The Witcher Season 3 Episode 4 Recap - Who is being taken from Aretuza? (2024)

This recap of The Witcher Season 3 Episode 4, “The Invitation”, contains spoilers.

In the penultimate episode of The Witcher Season 3 Volume 1, things are finally starting to come together.

It seems very much like Aretuza may be the battleground on which the first stage of the battle for the Continent’s future is fought. While Yennefer works on bringing the conclave she pitched in Episode 3 to fruition, various other subplots and characters wind their way there. All roads must converge, after all, and it’s about time too, though it does take most of the episode’s runtime to get to that point.

The Witcher Season 3 Episode 4 Recap

“The Invitation” is bookended by Cahir being tasked by a grateful Emhyr to recruit Francesca and her elves for a mission on behalf of Nilfgaard, though the specifics of it remain nebulous for now. Rest assured, though, that this will be an important factor in Volume 2.

What happens to Yennefer’s portal?

In the meantime, Yennefer pitches the rest of the Brotherhood on the Conclave idea. She’s not well-liked, of course, but she does earn support. The logic is sound enough. If the Brotherhood can get the Northern kings to communicate and collaborate, including having Philippa deliver Vizimir, then the Continent can unite against Nilfgaard.

The Brotherhood opens a safe portal for Yennefer to travel to Redania, right in the middle of Queen Hedwig’s funeral, which seems a bad time to make her pitch. However, in his grief, Vizimir insists that not only Philippa attend the Conclave, but that Dijkstra and Radovid go with her.

On her way back, though, Yennefer’s portal gets hijacked, and she ends up elsewhere, attacked by a vision of Geralt. She barely escapes with her life.

Who is being taken from Aretuza?

The issue with Yen’s portal feeds into a larger mystery at Aretuza.

Triss has figured out that several novice mages have gone missing. When she looks into them, she discovers they were all half-elves. As we learned in a previous episode, Istredd is on the hunt for a book about Monoliths that might contain information about traveling between Spheres, and that book was delivered to Aretuza.

Triss and Istredd theorize that whoever acquired the book is probably behind the kidnappings. What better way to get rid of all Elf-kind than to banish them from the universe completely?

How do Geralt and Ciri get to Aretuza?

Geralt and Ciri take a boat to Aretuza, but they’re forced to negotiate with the ferryman, Obin, who is being hounded by a monster in the North Sea. The Witchers offer to kill the creature in exchange for passage.

Also aboard the ship is Valdo Marx, a musical rival of Jaskier’s, and his entire troupe. He proves no use, though, in taking down the Aeschna that stalks the waves, which Geralt and Ciri – though mainly Ciri – kill on the deck.

Neither Ciri nor Geralt is especially keen on going to Aretuza, but when he explains how Teryn was a research subject for how to control Ciri’s mind, she gets the point that the journey is justified. Once she, Geralt, and Jaskier arrive, everyone is reunited for the first time since the premiere.

The Witcher Season 3 Episode 4 Ending Explained

There is to be a party at Aretuza, a very fancy ball during which everyone will dance and make merry instead of dealing with the issue at hand. During it, Jaskier is assigned to keep Ciri company. She’s contained to her quarters. When she falls asleep, Jaskier sneaks off to sleep with Radovid, but she seems well protected by a magical forcefield that Yen has shielded the place with.

In the meantime, both Triss and Istredd and Geralt and Yennefer try to determine who sabotaged Yen’s portal, and thus who is behind Rience and Lydia. They all settle separately settle on Stregobor.

With that in the forefront of everyone’s minds, they all assemble for the party.

You can stream The Witcher Season 3 Episode 4, “The Invitation”, exclusively on Netflix.

Additional reading:

• The Witcher Season 3 Volume 1 Ending Explained