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Who is the White Flame in The Witcher? Season 2 Explained!

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Dec 22, 2021 @ 10:50 EST
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Who is the White Flame in The Witcher? Season 2 Explained!

If you are a fan of The Witcher, you must have been waiting desperately for Season 2 just to know who the White Flame is. White Flame has been mentioned several times in The Witcher Season 1. So far, from the mentions, all the audience can gather is that he is the Nilfgaardian emperor who has been pulling the strings from behind the shadows all along. He is the one behind the attack on Cintra. The way he inspires devotion and fierce reverence among the Nilfgaardian army has drawn huge curiosity among the audience about the character. Who is White Flame and what does he want with Princess Ciri?

The wait for the audience has come to an end after the identity of the White Flame is finally uncovered in the final episode of The Witcher Season 2. In a shocking plot twist, Duny, Urcheon of Erlenwald is revealed to be the White Flame.

The cursed humanoid hedgehog that we saw in Season 1. The one who married the daughter of Calanthe, Queen of Cintra. The one who is the biological father of Ciri, whom he's desperately seeking to capture for which he carried out the attack on Cintra.

Well, the viewers finally know who the person the Nilfgaardians worship as some sort of God-emperor is after The Witcher Season 2 was made available for streaming. But the revelation has generated more questions than ever.

Wasnt Ciri's parents killed in a shipwreck? However, did he manage to escape? And why was Duny, the father of Ciri leading the charge against the kingdom that his daughter is the princess of? What does he have to gain from this?

Could this have nothing to do with his daughter but everything to do with his mother-in-law, Queen Calanthe, who tried to get him killed right before she agreed to the wedding? If so, why wasn't he limiting himself to conquering the north, but also seeking Ciri?

Is it fatherly love that motivates him or now that we have seen the ruthlessness he possesses, something sinister? What could be his plans with his daughter?

Meanwhile, we previously addressed Yennefer's age and whether or not she regains her magic. In addition, we touched on Deathless Mother, the Roach's death, and Ciri's Hen Ikeir. Plus, check out the complete recap of Season 1 timeline.

The White Flame: Who is Duny, Urcheon of Erlenwald?

Filmed in the United Kingdom, Season 2 gives all the answers to the curiosities surrounding the White Flame. Duny, the hedgehog is none other than Emhyr var Emries, son of Fergus var Emreis, emperor of Nilfgaard, who was overthrown through a coup by the Usurper.

After deposing his father, the Usurper had his sorcerer turn the young heir into a hedgehog. He was then released into the woods with dogs chasing after him.

He managed to survive somehow and he discovered that he could regain his human form at midnight. Emhyr, with the help of some acquaintances, crosses the borders.

Geralt and Duny and Law of Surprise Invoked

In the North, he started going by the name Duny, Urcheon of Erlenwald. One day, he happened to come across an injured King Roegner of Cintra while hunting. Duny saved the life of the king, and as a reward, he invoked the Law of Surprise which meant he was to get whatever it was Roegner left at home without knowing or expecting, which turned out to be his daughter Pavetta.

Fifteen years later, Duny went to Pavetta's betrothal to claim his reward. And even after he explained how he saved the king's life, Queen Calanthe was too proud to honor the Law of Surprise to marry off her daughter to the hedgehog.

Pavetta’s would-be suitors and Calanthe’s people attacked him, but fortunately, Geralt came to his aid and saved his life. As midnight struck, he turned to his human self, after which the queen finally relented and agreed to the nuptials. The curse was lifted.

Emhyr then asked how he could repay Geralt for saving his life, and Geralt, like him, invoked a Law of Surprise which happened to be something Emhyr didn't know he had.

And it was revealed then that Pavetta and Emhyr had been seeing each other for a year and that she was pregnant with his child. The child that was now bound to Geralt.

The Story of The White Flame

After learning that Ithlinne’s Prophecy of the Elves was about their daughter, Emhyr persuaded Pavetta to leave. Even though they were shown to have died at the sea, in reality, Emhyr survived and returned to Nilfgaard, reclaiming his father’s throne after overthrowing the Usurper.

After he had his deceased political enemies disinterred and used their gravestones to pave his ballroom, he was started to be called “The White Flame Dancing on the Barrows of his Enemies”.

Why was The White Flame Looking for Ciri?

The reason the White Flame was looking for Ciri was that he firmly believed in the prophecy of Ithlinne, which claimed that his son will inherit the Elder Blood and rule the Continent, and Ciri did have Elder Blood.

Emhyr wanted to capture his own daughter so she could bear his child, as the prophecy says that child will be the ruler of the world. So, all along it was not fatherly love or his claim to the throne of Cintra through his daughter that was motivating him.

Rather, it was to impregnate his own daughter to fulfill the prophecy. Yikes! How he actually goes on about that, and how will Geralt and Ciri will fight against him is something the audience is looking forward to watching in Season 3.

The Witcher is streaming on Netflix.

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