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    1. Culture
    2. TV shows

    'The Witcher' Season 4 Ending, Explained: Breaking Down All of the Twists

    Here's where Geralt, Yennefer, and Ciri's adventures apart lead them—and set up the Netflix hit's final installment.

    By Abby Monteil
    Published 31 October 2025 In News

    When you purchase through links on our site, we may earn an affiliate commission. Here’s how it works.

    liam hemsworth as geralt of rivia wielding a red glowing sword while crouching down in the witcher season 4
    (Image credit: Netflix)
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    After a two-year hiatus, Netflix’s fantasy series The Witcher returned for season 4 on October 30, 2025, with Liam Hemsworth taking over for Henry Cavill as powerful monster hunter Geralt of Rivia. We reunite with Geralt in a low place, having been injured by the villainous mage Vilgefortz (Mahesh Jadu) and separated from his lover, Yennefer of Vengerberg (Anya Chalotra), and their surrogate daughter, Princess Ciri (Freya Allan).

    As if that weren’t enough, the empire of Nilfgaard is at war with the Northern Kingdoms, and Geralt is once again pressured to take a side. Our heroes are being tested, and as showrunner Lauren Schmidt Hissrich recently told Tudum, don’t expect the show’s many conflicts to be wrapped up ahead of its fifth and final season.

    “It wouldn’t be The Witcher if everything ended happily,” Hissrich said. “This is the beginning of a two-season journey for our family to finally reunite and be together—hopefully forever.”

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    So, where do we leave Geralt, Yennefer, Ciri, and their foes as season 4 concludes? Read on for a breakdown of the ending of The Witcher season 4 and where the Netflix original’s found family wind up ahead of their last adventure.

    laurence fishburne and liam hemsworth surrounded by a crowd of people in medieval clothing in a still from the witcher season 4

    In season 4, Liam Hemsworth took over the role of Geralt of Rivia from Henry Cavill.

    (Image credit: Susie Allnutt/Netflix)

    Does Geralt reunite with Ciri at the end of 'The Witcher' season 4?

    Not yet! Geralt and his friends—whom we learn are eventually referred to in legend as “the hansa,” as is the same in Andrzej Sapkowski’s source books—are still searching for his surrogate daughter at the end of the season. In the meantime, Geralt’s longtime dream of becoming a knight comes true…with strings attached.

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    During their journey, Geralt leads the charge as the hamza help a group of mysterious guerrilla fighters hold a Nilfgaardian bridge from being taken over by Nilfgaardian soldiers. To repay him, the soldiers’s leader, Queen Meve (Rebecca Hanssen) of the kingdoms Lyria and Rivia, dubs him a knight. However, Meve demands that Geralt swear allegiance to her and only her, unexpectedly drawing him into the war.

    Mecia Simson as francesca and Anya Chalotra as yennefer pointing a sword at her in the witcher season 4

    Francesca (Mecia Simson) and Yennefer (Anya Chalotra) in The Witcher season 4.

    (Image credit: Netflix)

    Is Yennefer able to defeat Vilgefortz at the end of 'The Witcher' season 4?

    No, but she’s working on it. In the season 4 finale, Yennefer orders her fellow mage Triss (Anna Shaffer) to use the dagger that the Witcher Vesemir (Kim Bodnia) used to wound Vilgefortz, allowing her to track Vilgefortz back to Stygga. She reasons that because Vilgefortz is weak, she’ll be able to kill him and protect Ciri without forcing anyone else to suffer in the process.

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    Triss warns Yennefer that if she breaks through her nemesis’s portal matrix, she’ll still wind up in a world he knows well, and one she doesn’t know at all. Nevertheless, Yennefer carries through with her plan to break into Stygga. The last time we see her, she has emerged through the portal, in the middle of a turbulent sea.

    What happens to the Brotherhood at the end of 'The Witcher' season 4?

    Speaking to the coalition of rogue mages she’s assembled by the end of season 4, Yennefer admits that she wrongfully thought that they must become soldiers to defeat Vilgefortz.

    “I’ve been overlooking something that was right in front of me,” she admits. “What would be our strongest asset from here forward. Our sisterhood.”

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    Yennefer ends the season by leaving her lone wolf ways behind and promising to build a Lodge of Sorceresses and rebuild the magical women’s academy Aretuza. We don’t get to see this plan come to fruition just yet. However, season 4 introduces a young woman named Nimue (Sha Dessi) who is preparing to study at the recently reopened Aretuza, suggesting that Yennefer’s dream eventually becomes reality.

    Freya Allan as princess ciric in a gold jacket walking down a wooded road in the witcher season 4

    Throughout season 4, Ciri (Freya Allan) attempts to stop the mercenary Bonhart (played by newcomer Sharlto Copley).

    (Image credit: Susie Allnutt/Netflix)

    Is Ciri able to save the Rats at the end of 'The Witcher' season 4?

    No. Despite her best efforts, Ciri is unable to stop the treacherous Witcher-hunting mercenary Leo Bonhart (Sharlto Copley) from killing and decapitating her ragtag team of outlaw friends, known as the Rats. Season 4 ends with Ciri restrained by one of Leo’s henchmen, with no one around to save her but herself.

    liam hemsworth as geralt looking over his shoulder in a dimly lit wood in the witcher season 4

    The end of season 4 sets up Emhyr and Xarthisius's hunt for Geralt.

    (Image credit: Netflix)

    What about Emhyr?

    Ciri’s biological father, the ruthless Nilfgaardian emperor Emhyr Var Emreis (Bart Edwards), is desperate to reclaim control over his daughter, whom he sees as the key to fulfilling the world-destroying Ithlinne’s Prophecy and ruling the world.

    During the final moments of season 4, Emhyr’s mage advisor, Xarthisius (Simon Paisley Day), introduces him to a powerful monster, who he claims could accelerate the prophecy.

    “A truly magnificent specimen for you,” Xarthisius says. “Largest and most brutish I have ever seen.”

    Emhyr accepts the monster’s help, ordering it to track down Geralt of Rivia, “who stands between me and my daughter.”

    Whatever happens next, the stage is set for the most dramatic family reunion the Continent has ever seen.

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    Abby Monteil
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    Contributing Culture Writer

    Abby Monteil is a Chicago-based writer and editor. Her reporting and cultural criticism can be found at Them, Rolling Stone, The Daily Beast, Elite Daily, and more. You can find her across all socials @abbyemonteil.

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