#i can't do deep character analysis in school to save my life

[warship005]

Why people prefer the relationship between Geralt and Jaskier more than the one between him and Yennefer

DISCLAIMER: This is all based on my opinion. Also, this is not an anti-Yennefer post. I just wanted to post my thoughts on why we weren’t as drawn to the ship as the showrunners thought we will be. 

WARNING: This could’ve been better structured but I needed to get the idea out of my head before I forgot it, so sorry if it’s a bit messy.

Well, let’s get to business then! Here’s why we instinctively decided to NOT ship Yennefer x Geralt as much as Jaskier x Geralt, and it all boils down to one episode.

Episode 5 was meant to be the moment when two of the main timelines of the show finally clash and we see two of our protagonists finally meet. How does that go?

...

Look, I’ll be honest here...Episode 5 did a bad job at making the viewers root for the relationship between Geralt and Yen. Why? Well...

1) Um...do we have time for that? Geralt, Jaskier is dying--GERALT! STOP LOOKING AT BOOBS WHILE YOUR BARD IS GROWING ONE ON HIS NECK!

I could’ve focused on the relationship between Geralt and Yen and actually root for it if the timing wasn’t so terrible. The only reason why Geralt meets Yen in the first place is because of Jaskier (who ends up becoming a motif throughout all the scenes Geralt and Yen share together in this episode).

And it’s not even a good reason. Geralt states it again and again that he was there because Jaskier was hurt and needed help. 

Also, when Yennefer asks about his insomnia during the bathtub scene, he states that impending death (Jaskier) was a bit more important than his own problems.

So yeah, even Geralt of Rivia, the “I have no feelings nor friends” White Wolf acknowledges what is more important at the moment, AKA making sure Jaskier doesn’t die. 

That’s why having to watch both of them give bedroom eyes to each other felt very awkward and out of place and no amount of background orgy could change that. 

The orgy is also the only reason the flirting doesn’t seem out of place to us. Think about it.

2) The infamous bathtub scenes (this is a long one boys)

What’s funny about this one is that both Jaskier and Yennefer had a bathtub scene with Geralt, and where one failed, the other succeed to make fans root for the ship like no tomorrow.

The first bathtub scene we see is the one from episode 4 with Jaskier.

Then the one from episode 5 with Yennefer.

Let’s compare them a bit, shall we? 

JASKIER BATHTUB SCENE:

When Jaskier gives Geralt a bath, it’s because he pretty much needs it. He’s covered head to toe in monster guts and needs to be clean for the party Jaskier asked him to attend to as his bodyguard. 

During this scene, Jaskier actually washes Geralt, which is the main point of a bath to be honest. Along with that, we get some funny interactions between the two, which do a good job at helping us understand the relationship between these characters:

Jaskier being too slutty for his own good. Geralt being too edgy for his own good. Both being able to see through each other’s bullshit (”How many of these lords wanna kill you?” and “So you just let strangers rub chamomile on your lovely bottom?”).

We also get to see Jaskier being very comfortable with doing things around Geralt that would probably get many fools killed in the process, such as taking away his drink because “he should stay sobber” or being very casual around Geralt, whose facial expression screams bloody murder.

And how can I talk about this scene without bringing up the icing on the cake

Geralt: I don’t need anyone. And the last thing I want is someone needing me.

Jaskier: And yet, here we are...

So yeah, what makes the scene with Jaskier great is the fact that it advanced the plot and did a good job of presenting the characters and their personalities. 

YENNEFER BATHTUB SCENE

Let’s look at the scene where Geralt takes a bath with Yennefer. Some of yall gonna be real mad at me, but I have to say it: This scene did not need to happen like that. 

No amount of naked Henry Cavill is gonna fix it. They needed an excuse to show both of them naked next to each other otherwise we wouldn’t find their talk romantic or something. 

I rewatched both bathtub scenes, and during the one with Yennefer, Geralt doesn’t wash at all. The only reason why that scene even happens is because, according to Yennefer, Geralt smelled so bad you could guess his horse breed.

Does he do anything to fix that? Nope. He just stands there naked and brooding while Yennefer joins him for some reason, despite that water probably being gross as fuck if what she said about his smell was true. 

And she’s the only one who washes between the two... if you can call that a wash. She just grabs a sponge and rubs it a bit around her neck and that’s all.

The dialogue was cute, and it showcased their personalities a bit, but as I’ve mentioned, it didn’t need to happen in a bathtub. 

Here’s how I’d fix the scene:

They’re both in the same room and Yennefer needs to change from her black dress into that more comfortable white one. She tells Geralt to turn around while she does, and their conversation goes as it happened in the bathtub. After she’s done, she hands him his new clothes and tells him that she’ll accept their conversation as payment enough...but only if he takes a bath (aka what happened BEFORE the bathtub scene). Then it cuts to him, fully changed and clean, walking into the room where Jaskier is asleep and the episode resumes as usual. 

3) Wow, she really did that...

I’ll bring up something that kinda makes many people not that fond of the ship, AKA Yennefer kinda mind-controlling Geralt and sending him to attack the people who wanted Yennefer out of the town. 

In her way of getting revenge from them, she made Geralt get the death penalty tho.

We’ve seen Geralt fight before and win, but this situation seemed kinda lost until he found out he was the one with the wishes. His wish to make the guard’s head blow up was probably the only reason he got out of there alive.

4) ”She saved your life”

They really could’ve convinced us to ship Geralt and Yennefer during the last few mins of the episode, but they just decided to replace “relationship development” with “sex scene” because, hey, we didn’t know by now that Geralt was a slut.

What happened before that was way worse for their development tho. 

So, Jaskier leaves the building, bumps into Geralt and they begin to walk away until Geralt realizes Yennefer is about to die inside. He then decides to go there and save her despite almost getting him killed. 

If Geralt had a greater sense of self-worth, he probably would’ve walked away, but he still decided to go save her because she’s the love interest after all, right?

The thing is... When Jaskier stops him, Geral doesn’t mention anything about how great Yennefer is, or how nobody deserves to die or how she doesn’t deserve such a fate.

No no. His only argument is that she saved Jaskier. So yeah, even in a moment meant to build up their relationship, Geralt mentions doing something because of Jaskier.

Somehow, everything between those two in this episode had a little bit of Jaskier in it. Even during the sex scene, we see Jaskier for a few seconds.

5) “Just a friend, I hope?”

This one is more for the shits and giggles, but the fact that Yennefer has to ask twice in the episode if Jaskier was “just a friend” is a bit...like, even she was uncertain whether to hit on him or not.

In conclusion.

Episode 5 really did a poor job at making the viewers root for the relationship between Geralt and Yennefer. The good scenes they had were outshined by the bad scenes and this gets worse with episode 6. 

We had 4 episodes to get used to Geralt and Jaskier together. But Yennefer and Geralt? We had episode 5, which was a mess, and episode 6, which was a time skip. 

You see, because it’s a time skip instead of seeing their relationship develop better after they’ve met, we’re just told that Geralt kept Yennefer as his booty call over the years and that they PROBABLY had some sweet moments together.

The only good scene these two had was the tent scene from episode 6, but that’s forgotten immediately because of the argument they have on top of the mountain. 

And you can see how much the fans cared about Geralt and Yennefer together because at the end of the episode most of them were weeping from what Geralt said to Jaskier than from the argument he had with Yennefer.

So yeah, blame it on the poorly structured episode 5.