In The Witcher Season 3, Volume 2, all is never quite as it seems. Ciri (Freya Allan) is tripping out over mirages in the desert, Redania’s intelligence officers just killed the king to cover up their own dirty work, and Geralt of Rivia (Henry Cavill) is about to get a new face—even though the show doesn’t addresses Cavill’s imminent departure in any way whatsoever.
We’ve met a number of new players this season and, more than anyone, Redania’s Prince Radovid—now King Radovid—might be the most intriguing. His ascent to the throne is also the most terrifying scene in Volume 2, thanks to Fleabag alum Hugh Skinner’s appropriately unsettling performance alongside the ever-intimidating Cassie Clare, who plays the scheming sorceress Philippa Eilheart.
Netflix’s The Witcher has diverged from the source material with a number of details, and Radovid is no exception. In the games and books, Radovid is the son of King Vizimir of Redania (Ed Birch); here, Skinner plays Vizimir’s brother instead.
Skinner, who excels at embodying charming romantic heroes and hapless oafs, plays Radovid as a bit of a cad—albeit one who is genuinely striving for sincerity. Skinner’s acting style, combined with the long, golden locks the series has placed atop his head, lend the character a boyish quality—whereas in the games, Radovid is bald with a beard and spends most of his time scheming and grimacing.
Perhaps Netflix’s version of King Radovid will be more benevolent than his original iteration—or maybe we’re about to watch a prince become a monster, now that he’s gained more power. After all, his coronation scene is as traumatic as they come.
It all starts after the Thanedd Coup at the magical women’s academy Aretuza. Redania’s spymaster Sigismund Dijkstra (Graham McTavish) orchestrated the attack, along with Philippa and Radovid, who basically lives under Dijkstra’s thumb at the palace. The coup was intended to help secure Redania’s position in its fight against Nilfgaard. Unfortunately, the guerilla group the Scoia’tael—who fight on behalf of Redania’s enemy—intercepted a crucial message calling for reinforcements and attacked the Aretuza themselves instead.
Understandably, the ambush at the Aretuza alarms King Vizimir—who insists that “examples must be made” and “someone’s got to pay” for this massive oversight. Unfortunately, Vizimir makes the mistake of telling Dijkstra that he plans to axe the spymaster’s best friend (and obvious crush) Philippa. When Dijkstra tries to warn the sorceress, however, she makes clear that, as always, she already has a plan. We then cut to poor Vizimir, just as he loses his head.
Vizimir’s assassination is terrible for Radovid on two fronts: First, he can no longer run away from palace life with his bard boyfriend, Jaskier (Joey Batey), as he was about to do right before his brother’s skull hit the floor. Second (and in a rare event for shows like this), Radovid actually seemed to love his brother, whose sudden demise leaves him dazed and hyperventilating.
This does not stop Philippa from moving forward with the next step in her plan: She takes the crown from Vizimir’s head, insisting that rumors will spread that Redania is weak and leaderless if they do not act quickly. She wipes the blood from the crown before placing it atop the prince’s quivering head, chanting, “Long live King Radovid!” The room chants it over and over, as the camera zooms in on Skinner’s panting Radovid, whose eyes can’t even seem to focus.
Could this be the traumatic event that transforms the cuddly Radovid we’ve seen flirting with Jaskier into Radovid V the Stern? In the source material, the king (Radovid’s father) dies when he’s only 12 years old; Vizimir’s sudden death here is sure to provide its own trauma. At least, it’s not hard to see now how this character might become paranoid and hateful toward mages. Whatever path he might take, Radovid will certainly become one of the biggest players whenever The Witcher returns.
In the Witcher book series, Philippa plays puppet master for years, ruling from behind the scenes while a young Radovid comes of age—unaware of the ways she’s sabotaging him behind his back. Radovid’s bloody coronation, which lands in the final episode of The Witcher Season 3, hints that she’ll take on a similar role with the show’s grown-up King Radovid.
Clare dominates the scene as Philippa, strutting up to Vizimir’s dead body and kneeling down to pick up his crown with a dark, feline kind of grace. Her hand flourishes as she pulls out a rag to wipe the blood from Vizimir’s crown, and her voice is pure, calculated velvet. Skinner, meanwhile, feels barely present, as his character dissociates in the face of incomprehensible tragedy. Radovid just ascended to one of the post powerful positions in this world, and already it seems like this crafty sorceress will make short work of him.
Then again, maybe things will play out entirely different from in the books, and Radovid will find a way to shirk the throne, run away with Jaskier and Geralt, and discover his true purpose in life. Maybe if we’re really lucky, The Witcher Season 4 will find a way to show off Skinner’s vocal chops; after all, he is dating a bard. If not, we’ll always have Mamma Mia! Here We Go Again.
