- December 26, 2022
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- 13 minutes read
The Witcher: Blood Origin Episode 1 Recap: A Bloody and Messy Start – Collider
Could we just slow down for a bit?
The Witcher: Blood Origin is finally available on Netflix to fill some narrative gaps in The Witcher by telling us how the dimensions of Elves, humans, and monsters were united during the Conjunction of the Spheres. The series also explores the ancient state of the Continent and promises to reveal how Witchers were created. Those are some big promises to keep, and Episode 1, “Of Ballads and Bloody Blades,” doesn’t waste a second before putting everything in motion. The first episode also highlights some of the show's problems. On the one hand, we get introduced to a large cast of interesting characters in an exciting fantasy world. However, at the same time, we never have time to just take everything in since Blood Origin has a monumental story to tell in just four episodes.
The story of Blood Origin never takes its foot off the accelerator, and for one hour, there are so many things happening that it might be hard to follow even the main events. In just one episode, we see the return of Jaskier (Joey Batey), get introduced to the political world of Blood Origins, watch as Elven kingdoms fall victim to a military coup, and are presented with a multiversal conspiracy. So, now that series is available, let’s recap all the main events of Episode 1 in an orderly fashion.
The Witcher: Blood Origin begins on a battlefield, sometime after the events of Season 2 of The Witcher. By then, Jaskier is already known as the Sandpiper, the smuggler who helped save Elves from the Temerian army. That’s why, when the Temerians capture him, the Scoia’tael comes to his rescue. What ensues is a bloody battle where Jaskier almost loses his life — but before an enemy soldier manages to land the final deadly blown, time stops, and Jaskier is saved.
The creature that stopped time looks just like Jaskier but isn’t a Doppler. The creature is, in fact, a collector of stories, and a being responsible for spreading long-forgotten tales that people need to remember to move on with their lives. For instance, this multiversal creature knows that the Scoia’tael cannot keep fighting with hate alone. That’s why the creature chose Jaskier to revive the Legend of the Seven, a story about seven warriors who band together to fight against an evil empire in a war that eventually leads to the Conjunction of the Spheres and the creation of the first Witcher. So, the storytelling visitor serves as the narrator of The Witcher: Blood Origin, telling Jaskier everything that happened twelve centuries ago.
After a short introduction set in the present, we are taken back to the past, where we meet the Lark (Sophia Brown). Before she took upon the mantle of the Lark and journeyed through the lands as a bard, the woman was known as Éile. In her previous life, Éile was the fiercest warrior of the Raven Clan, an old guard responsible for protecting the king of Pryshia, a mighty elven kingdom. Unwilling to spend her life as a warrior, Éile embraced her gift for song and became a wandering bard. She hasn’t forgotten how to fight, though.
We first find the Lark on the island of Inis Dubh, where she’s performing at the tavern. On stage, the Lark sees a group of men harassing a young girl and decides to teach them a lesson. After saving the girl, the Lark discovers she has seizures and visions, signs of a great seer. Still, the Lark doesn’t have much time to enjoy the company of her new friend, as she gets sent to jail for (justly) beating up the men at the bar. Nevertheless, destiny doesn't want her story to end at the hands of an executioner because she meets the second member of the Seven in her cell.
Just as Pryshia counts on the Raven Clan to protect its king, Xin’trea counts on the Dog Clan. And no Dog Clan warrior is as mighty as Fjall (Laurence O’Fuarain). Unfortunately, Fjall lets lust get in the way of his job after he falls in love with Princess Merwyn (Mirren Mack), the sister of King Alvitir. A member of the Dog Clan is raised from the crib to be a protector, and not getting involved with the people they are supposed to protect is one of their most important rules. So, after Fjall is caught in bed with the princess, he’s banished from the Dog Clan and doomed to be forgotten.
Kicked out of Xin’trea and told never to return, Fjall starts to wander the world alone, getting into trouble everywhere he goes. That’s why he ends up in a cell on the island of Inis Dubh. There, he meets the Lark, recognizing her as a member of the Raven Clan – Ravens and Dogs are mortal enemies since Pryshia and Xin’trea have been at war for a thousand years. The two have even met on the battlefield years before their fateful encounter in Inis Dubh. So, the first thing they do is throw treats at each other. And once Fjall is bailed out of jail, the Lark brutally attacks the muscly warrior, stealing his necklace.
Fjall is saved from jail by a member of the Dog Clan who’s coming to ask for his help. The Clan wants Fjall to return to Xin’trea because King Alvitir is about to meet with the rules of Pryshia and Darwen for the first time in centuries. The three kingdoms have been locked into the Thousand-Year War since anyone can remember, but a new peace treaty is about to be signed. Fjall refuses the invitation, still bitter about his exile. So, he decides to use his silver necklace to buy a few hours of fun at a brothel. Once he realizes his necklace has been stolen, he goes to find the Lark.
Meanwhile, the Lark uses Fjall’s necklace to escape jail and returns to get her things at the tavern. There, she’s welcomed by her sister Niahm, who begs Éile to return to the Raven Clan. The Lark doesn’t want to live a warrior life any longer, but the girl she saved has a vision about her, telling her that the journey back home leads to redemption. So, the Lark decides to go home with her sister. However, Niahm is shot with an arrow and killed, leading the Lark to a bloody confrontation with a group of masked assassins. She stands her ground until Fjall appears on the battlefield, helping the Lark to defeat the enemy squad.
