#i'll probably get through all the netflix eps and then not watch it for 2 months

[quivering-qunt]

skypiea arc is so fucking unserious. calling it now that the god all these ppl keep talking about is just some dude. like that the crew all got outfit changes but i am with sanji, why is name wearing capris and a tshirt ??

[the-third-bard]

Story summary of "the lesser evil"

Aka the first episode of the show aka the renfri ep

Content warning: r*pe mention. This one is a lot, if you have trouble with reading about that, maybe skip this one!

As in the episode, Geralt's killed a kikimora, and is looking for a contract for it in Blaviken. He meets with the alderman, Caldemeyn, who seems to be an old friend of Geralt. They talk for a while, Caldemeyn makes sexist comments - probably why they replaced him with Marilka in the show.

They go to The Bastard Man Himself Stregebor to maybe sell the kikimora to him but he doesn't want it and this amazing line is said

Stregebor has Wizard Robes and a staff with a crystal in the top of it and Wizard EyebrowsTM. Netflix keep up.

Stregebor and Geralt talk in his magican tower of illusion (there's one naked illusion-lady instead of like 6 + one dude like in the show), it looks way different on the inside, it's like a garden w a lil house with a porch?

Stregebor talks about the evil eclipse and Renfri and everything he says makes me want to punch him (and at some points also Geralt).

The girls with Evil Eclipse Syndrome are described to do horrible things that aren't really touched on at all in the show, like psychopath shit. From torturing animals when they were kids to mass murder. Renfri lives up the the shrike nickname.

Geralt makes a great point that many people have been cruel and evil w/o Evil Eclipse Syndrome

This is fascinating cus like, they chose to kill and imprison these girls out of fear for what they'd do, which proves to be a terrible idea because that just makes the girls hateful and traumatized. They could've nurtured these girls to control their power and do good with it but they didn't. They fucked up and now they have to pay for it at the hands of these girls they hurt.

(It's important to note that they actually did try to cure them, but ultimately failed. This is Stregerbor saying that, though, so idk if he's like, lying or embellishing to make Geralt feel like helping him out or not, but he does say it.)

Renfri born to some prince, and the dude's wife (Renfri's step-mother) used a magic mirror (snow shite reference) to forsee their land's future, the magic mirror revealed Renfri was gonna kill her and a shit ton of other people so she sent Renfri out into the woods and sent a thug after her (snow white reference).

The thug r*ped her and Renfri killed him.

She was 13 at the time.

(snow white reference)

Geralt tells Stregebor he doesn't feel sorry for the thug, which great. I need more comments like these from Geralt, cus at this point he's said more sexist shit than good.

(stregebor also turns her into stone at some point which is probably also a snow white reference)

Geralt aslo does his "evil is evil, Stregebor" speech.

Somehow Stregebor convinces Geralt to talk to Renfri, he doesn't want to kill her

Renfri and Geralt meet in a bar and i simp for a bit. They talk shit about Stregebor.

Later when Geralt goes to the room in thr attic Caldemeyn has lent hik for the night, Renfri is there.

They talk for a bit, about what will happen. Renfri want Stregebor dead, she wants to avoid bloodshed of the townsfolk but will kill if it means Stregebor dies.

Renfri talks about her life, how good her life was at the castle, and then after that.

Geralt as usual says the wrong things

And then she says she had to prostitute herself to survive on the streets. Let me remind you, 13 years old.

Picture if you wan't the details

"I'll tear his head off, royally, first."

Geralt refuses to help her, and promises to try to stop her if she tries to kill Stregebor

Renfri makes me cry

How can you make a character experience this and not give them a happy ending? Not give them revenge? My heart hurts for her. Renfri deserved better.

Renfri makes a show of being convinced by Geralt, tells him she isn't going through with it.

They have off-screen sex, I think as a way to distract Geralt. It's kind of disgusting of Geralt that he can sit and listen to her talk about her horrible past sexual encounters and then still want to have sex with her.

The next day, oops, turns out Renfri tricked him and she's actually gonna fuck some shit up. Geralt, now faced with this, is all totally cool with choosing the lesser evil and stopping, probably killing, Renfri to save the townsfolk.

(Renfri is protected under some king, and if the alderman attacks her the king is allowed to kill the alderman? Or arrest him? Bc laws are weird?)

That's ironic.

Renfri's left her party in the market to keep Geralt occupied while she tries to get Stegebor out of his tower. It's implied she threatened to kill civilians if he didnvt surrender but he was like I could Literally Not Care Less.

Geralt kills the dudes and then Renfri shows up.

By the way she talks i get the feeling that she doesn't want to do this. I think she's made killing Stregebor such a big part of her, that it was inevitable that she'd kill him, that she never considered, before now, that she might die trying. And she's scared, but she doesn't know how to stop. Because what will become of her then? If she failed? That'd be like losing an integral part of her being. Like how people who have been depressed for a long time might reject help because it feels like they're trying to take that part away from you.

It feels like a lot of the story is an allegory to mental health. How mentally ill people are shunned and, in this time period especially, deemed evil and wrong and deserve to die. Perhaps the Evil Eclipse Mutations are supposed to represent, say, schizophrenia, then being told you're wrong and evil and destined for cruelty and constantly being tortured and hunted would probably mold you into a violent person. Because that is what you've been taught that you are.

(I haven't read any, like, metas or articles or watched theory videos or anything so I might be completely wrong with this, but it's the interpretation I got. Tell me what you think in the notes if you want.)

Anyway.

Renfri dies, cold, on the ground. Geralt isn't holding her as she dies like in the show. He can't move as she begs him to hold her.

Stregebor comes running and thanks Geralt, he did what he wanted, after all.

Stregebor wants to bring her body to the tower and perform an autopsy, but Geralt threatens to kill him if he so much as touches a hair on her head.

Stregebor pisses off and the townsfolk start throwing stones at Geralt. Caldemeyn gets them to stop.

Caldemeyn asks Geralt if this is what the lesser evil was, and Geralt says yes, but doesn't really believe it. Caldemeyn banishes Geralt from the town.

So this story is a very clear allegory on why centrist ideology doesn't work, I talked about it before but I'll say it again. When he needs to choose between a lesser and a greater evil, Geralt chooses neither, which will always benefit the greater evil. I know some people take Geralt's "I'd rather not choose at all" speech to heart and like, genuinely believe that that was the point of this story but it ISN'T! It's the complete opposite! Geralt CONSTANTLY gets into bad situations because by choosing ignorance he aids the worse side.

Geralt smile count: 2