Netflix's Witcher Trailer 2 Breakdown: First Looks At Dandelion, Cahir, And More

We've been waiting a long time for a concrete release date for Netflix's Witcher adaptation, and now it's finally arrived: The show based on the books that spawned the popular game series will hit the streaming platform December 20.

That leaves you nearly two months to catch up on the books if you're so inclined, or two replay The Witcher 3 on Switch. If you just can't wait for the show, though, don't worry--we're going through the second trailer frame-by-frame to pick up on every last detail so we can find out everything we can about what Netflix is leaving the same and what they're changing from the original source material.

Our breakdown is below. You might also want to check out why the showrunner has chosen not to adapt the games' story, and our writeup from the show's Comic-Con panel.

Based on the fact that we know Netflix's The Witcher is adapting parts from the first Witcher short story collection, The Last Wish, this seems like it could be a shot of the Striga's lair from the story "The Witcher."

Based on the cart in the background, this shot could be from the story “Something More” in Sword of Destiny, the second short story collection. In the story, Geralt protects a man named Yurga from monsters and receives an important reward.

Yennefer's eyes are described as "violet" in the books. It looks like the show will be staying true to that description--unlike Game of Thrones did with those books' purple-eyed Targaryen characters.

It's not clear what Geralt has in his hand here. Any guesses?

It's not clear what battle this is. In the books, Geralt isn't present during the sacking of Cintra.

This shot was present in the show's first trailer. We still believe that it shows Thanedd, a location at which some major events occur.

"You're a mutant, created by magic, roaming the continent, hunting monsters for a price," someone says in the trailer. It seems the show will get into Geralt's origin. Witchers are created through a combination of training, spells, rituals, and alchemy, as we can see in these shots.

This is definitely our first look at Geralt's faithful adventuring companion, the poet and bard Dandelion--although in the Netflix series, he's going by his original Polish name, Jaskier.

We get a glimpse of Geralt's powers here. He's using the Aard sign, which is basically a blast of telekinetic energy. Witchers aren't sorcerers, but they can use these basic spells. Also, this shot appears to be from the scene that we've speculated is the infamous fight at the marketplace in Blaviken, at which Geralt earned his nickname "The Butcher of Blavekin" in the short story "The Lesser Evil."

Witchers may perform important services in ridding the countryside of dangerous monsters, but they're often feared, disliked, and outright hated by villagers and other common folks. That prejudice comes from the simple fact that Witchers are alien in their appearance and abilities--plus the rumor that they're incapable of normal human feelings.

Given the dark setting, this is likely another shot from the scene glimpsed earlier that we speculate is from the short story "Something More." Geralt fights off several monsters--you can actually catch a brief glimpse of a second one in the shot above, in the upper left corner.

This may be another shot from the battle at Blaviken.

Because of the mask and poor lighting, it's not totally clear who this character is. She may be Yennefer, or she may be Triss. Based on the dialogue, this seems like the first time this character is meeting Geralt--in which case, it doesn't make sense for this to be Yennefer, based on their meeting in the books. This appears to be at some kind of orgy. In the books, we never saw Geralt and Triss's first introduction, so this is one area where it seems the show could take some liberties.

Clearly, Geralt's sardonic sense of humor is well intact in the show.

This might be the memorial for the sorcerers who fought during the battle of Sodden. Then again, in the books, it's described as being on a hillside, which doesn't completely fit here. And it's unclear why a line of people would be marching toward it.

In the books, Geralt only carries one sword on his back. The other, his silver monster-slaying sword, mostly stays on Roach. In the games, the witcher carries both swords on his back. Clearly, the show is going with the books' version.

In the story set at Blaviken, Geralt is run out of town for his deeds there. This seems to fit.

This appears to be Princess Renfri (played by Emma Appleton), who plays a part in an early Witcher story.

Based on their black livery, this appears to be the Nilfgaardian army on the attack, likely invading Cintra.

This is actress Jodhi May, who's playing Queen Calanthe of Cintra (you may recognize her as Maggy the Frog if you're a Game of Thrones fan). Unlike in the books, it appears we'll get a firsthand view of the moment she and Ciri parted ways. After this, Ciri will set out to find Geralt, but if the show's storyline goes anything like the books, it will be a long journey before they're united.

We saw this scene in the first trailer as well. We'd bet money it's the feast at which Geralt first meets Calanthe in the short story "A Question Of Price."

In the books, Yennefer teases Geralt by taking a bath in front of him when they first meet. In the show, that situation might be reversed.

Geralt taking a bath is a meme that has emerged from the games. They must have realized that when putting this trailer together, right?

This large marching army is most likely Nilfgaard's forces.

In the books, Calanthe commits suicide by jumping to her death during the sack of Cintra. The show appears to be changing that.

This is the first shot we've seen of the Nilfgaardian knight Cahir Mawr Dyffryn aep Ceallach, played by Eamon Farren.

This is Mousesack, a druid and friend to Queen Calanthe who is instrumental to several stories in the books.

We're not entirely sure, but these shots might be from the Battle of Sodden, during which several sorcerers fought and died against Nilfgaardian forces.

We're not sure what's going on here. It might be some sort of vision, because there generally aren't a lot of events in the Witcher books that cause the ground to split open.

This is most likely Cintra after the attack.

This is actress Mimi Ndiweni, who's playing the Nilfgaardian sorceress Fringilla Vigo.

Yennefer is fleeing a large spider in the desert with another woman by her side. This may be a shot from Yennefer's past, as it doesn't call to mind any particular events from the books that we can recall.

"Princess Cirilla is your destiny," Mousesack tells someone offscreen (definitely Geralt). The druid is instrumental to this storyline, being present at the feast and also influencing the witcher later.

This may be from the banquet Geralt and Yennefer attend on Thanedd, though that occurs later in the books than most of the story that the show is adapting.

This woman appears to play a role in Yennefer's backstory. She may be a new character not from the books.

This is most likely Ciri having a vision. Among her many abilities is a healthy helping of prophetic clairvoyance.

Given the unreal-looking setting, this battle may be part of one of Ciri's visions.

Geralt doesn't mess around when it's time to fight a monster. We actually glimpsed a longer shot of this scene, in which the witcher is gearing up to fight what looks to be a large Arachas, in the show's first trailer.