Editor’s Note: The following contains spoilers for The Witcher Season 3 Part 2
The Big Picture
- Season 3 of The Witcher focuses on the personal and political stakes as more groups hunt for Ciri, raising tensions.
- The elves play a major role this season, inserting themselves into alliances and addressing the ongoing feud with humans.
- The Scoia’tael, a group of specially trained elves, employ guerrilla tactics against humans in their fight to reclaim their homeland.
With the release of Netflix’s The Witcher Season 3, we are promptly introduced to more players that are joining the hunt for our favorite Cintran princess, Ciri (Freya Allan). With more groups chasing her, this season particularly focuses on raising the personal and political stakes in the show. Although they’ve been present in previous seasons, the elves step into a more major role in Season 3, particularly inserting themselves into the messy network of alliances and the realm of human politics. The ongoing underlying feud between the elves and the humans has pervaded the entire show, but is more overtly addressed in this season. We have already met the queen of the Aen Sidhe elves, Francesca (Mecia Simson), and are now introduced to a new group of specialized elves: the Scoia’tael. The Scoia’tael add an exciting new element to the storyline, highlighting the intra-political nuances within the elves, as well as facilitating a major event in the plot. Seeped in lore from The Witcher books by Andrzej Sapkowski, the Scoia’tael will be explained in this article, but there will be spoilers for Season 3.
What Caused the Feud Between Elves and Humans?
To understand why the Scoia’tael was first formed, it is crucial to know how the ever-present conflict between the elves and humans arose. The elven race occupied the Continent long before humans ever did; a thriving population mainly governed by peace and harmony. That was until a Big-Bang-like event called the “Conjunction of the Spheres” opened up portals from multiple different dimensions and allowed a vast array of creatures to come through (yes, this is essentially The Witcher‘s version of the multiverse).
Alongside your typical non-human creatures, humans also arrived to the Continent. While the elves had a difficult time reproducing, the humans certainly did not have this issue, and quickly multiplied in numbers. Due to their stronger penchant for violence and brutality coupled with their reproducing ease, the human population and their wars quickly forced the elves out of their homeland. Soon enough, the elven population became a minority and, against great odds, have been fighting for their homeland ever since. This struggle has been brought to the forefront in The Witcher Season 3, as the elves make alliances within the intra-human wars with the promise of finding their own home.
Who Are the Scoia’tael?
The Scoia’tael are a specially trained group of elves and non-human fighters that employ guerrilla tactics against their enemies, namely humans. Their name directly translates to “squirrel tail” from the Elder Speech, which is why we see the highly prejudiced mage Stregebor (Lars Mikkelsen) call them “squirrels.” This also correlates with the fact that they often wear squirrel tails as a part of their uniform. Throughout the series, Francesca heavily relies on the group during skirmishes rather than outright warfare, and they are essentially the primary fighting group for the elven race. The Scoia’tael often resort to fierce tactics, claiming they need to be as brutal as the humans that ousted them from their homeland. They would raid human supply routes that were heading towards the Northern Kingdoms, even attacking medical tents filled with soldiers that couldn’t fight back. Making no distinction between humans and human sympathizers, or human fighters and human civilians, the Scoia’tael kill indiscriminately with a mindset of vengeance and hopes of retaking their homeland.
In the show, the Scoia’tael are led by a surly elf called Gallatin, played by Robbie Amell, who you may know as the popular jock from The DUFF or the more psychotic popular jock from The Babysitter. Tapping into his more cruel and vengeful side, Amell embodies the brutal outlook the Scoia’tael have toward humans and is always searching for the most physical ways to solve problems. Although there is no mention of Gallatin in the source material, his character gives the Scoia’tael more depth while giving the audience a chance to witness the uneasiness between the Scoia’tael and the Aen Sidhe elves.
In the first couple of episodes, we see him arguing with Francesca about supplies and more bodies for the guerrilla army. This comes to a head when Francesca finally relents and agrees to lend the Scoia’tael more troops in return for more resources. But it seems the show created Gallatin for the purpose of being killed off anyway, as he is betrayed by his friend Cahir (Eamon Farren) after attempting to form an alliance with Nilfgaard.
Why Are the Scoia’tael Important to ‘The Witcher’s Storyline?
Gallatin’s decision to approach Nilfgaard with the proposal of an alliance catalyzes a series of events that ultimately aligns all the elves with Nilfgaard anyway. This is when the elves go from just another group chasing after Ciri, to an actual major player in the plot of The Witcher. With everyone hunting down the Cintran princess for their own motives, the elves’ reason is rather wholesome in comparison. Backed by an ancient elven prophecy called Ithlinne’s Prophecy, they believe that Ciri is the “Child of Elder Blood” that will lead them to salvation in the form of a new homeland after years of devastation. Francesca aligns with the Nilfgaardian Empire because she believes there is no reason Ciri cannot lead the elves to a new home while sitting on the throne next to The White Flame, Emhyr (Bart Edwards).
While the Scoia’tael’s leader initiated the elves’ involvement in the human war, the Scoia’tael themselves facilitated the most significant event in the third season: the downfall of the Brotherhood. After Yennefer (Anya Chalotra) arranges the ball that will broker peace among the mages of the North and unites them in a conclave, hell immediately breaks loose the next morning when Redania captures most of the mages. It is during this vulnerable state that the audience finds out the traitor that lurks within the walls of Aretuza is Vilgefortz (Mahesh Jadu), who sneaks in the Scoia’tael. Using dimeritium-tipped arrows and the element of surprise, the Scoia’tael are able to penetrate through magic barriers, eventually eliminating most of the mages. This action forces Francesca and Tissaia (MyAnna Buring) to use inconceivable tactics like bringing down a floating fire ring and using a costly last resort spell called Alzur’s Thunder, both of which destroy Aretuza architecturally. In the end, the Brotherhood is left in shambles, with only five mages left to pick up the pieces.
As the Scoia’tael survive the war in Season 3 Part 2 of The Witcher and return to Nilfgaard, Francesca approaches Emhyr to cash in her contribution and hopefully gain a new homeland. Although the White Flame agrees to grant her safe passage to the elves’ own land, it is offered with the stipulation that the Scoia’tael remain a part of the main army, where they are practically guaranteed to die. The season ends with Francesca facing a moral dilemma between the lives of the Scoia’tael or the lives of the rest of the elven population.
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