After the battle, they realize the killers were marked with tattoos from the armies of Xin’trea, Pryshia, and Darwen. That means the generals of the three nations are moving against the royals, and Fjall and Éile need to return to Xin’trea as fast as they can to protect their respective liege. So, they decide to take a boat together, still incapable of trusting each other but recognizing their common goal.
After being crowned king, Alvitir decides to end the Thousand-Year War. The war directs the kingdom’s economy towards maintaining the army while the people of Xin’trea face famine. So, to ensure the Continent would be united again in peace, Kind Alvitir decides that his sister, Merwyn, should marry King Midir of Pryshia. Xin’trea would also give some precious mines to Queen Neera of Darwen in exchange for her signing their peace treaty.
On the night of the treaty, the generals and commanders of the three kingdom’s armies leave the conference room and look at the door behind them. The princess also pretends to feel sick and goes to her chambers. And at the very moment peace is to be forged, the conference room is attacked by a dragon-like monster that shoots energy beams and destroys all the people present. So, the rulers of the three kingdoms are death, and all the members of the Clans that protected the royals were also wiped away with a single blow.
Princess Merwyn joins the coup because she's dreamed about becoming a new Solryth, the female conqueror who came to the Continent, laid entire kingdoms to waste, and rebuilt them as a united Elven society. Similarly, Merwyn wants to unite the Continent and use its might to colonize other dimensions. Merwyn is coronated Empress after the coup, but she knows she is just a puppet for the real mastermind behind the monster assault, the mage Balor (Lenny Henry).
Thanks to a mage called Syndrill (Zach Wyatt), Xin’trea has discovered huge buried monoliths and learned how to use them to open gateways to different dimensions. Balor has been conferring with a mysterious being in a different dimension, promising his loyalty in exchange for the power to rule the Continent. To Balor, Empress Merwyn and Eredin (Jacob Collins-Levy), the united armies' High Commander, are just pawns in his long game. In short, the newly founded empire is already eroding from within as different parties fight to control it.
After Balor uses magic to bring monsters from other dimensions, even the skies and seas of the Continent begin to behave differently. Fjall and Éile are caught in a suspicious storm while returning to Xin’trea, forcing them to seek shelter in Pryshian territory. There, they become aware there has been a coup, the princess is behind it, and they both have a bounty over their heads. Balor knows the Clans are loyal to the fallen monarchs and doesn’t want to leave any loose thread behind. A stranger in a tavern also recognizes Fjall and Éile from their “wanted” posters, but doesn’t make a move against them, so we’ll have to wait for Episode 2 to learn what it’s all about.
Distressed by everything they learn, Éile and Fjall decide to put their differences aside and bind their blood. After the ritual, they are united by fate under a common goal: go to Xin’trea and take down the people responsible for the coup. Two warriors might not be enough for the task, though, so Éile proposes they enlist the help of her ancient teacher, Scían (Michelle Yeoh), the last surviving member of the legendary Ghost Clan.
Distrusting everyone after the entire Ghost Clan was poisoned, Scían has made a life for herself as a hermit in the Valley of Lost Souls. She builds traps around her cottage and is ready to kill anyone who dares to get close to her. Still, Scían has been looking to the skies to understand the changes in the world, and when Éile tells her about the newfound empire, Scían realizes the whole world is in danger. Still, Scían doesn’t trust Fjall and provokes the warrior until he raises his ax.
Fjall struggles against Scían while the old swordmaster proves to be a superior combatant, even though she’s only holding the sheath of the Ghost Clan's legendary sword, Soulreaver. The blade is kept at Xin’trea, giving Scían another good reason to join the group. Still, the old master remains dubious about Éile’s plan. It’s only when Éile enters the combat to help Fjall that Scían is convinced their endeavors can be fruitful. If a Raven and a Dog can fight side by side, there’s still hope for the Continent. So, the three depart together, determined to find new warriors to help defeat the Empress.
The trio doesn’t know what dangers lie in the road ahead, but they better prepare to face some vicious enemies. That’s because Balor is also becoming more powerful with every minute. Episode 1 of The Witcher: Blood Origin lets us know that Syndrill is being kept as a prisoner in Xin’trea and forced to work on portal calculations. Balor has also been raising monoliths all over the Continent, preparing to cast a spell in the service of his multiversal master. Finally, at the end of the episode, Balor asks the mysterious voice in a different dimension to grant him access to Chaos Magic, a power that’ll make him a god among mortals.
There’s a lot Episode 1 does to build the story of The Witcher: Blood Origin. And even if the series still hasn’t united the Seven, Episode 1 already lets us know who the enemy is, where the evil empire came from, and the dangers of messing with multidimensional creatures. Let’s hope Episode 2 counts less on exposition and more on character growth.
Marco Vito Oddo is a writer, journalist, and amateur game designer. Passionate about superhero comic books, horror films, and indie games, he works as a Senior News Writer and Features Writer for Collider.