How Anya Chalotra 'Elevated' Yennefer's Magic In The Witcher Season 3
Yennefer of Vengerberg (Anya Chalotra) understands the price and power of magic better than most of the sorcerers and sorceresses who populate "The Witcher." After all, Yen's first act as a full-blown mage was to transform her appearance, an act that required deep magic and the sacrifice of something she would later miss: her fertility. Plus, Yennefer went a full season of the series without having any magic at all, as her fiery sacrifice in the Netflix show's season 1 finale left her powerless. Her magical block remained intact throughout the second season, and now that season 3 has reintroduces Yen's magic for the first time in a while, it's apparently set to look a little bit different.
In an interview with Entertainment Weekly ahead of "The Witcher" season 3's release, Chalotra explained that the new season will show us not just on what magic can do, but also more of what it looks like. "We get a lot more magic this season, and I was excited for that because I don't think we've seen enough of it," she said. "Also the movements of magic, which have evolved for Yennefer."
Though only five of the season's eight episodes have premiered, we've already seen some of Yen's new magic in action, as she teaches young Ciri (Freya Allan) how to manage her own powers and at one point accidentally portals herself to a creepy, illusion-filled place.
Yen's new magical choreography is inspired by Indian dance
The choreography for Yen's new magic is apparently quite culturally specific: "We put a lot of Indian dance and movements into this, because we wanted to be specific and for magic to be more placed," Chalotra told Entertainment Weekly. "We were looking into ways we could do that and make it more personal." The actress herself is of Indian heritage, and Vogue India reported that, though she was born in the UK, Chalotra finally got to visit India in 2019 ahead of the show's release.
It's unclear how much of the new choreography was Chalotra's own idea, but in an interview with Hey U Guys, she explains the thought process behind the new motions. "I think I just wanted to elevate magic a little bit this season, and for it to be a bit more – we see more of it, so I wanted to still apply some specificity to that," she explained. This isn't the first time "The Witcher" has incorporated choreography ideas that came from the cast: GamesRadar+ reports that Henry Cavill helped design one of the show's most memorable fight scenes way back in season 1.
The most powerful hero's magic keeps evolving
Still, there's something extra exciting about the fact that Chalotra seemed to have input in adding a sense of cultural specificity to the action scenes featuring her character, who is arguably the show's strongest hero. "We did work on specific gestures, hand movements that could be specific to that, what she was doing at the time," she told Hey U Guys, explaining, "I took a lot of Indian dance moves into it because that's something that I knew from my culture and thought it would lend itself well to magic." The actress says she enjoyed working on the new movements and hopes they work well on screen.
So far, Yen's magic has looked great, but I also get the sense her biggest show of power is yet to come. The mid-season finale left off with her and Geralt having stumbled into the lion's den; their attempt to outsmart the villains gathered at an Aretuzan banquet is cut short when Geralt is ambushed by the Redanian spy Dijkstra (Graham McTavish). The final three episodes of the season will be the last of the franchise for Cavill, and regardless of how it plays out on screen, it's set to be an emotional goodbye for fans of the actor. Hopefully, the climax of the season will also leave some room for more badass, Indian dance-influenced magic from his better half.
"The Witcher" returns to Netflix on July 27, 2023. Season 3, volume 1 is currently streaming.