The Witcher: Not Returning For Season 4? How Jaskier's Story Ends
Contains spoilers for the "Witcher" book series
Henry Cavill's time as the White Wolf is officially over. The "Man of Steel" star publicly departed Netflix's adaptation of Andrzej Sapkowski's high fantasy novels in late 2022, long before Season 3 ever aired, with little to no explanation why. In lieu of cold hard facts, fans connected the dots as best they could, with the prevailing theory being that Cavill severed ties with "The Witcher" after he realized that Netflix had zero interest in faithfully adapting the source material. Since Cavill's public persona is inextricably linked to passionate respect for original authorial intent, a vocal subset of the Netflix series' viewership seems keen to bow out before Liam Hemsworth becomes the new Geralt of Rivia in Season 4.
But while solidarity is fun, it can lead to some unanswered questions, and Season 3 only gets as far as the second book in Sapkowski's series. So, for those not returning when Season 4 ultimately hits Netflix, here's how the story unfolds for Geralt's good friend Jaskier. Where does he go, who does he fall in love with, and what gets him so close to getting killed so many times in the books?
It's worth mentioning that, in Spakowski's novels, Jaskier is a bard known as Dandelion whose real name is Julian Alfred Pankratz, Viscount de Lettenhove. Nothing is ever allowed to be simple in high fantasy narratives. What's more, none of the events we're about to discuss are guaranteed to occur in "The Witcher." Whether or not Cavill left because of artistic differences, it's easily provable that Netflix's adaptation does not mind straying from its source material in big ways.
Jaskier's road trip with Geralt makes a deadly pitstop in Toussaint
There are only a few prominent events left in Jaskier's personal timeline. Following Geralt's recovery in the wake of getting mercilessly beaten down by Vilgefortz of Roggeveen (Mahesh Jadu), and following Cirilla of Cintra's (Freya Allan) foreboding disappearance, Jaskier and Milva (Meng'er Zhang) join the Witcher on his quest to save his adopted daughter from, well, everyone. The journey is long and bloody, involving monsters and men, and a particularly vindictive group called the Nightingales. Cahir Mawr Dyffryn aep Ceallach (Eamon Farren) joins the party shortly before Milva leaves it ... permanently. She's shot with an arrow and killed.
But Jaskier does not witness Milva's death because he leaves Geralt's company, too. Fortunately for the bard, his departure is because of love, not because of death. Unfortunately for the bard, however, his love life usually skews toward flirting with death anyway. In Toussaint, Jaskier meets Duchess Anna Henrietta, a married woman whose husband is cheating on her. Ever the womanizer, Jaskier decides to even the playing field and strikes up an affair of his own with her. And when Geralt is ready to move with their adventure, Jaskier remains in Toussaint with Anna Henrietta instead.
The decision is almost lethal. Her husband, Duke Raymund, discovers their relationship and seeks to end Jaskier's life. He's only spared because Geralt successfully rescues Ciri and Yennefer of Vengerberg (Anya Chalotra) and returns to Toussaint just in time to protect him. From there, Jaskier rejoins Geralt's company and they travel together back to Rivia. Although he does not know it at the time, it would be his final journey with the Witcher by his side.
Jaskier's fate is a mystery
Back in Rivia, a pogrom breaks out and the humans living there attempt to purge the land of all non-humans with deadly force. Geralt, Yennefer, Ciri, Jaskier, and Triss Merigold (Anna Shaffer) fight to save whomever they can but their efforts are not enough to save themselves ... and Geralt is mortally wounded. The magic required from Yennefer to keep her love alive brings her to the brink of death as well. Ihuarraquax, a unicorn whom Ciri befriends, boosts the young witcher's magic so that she can save them both. It's not clear if she does. It's not clear what happens to any of Geralt's party after that because we never hear from them again.
The final book in Andrzej Sapkowski's "Witcher" series is written as if it's a story that Ciri is sharing with another and she does not provide conclusive evidence as to what happens to them. The last that is seen of Jaskier is when he says goodbye to Ciri who, on Ihurraquax's instruction, loads Geralt and Yennefer into a boat and leaves for worlds unknown. Maybe Jaskier goes back to Toussaint to comfort Duchess Anna Henrietta, whose husband died shortly after his attempt to kill the bard. Maybe he simply travels, singing his ballads far and wide. Maybe it doesn't matter.
Regardless, it's not the kind of clear-cut ending that a series like "The Witcher" might prefer. But since you're not coming back for Season 4, what does it matter? Let the bard live in mystery.