The Witcher Season 2 landed on Netflix on Friday, December 17, expanding the franchise's universe even further.
Prior to the fantasy series' new batch of episodes, though, the streaming platform released an animated film titled Nightmare of the Wolf, which served as a prequel to the live-action show.
The film, directed by Kwang Il Han, follows Geralt of Rivia's (Henry Cavill) mentor Vesemir, and charts how he came to be a Witcher and a number of trials he faced in his early days as a monster hunter.
While the animated film was obviously acting as a precursor to The Witcher, it actually impacts the events of the show's second season more than expected.
Here is everything you need to know about the connections between the two.
**Warning: This article contains spoilers for The Witcher Season 2 and The Witcher: Nightmare of the Wolf**
How Does Nightmare of the Wolf Impact The Witcher Season 2?
The Witcher Season 2 sees Geralt return to the Witcher stronghold of Kaer Morhen, where he is reunited with Vesemir (Kim Bodnia) and his fellow monster hunters, and introduces them to his ward Princess Ciri (Freya Allan).
Vesemir, of course, is the obvious link between The Witcher and Nightmare of the Wolf, but this is not the link we are referring to—no, that would be too easy.
Nightmare of the Wolf depicts an epic battle between the Witchers, mage Tetra (Lara Pulver) and the humans she turned against the monster hunters over their creation of the monsters that plague, The Continent.
The damage made to Kaer Morhen from the fight is seen in the live-action, with the towers and battlements broken in the same way they were in the animation.
During the film's battle, the lab in which Witcher mutagens are made, as well as the place in which the monster hunters are created through the Trial of the Grasses, are destroyed, meaning it isn't possible for them to create any more Witchers.
This is a topic that is brought back up again in The Witcher Season 2, when Vesemir learns that Ciri is in possession of Elder Blood.
When Elder Blood is spilled it leaves feainnewedd flowers in its wake, which is how the Witcher discovers Ciri's ancient bloodline, and the blood can be used to make the mutagen needed to create more Witchers.
Vesemir tells Ciri of the way in which her blood could help them build their dwindling numbers and she immediately agrees to help, but only if she can be the first tested with the new mutagen.
Geralt stops Vesemir and Ciri following through with this, but it is something that could well play a part in future seasons to of the Netflix series.
That isn't the only link between the series and animation, though, as the film ends with Vesemir taking Geralt and the remaining children destined to be Witchers with him after the battle, becoming their mentor.
While Geralt is the character viewers will recognize, the other children that appear in the film are seen as adults in Season 2.
Another character that appears in both the film and TV show is elf Filavandrel, who is a friend of Vesemir in Nightmare of the Wolf and a refugee in The Witcher.
The Witcher and The Witcher: Nightmare of the Wolf are available to stream on Netflix globally now.
