The Witcher Clears Up Cahir & Vilgefortz's Season 1 Plot Hole With One Vital Line
It's no secret that Netflix's "The Witcher" has taken some substantial creative liberties with the series' source material, the fantasy novel series written by Andrzej Sapkowski. Fans of the "Witcher" video games and novels have been highly critical of the differences between the books and the streaming series, notably lambasting the show's decision to kill off fan-favorite book character Eskel (Basil Eidenbenz) and a new Season 2 subplot where Yennefer (Anya Chalotra) loses her magical powers and nearly sacrifices her surrogate daughter Ciri (Freya Allan) to get them back.
Another significant departure from the "Witcher" source material came in the Season 1 battle between the cunning sorcerer Vilgefortz (Mahesh Jadu) and the Nilfgaardian knight Cahir (Eamon Farron) — in which Cahir easily defeats Vilgefortz in single combat. Book fans, in particular, will know that this is a major plot hole, as Vilgefortz is one of the most powerful characters in the entire "Witcher" series and should have been able to kill Cahir without breaking a sweat.
This plot hole was somewhat rectified with a key line in "The Witcher" Season 3, Episode 6, in which Vilgefortz duels Geralt (Henry Cavill). During the fight, Vilgeforts revealed his true strength for the first time, telling Geralt: "Know what the hardest part was? Holding back! Hiding my real skills, knowing I could take any life at any time. It was... exasperating." This short line clarifies exactly why Cahir was able to defeat Vilgefortz so easily since the sorcerer has been hiding his immense power while scheming from the shadows.
How powerful is Vilgerfotz really?
In Netflix's "Making The Witcher: Season 3" documentary, showrunner Lauren Hissrich confirmed that this specific line was meant to clarify what happened during the duel between Vilgefortz and Cahir — acknowledging how that particular moment had upset many fans of the series.
"Fans were in uproar. 'Vilgefortz is the most powerful mage, there is no way, he could kill Cahir by just looking at him,'" Hissrich explained during the "Making The Witcher: Season 3" documentary (per Redanian Intelligence). "The hardest thing for him about this long game is that he had to hide his skills. When we see his power demonstrated for the first time, it is against Geralt." Indeed, shortly after this line, fans are forced to watch Geralt of Rivia take the beating of a lifetime from Vilgefortz, as the sorcerer easily defeats Geralt with just a staff and minimal magic.
This complete and utter beatdown (which nearly kills Geralt) is much more in line with the Vilgefortz that book readers are familiar with, who is revered as one of the greatest fighters on the entire Continent and one of the most powerful sorcerer in the Brotherhood of Mages. In any case, it seems like Season 3 of "The Witcher" is trying to rectify the show's mistake from Season 1 and clarify that Vilgefortz is actually one of the most dangerous foes that Geralt has ever faced.