Diksha Sundriyal
Netflix’s ‘The Witcher: Sirens of the Deep’ pulls the audience back into the magical world of Geralt of Rivia. We follow the protagonist and his constant companion, Jaskier, on another adventure across the Continent, where they face dangerous beasts. Like most of the other times, the duo soon discovers that despite all the supernatural beings they have crossed paths with, humans remain the worst monsters of all. Their greed and pride have ruined things before, and they threaten to do so again. This time for the kingdom of Bremervood.
The story begins with Geralt taking a job to kill an Allamorax who has allegedly been killing divers who went into the sea in search of pearls. Chasing the monster takes the Witcher to the depths of the sea, where he meets merpeople who tell him that the beast is not guilty of the crime being levied upon him. He hasn’t killed any humans, and the real culprit is someone else. Due to his sense of justice, Geralt lets the Allamorax go and returns to shore empty-handed. However, his kindness only fuels the flames of the unrest burning within the humans as well as the merpeople. It turns out that humans have been turning towards the sea to satisfy their greed, and the merpeople don’t like humans encroaching on their territory.
They would do something about it if it weren’t for the mer-princess, Sh’eenaz, who is in love with the human prince, Agloval, who is also the reason why his father, the King, hasn’t yet declared war on the merpeople. Both Sh’eenaz and Agloval face pushback from their parents, who don’t approve of the union. The only person who seems to support the romance is Sh’eenaz’s aunt, Melusina. Things get worse when a ship of humans is allegedly attacked by the merpeople. This gives the King an excuse to wage the war, which the merpeople have to fight to save themselves. However, the Witcher’s investigation leads him to discover a dark truth where two people are behind the bloodshed and violence that has the kingdom in its stronghold. SPOILERS AHEAD.
Does Melusina Die? Why did She and the King Conspire for War?
The mystery of ‘The Witcher: Sirens of the Deep’ begins with the murder of the divers. At first, it is believed that the merpeople had something to do with it, but the truth turns out to be much more complicated. Geralt discovers that the King and Melusina conspired to fool both humans and merpeople, hoping to lead them into war. For the King, the reason for this deception was the hope that it would lead to his son turning against the merpeople and giving up the thought of marrying Sh’eenaz. For Melusina, the war would be a great thing as it would ensure that the current king and queen, with the queen being her sister, would be dead, and she could take over the throne for herself. It would also be revenge for her sister stealing the king, the man Melusina loved, from her.
The King becomes so desperate to have his son leave the mer-princess that he presents an alternative in front of his son in the form of another princess, but later, it turns out that this princess is actually Melusina, who has the power of shape-shifting. Geralt figures it out after Jaskier mentions that the kingdom that the princess comes from has been under the grips of famine for more than twenty years. The princess, however, arrived in court with many offerings, which included lush fruits. How could she bring those offerings if her kingdom didn’t have any food for its own people?
Once the ruse comes to light, it becomes clear that both humans and merpeople have been manipulated to enter a war that is set to destroy them and result in the deaths of innocent people. Because there isn’t enough time to clear things up, the situation worsens soon enough, and the war takes place while Geralt and his friends try to stop it. Once Melusina enters the battle, things get even worse. She takes the form of the Kraken and wreaks havoc on humans and merpeople alike. She eats the queen and almost eats Sh’eenaz too. Eventually, however, Geralt succeeds in killing her when he takes her potion and destroys her from the inside out. This also saves the mer-queen and ends the battle. With his father’s deception out in the open, Agloval puts an end to the war, sending his soldiers back to the shore while Sh’eenaz returns home with her people.
Do Sh’eenaz and Agloval End Up Together? Why Does Agloval Change Into a Merperson?
All the problems in ‘The Witcher: Sirens of the Deep’ arise due to the fact that a human prince and a mermaid princess fall in love with each other. Both parties encounter the disapproval of their parents because several realistic questions are raised by their romance. To begin with, they both belong to different species and cannot procreate, which means that both kingdoms would be devoid of an heir. The other problem is that their marriage would require one to move to the other’s kingdom, and because both of them are the only children of their parents, it would still leave one kingdom without an heir. Above all, however, is the prejudice both species have against each other.
