Witcher 3’s Yennefer Is A Better Character Than The Show’s

Yennefer’s strong, calm, and book-accurate portrayal in The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt is drastically different from the childish, selfish Yennefer seen in the Netflix show. In the games (and books), Yennefer is a talented sorceress who is in control of her own destiny. She is loyal to her central, selfless motivations whilst deftly navigating the Continent’s tense political scene. A mother figure to Ciri and Geralt’s true love, Yennefer is capable of displaying tenderness and vulnerability without the constant anger and unchecked emotion witnessed in the show.

Although Netflix explores Yennefer’s backstory from the source material in more detail, a lot of her character is changed for the worse. The headstrong, determined Yennefer of Vengerberg seen in Witcher 3 from CD Projekt Red and Andrzej Sapkowski’s Witcher novels is adapted into a childish mage prone to loud emotional breakdowns when she does not get her way. Netflix’s Yennefer is consistently petty, shallow, and does not know what she wants.

Contrary to The Witcher 3’s cool, calm, and collected Yennefer, Netflix introduces a Yennefer that acts more like an entitled, spoiled child. Although the show is set before the narrative of Witcher 3, there are only a few years between the events of the two. Not only is Witcher 3’s Yennefer more mature, but she is also more in touch with herself and her needs, compared to the boarish Yennefer seen in Netflix’s adaptation that hunts for beauty, power, and selfish desires.

Yennefer’s Personality Is Better In Witcher 3 Than Netflix’s Series

Yennefer was finally introduced to The Witcher games franchise in 2015’s Wild Hunt. Being a protagonist of the book series as Geralt’s true and destined love, it is interesting that CDPR only introduced Yennefer with the third game. Within Witcher 3, Yennefer is romanceable alongside Triss Merigold, Geralt’s former partner from the previous two games. Despite this, Yennefer’s Witcher 3 character is clearly content in her relationship with the Witcher. The sorceress is consistently calm and calculating, and she also is capable of delivering witty remarks in a sassy manner.

On the contrary, Yennefer in Netflix’s Witcher adaptation is markedly more emotional, consistently displaying varying levels of anger and dismay at everyone and everything. Witcher 3’s Yennefer’s resolve has been substituted for relentless self-interest, as Netflix’s Yennefer seems far more narcissistic and stubborn. This decision for a personality change may have been made by the showrunners as the Netflix adaptation is set before the events of Witcher 3 and thus Yennefer may have grown up within that hiatus; though, Yennefer’s shift in temper seems far too dramatic for this to be the reason.

For those that have only watched The Witcher, playing Witcher 3 will illuminate a calmer Yennefer that is more accurate to her book character. While this constant display of anger, sadness, and vulnerability in the show may be interpreted to add depth to Yennefer’s character, it takes away the mystique of this elusive, powerful sorceress who can show vulnerability through her relationship with loved ones instead of infantile outbursts. The unchecked anger of Netflix’s Yennefer stems from a lack of control over her life and not knowing what she wants, which is the polar opposite of the collected and motivated Yennefer seen in Witcher 3 and Sapkowski’s novels.

Yennefer’s Netflix Motivations Are More Selfish Than In Witcher 3

The showrunners of Netflix’s The Witcher are not afraid to adapt directly from the source material, as well as add new aspects not seen in the books or Witcher 3, such as monoliths. The same goes for Yennefer’s character in the Netflix show, who chases selfish goals that change throughout the series. Conversely, Witcher 3’s Yennefer stays true to herself and her own consistent goals, joining forces with others throughout the narrative but keeping a sense of agency and independence in her actions.

At the heart of her character, Yennefer strives to be valued. A key motivation of hers is to be taken seriously in all adaptations of Sapkowski’s world. In Witcher 3 and the source material, Yennefer holds reasonably selfless goals, and in chasing those motivations she commits heroic and noble acts. This includes putting her life on the line and utilizing black magic in order to protect those she loves, her adoptive family: Geralt and Ciri.

However, Netflix’s adaptation of Yennefer’s character deviates from the books and Witcher 3 by substituting her lifelong goals for a desire for romantic love and a need for motherhood. Although Netflix’s Yennefer does manage to achieve a handful of heroic things, she tends to accidentally stumble into these noble situations after pursuing her own selfish desires, such as protecting the egg of the golden dragon, Villentretenmerth, even though she was initially there to use the egg to regain her fertility. Yennefer’s usually steadfast motivations change throughout the Netflix seasons as, for instance, she first strives to become beautiful, then improve her status within the world, and the most recent desperate attempts to gain the ability to bear children.

Netflix’s Yennefer Is Weirdly Obsessed With Motherhood

As Yennefer only appears in The Witcher 3, there is no need to play the first two Witcher games to get a sense of her character. As seen in The Witcher 3, Yennefer’s key motivations surround her adoptive family, showing both Ciri and Geralt tenderness and compassion as a mother-figure and a lover, respectively. Yet, importantly, she is not openly obsessed with gaining the ability to bear a child.

However, Netflix gave Yennefer a contrived obsession with motherhood after suddenly becoming hyperaware of her inability to conceive. This seems like a cheap excuse of a character arc to throw on any female character and one that does not exist to this extent in Yennefer’s other iterations. The main issue here is that Netflix attributes Yennefer’s infertility to the gruesome transformation ritual at Aretuza (while the books do not mention a cause), and Yennefer consequently blames this ritual for taking her chance at motherhood away. Yet, Yennefer of course made this decision willingly, knowing the consequences. Her anger and tendency to shift blame is an infuriating character trait for fans of Witcher 3’s more calculated Yennefer to witness.

This lazy writing has produced one of the most out of character narratives for Yennefer. There is no way that Witcher 3’s Yennefer, ambitious and intelligent but by no means evil, would ever betray Geralt in a way that would bring harm to Ciri, as seen in the narrative of The Witcher season 2. Fertility is a complicated journey for many people, and Netflix placing this at the center of Yennefer’s character with a contrived redemption arc feels forced and unnatural for this much-loved sorceress.

Netflix’s The Witcher otherwise skillfully adapts the source material of Sapkowski’s books and CDPR’s games to include strong female characters. For instance, Ciri is a strong, young female protagonist who will continue to grow and explore the strength she possesses aside from her Source powers. Another character totally different between The Witcher 3 and the show is kind-natured Triss, though she shows strength through receiving her important heroic moment at the Battle of Sodden. Not to mention strong-willed, badass Queen Calanthe, and even Tissaia displaying substantial nuance despite a lack of screentime. This begs the question as to why Yennefer’s strong established character as seen in The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt was changed in the Netflix adaptation.