not 3 dozen.
ONE BIG HAPPY FAMILY
Over the eight episodes, there’s a lot of romantic entanglements. Some are brief and perfunctory, like Geralt and Renfri, and others are long and meaningful, like Geralt and Yennefer. Some fans have even speculated that when you get Geralt as your boyfriend, you really get a package deal, since he comes with his own Jaskier.
It could be argued that a relationship with Jaskier would be healthier and far less risky than sleeping around with terrifyingly tempestuous mages. Even in Episode 5, when Yennefer first meets Geralt, she glances to Jaskier and hopes he’s “just a friend,” so the thought was there!
THE BEST YENNEFER COSPLAY EVER?
Over the years, Lowcost Cosplay has been transforming everyday items into amazing cosplay ensembles, which he showcases to the world via his immensely popular Instagram. What began as a practical joke has earned him millions of followers, and his latest creation has featured Yennefer from The Witcher.
Using nothing more than a bag of dried seaweed paper that he cut into strips, he recreated the alluring dress the mage wears when she first encounters Geralt of Rivia. He’s not only managed to capture every detail of her dress, he’s captured her come-hither gaze as well.
POST BREAKUP BLUES
When Geralt first meets Triss in the series, it’s under less than ideal circumstances. He’s been tasked with going after a dangerous striga that’s already killed one witcher. The cursed creature has torn out his heart and his liver, leaving the corpse intact.
Geralt doesn’t suffer the same fate as his witcher brother, but he comes to know a sort of heartache that occurs from having it similarly ripped out of his chest. That’s what happens when you get involved with a woman like Yennefer who has as much difficulty committing as you do.
