Netflix's 'The Witcher' brings back the magic in pandemic-delayed second season

Many fans of "The Witcher" found the multiple time jumps in the first season of the Netflix fantasy adventure series somewhat confusing. So they'll be relieved to learn that in Season 2 the emphasis will be on the relationships among the three main characters.

Premiering Friday, Dec. 17, the eight-episode sophomore round picks up with monster hunter Geralt of Rivia (Henry Cavill) moving on, convinced that sorceress Yennefer (Anya Chalotra) had been killed at the Battle of Sodden. He brings Princess Cirilla (Freya Allan), the woman to whom he is linked through destiny, back to the safest place he knows, his childhood home of Kaer Morhen.

As the Continent's kings, elves, humans and demons fight for supremacy outside the medieval land's walls, Geralt must protect Ciri from a threat even greater - the mysterious power the girl possesses inside.

Like many other productions, filming of this season was held up six months by the onset of the pandemic in the U.K. But series creator, showrunner and executive producer Lauren Schmidt Hissrich notes that the break actually worked to everyone's advantage, as it gave the writers and producers more time to pinpoint what was working and what wasn't.

"What we really wanted to refine was the relationships between Yennefer, Ciri, and Geralt," she explains, "and to make sure that the stories weren't becoming too plotty and too much just about the action. The promise of the show is this family coming together, these three people who find each other in this world. And we wanted to make sure that we had enough moments that really showed their emotional connections."

For Allan, that meant building the relationship between Ciri and Geralt, which also extended to the actors portraying them.

"We always kind of felt like we could support each other in that and talk through it until we were both happy before shooting a scene," Allan says of working with Cavill. "And so that was so much fun. And getting to build the relationship between Ciri and Geralt was also very interesting.

"We went through a lot of conversations," she continues, "because Ciri is lacking trust in people (and) Geralt is trying to understand who this girl is that he's looking after now, and because Ciri's not wanting to give him much ... They knock heads quite a bit, but that is ultimately what brings them closer, and it was great fun getting to explore that."

As for Yennefer, she goes back to Aretuza and must deal with the situation after everyone thought she had died.

"We just get a lot deeper into Yennefer's mind," Chalotra explains. "I mean, what's lovely is that we established her background in Season 1, and now I think the choices she makes in Season 2 will resonate with people a lot more and hopefully they'll be able to empathize with those choices this season."