When The Witcher premiered in December 2019, it immediately became obvious that the show was using the book series by Andrzej Sapkowski as its primary inspiration source, and not the games. The second season that came out two years later follows this recipe and it mostly takes material from the first novel Blood of the Elves.
However, just like any book adaptation, the show also doesn't follow its source material to the last letter. As a result, there are a lot of differences the second season of The Witcher makes in comparison to the books, some of them really obvious.
7 Ciri, Geralt, And Triss Don't Travel Together
The part in which Triss arrives in Kaer Morhen to help Ciri with her powers and to find out what Ciri can do is taken from the books. What changed is that after their stay at Kaer Morhen, Ciri, Geralt and Triss travel together through the country. During their journey, Triss falls ill and Geralt has to take care of her while Ciri is somewhat jealous.
The most possible reason why the show left this storyline out is that it didn't have enough space for it considering it also focused on other characters, such as Fringilla, Francesca and their efforts in Nilfgaard. However, it might be a disappointment for all fans of Triss since it significantly cuts down the amount of time she's given in the series.
6 Eskel Dies
Many fans of the books and games as well were unpleasantly surprised when they discovered that Eskel would die in the series. In the source material, Eskel doesn't get infected by the mutated leshen and Geralt doesn't have to kill him in order to save Vesemir's life.
Instead, Eskel lives long enough to help Geralt and Ciri fight the Wild Hunt at Kaer Morhen in The Witcher 3. Eskel's character is also different in the series: he's much milder and friendlier in the books, but his behavior on the show can be explained by the infection as Eskel seemed more at peace in the one flashback he gets in the second season.
5 Yennefer Loses Her Magic
Yennefer's transformation in the second season shows who she is without magic when she gives it all up during the battle at Sodden. As a result, Yennefer spends almost the entire season without magic and makes a dangerous deal with Voleth Meir to get it back.
Nothing like this happens in the books. Yennefer never loses her magic, so she can use it to fight Rience who also captures and interrogates Jaskier. So even when Rience tries to escape by jumping into a portal, Yennefer sends out a burst of flame after him in the books and burns his face in a different way than she did in the series.
4 Yennefer Betrays Geralt
Because of her loss of magic, Yennefer is determined to bring Ciri where Voleth Meir asked her. She later changes her mind but the damage is already done, and Geralt makes it clear he no longer trusts Yennefer. Considering her loss of magic is the show's invention, things go differently in the books.
Geralt asks Yennefer for help, wanting her to teach Ciri how to control her magic, and after a few sarcastic remarks, Yennefer accepts and she and Ciri travel together.
3 Fringilla's Storyline
One of the biggest changes is Fringilla's whole storyline in the second season. In the books, Fringilla only plays a bigger part much later when Geralt, Jaskier, and a few of their other friends (including the vampire Regis) visit Toussaint.
Geralt and Fringilla become a couple and they seem genuinely in love, except Geralt still isn't over Yennefer and Fringilla has an ulterior motive. Fringilla working alongside Francesca, on the other hand, is something only the show's viewers could have enjoyed, as Fringilla's storyline is utterly different in the books.
2 Voleth Meir
Every show needs a proper antagonist, and in the second season, it's the demonic Voleth Meir. Those viewers who enjoyed her character and the manipulation she does will be sorry to hear that none such character exists in the books, even though Voleth Meir is based on Slavic folklore.
Her character is most likely a clever Easter egg aimed at The Witcher 3 and the character of Gaunter O'Dimm, who shares multiple similarities with the demonic being.
1 Geralt Visits Nivellen With Ciri
The show changes the source material right in the first episode when Geralt and Ciri visit the cursed Nivellen and meet his beloved, Vereena who turns out to be a vampire, a bruxa. In the books, Geralt is alone when he stops at Nivellen's home, and Ciri is nowhere to be seen.
That makes fighting Vereena that much easier for Geralt because while vampires are tough opponents in the world of The Witcher, at least Geralt doesn't have to worry about Ciri's safety while fighting Vereena in the books.
