Lauren Schmidt Hissrich Instagram – There are aspects of Sapkowski’s novels that are difficult to explain to someone not steeped in the world. Nimue is one of them — a young girl who appears out of nowhere, very late in the game, who believes she has a pivotal role in this story. Sapkowski loves playing with timelines and POVs; it’s one of the many ways he keeps us on our toes as readers.
And one of the hardest things to adapt for television! How do you introduce a new character from a completely different world and time, in S4, without any context, and tell your audience “Pay attention, this seems random but it’s important!”
This is how the opening of 401 came about — what if the momentous task of reintroducing Geralt happened through the eyes of young Nimue (the spectacularly talented @eve.ridley) and storyteller Stribog (Clive Russell)? Win-win.
Look carefully, though. The image here (with wooden Geralt and Yennefer dolls) never ended up onscreen. That’s because the opening sequence was crafted, and recrafted, and rewritten, and recreated until we were happy with it. On a rewatch, see if you can tell just how much Eve grew up over the course of the shoot! | Posted on 13/Dec/2025 18:40:53