The misunderstanding created by the King and Melusina leads to one good thing. Before the final battle, the sea witch gives her niece, Sh’eenaz, a potion that can turn her into a human. Or at least, that’s how she explains it to the princess. In reality, the potion can turn anyone, merperson or human, into their lover’s form. When Agloval tells his father about it, the King takes it as a good sign. He thinks that Sh’eenaz will take the potion and become human. This way, her true identity as a mermaid can be hidden from the kingdom, and the King can have the heirs he needs for his throne. When Agloval realizes that despite everything that has happened, his father still harbors hatred against merpeople, he takes a drastic step. Instead of asking Sh’eenaz to make this change for her, he decides to make this little sacrifice himself.
On the day of the wedding, when his father believes that Sh’eenaz will turn into a human, Agloval takes the potion and becomes a merperson, showing his father how much he loves the princess. This is also an act of rebellion from his end and a lesson for his father, who must now keep his hatred to himself and learn to live with the merpeople in peace because his son is one of them now. With this, he ensures that the war is stopped. However, as Geralt later notes, the greed and hatred of humans know no bounds. While the prince may have found a way to establish some semblance of peace between the two species, he hasn’t entirely cleared the board. the negative emotions remain, and they will eventually surface, most likely from the side of the humans, and create another volatile situation where innocent blood will be shed to serve the greed of the ones in charge who will pay the least price, if at all, for all this conflict. It is only a matter of time.
When Do the Events of Sirens of the Deep Take Place?
The last time we saw Geralt and Jaskier, they were in the middle of some very complicated situations. The Continent was at war, and Geralt was entirely focused on keeping Ciri safe while training her with Yennefer, with whom his complicated relationship grew even more complicated. In ‘Sirens of the Deep,’ however, none of that tension or conflict exists, except for the enduring nature of Geralt and Yennefer’s push-and-pull relationship. The reason behind this is that the events happen way before Ciri and Geralt meet, but after they have already been inextricably linked to each other via destiny.
By the time Geralt and Jaskier get embroiled in the politics and war between humans and merpeople, they have already met Yennefer. The events of ‘The Last Wish’ have already happened, which means that Geralt and Yennefer are linked to each other. They have also spent enough time in each other’s company to know that things can never be normal between them. They have gone their separate ways, and yet, they cannot seem to stay away from each other, which is proven once again when, in the end, Jaskier reveals where they are headed for their next adventure. This break in their relationship also allows Geralt to explore something different with Essi Daven, Jaskier’s childhood friend. By the end, however, both she and Geralt admit that there is no future for them, especially after she reveals she wants stability and family.
It is funny that she mentions family and children in the context of Geralt, who, by this time, doesn’t want any of that. Soon, however, he would end up with both of those things, especially when it comes to raising a child who means everything to him. By the time the events in the film take place, Geralt has also been to Cintra, where the Law of Surprise has bound him to Ciri. He has returned to the kingdom for a while, but as we know, destiny will take him back, and he will eventually find the child that was promised to him. What’s more interesting is that at the end of the film, Jaskier reveals that their next destination is Caingorn and the Dragon Mountains. He considers it the best place to be because it is so far removed from civilization and has such bad conditions that he doesn’t expect Yennefer to be there.
However, as we know from the events of Season 1, Yennefer will not only be there, but she will be their companion on their journey to hunt the dragons, and it will lead her and Geralt to have a very real conversation about their relationship, which will make him reconsider his obligation to the Law of Surprise. With all this in mind, it is clear that the events of ‘Sirens of the Deep’ take place between the fifth and sixth episodes of Season 1. The chaos of the world is still contained, and the Continent has yet to erupt in a war and bloodshed that will forever change the course of its history.
Read More: Why Does Ciri Call Herself Falka at the End of The Witcher Season 3?
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