One of the biggest themes of The Witcher is that Yennefer is one of the few mages that are capable of controlling chaos and performing magic. She is also one of the most powerful mages on the entire continent. However, we see in season 2 that she lost her powers as a result of the events during the final part of season 1. So, how did Yennefer get her powers back, and when did this happen?
Yennefer got her powers back when she sacrificed herself by becoming the vessel of Voleth Meir. Ciri used her powers to teleport them to an unknown world, where Yennefer was able to expel Voleth Meir. After Ciri teleported them back to their world, Yennefer’s connection with chaos was restored.
The thing that you need to know is that the reason why Yennefer got her powers back was not explained well enough in the final portion of season 2 of The Witcher. As such, it is speculated that her sacrifice was what ultimately allowed Yennefer to re-establish her connection with chaos so that she could once again perform magic.
Does Yennefer Regain Her Magic?
It was never a secret that Yennefer was a mage that could perform amazing feats of magic. In season 1, it was revealed as early as season 2 that her potential as a mage was boundless. And when Yennefer met Geralt, the Witcher himself said that she was one of the most powerful mages in the entire continent. That says a lot about how powerful of a magic user Yennefer is.
However, during the finale of season 1, Yennefer used all of her chaos to perform a forbidden fire spell that allowed the army of the mages to defeat the Nilfgaardian Empire’s army at the Battle of Sodden Hill. After that battle, she disappeared and was not seen until season 2.
It was only in season 2 that it was confirmed that Yennefer lost all of her magical powers and was no longer capable of controlling chaos. The reason is that she expunged all of the chaos within herself in that last-ditch attempt to defeat the Nilfgaardian forces at the Battle of Sodden Hill. As such, throughout season 2, Yennefer was basically an ordinary human with no powers.
That said, because Yennefer is one of the central characters of The Witcher and it has not been established in the books or in the games that she lost her powers at any point in the story, it only follows that she would end up regaining her powers in The Witcher series.
Of course, Yennefer did regain her powers and her connection to chaos, as her story in season 2 was primarily about her wanting to regain her magic and was seemingly desperate to do so to the point that she would ally herself with a demon and do its bidding. However, the way Yennefer was able to get her powers back was a bit unorthodox.
How Did Yennefer Get Her Powers Back?
As mentioned, Yennefer was basically powerless throughout the entire duration of season 2 until the final moments of the last episode. During the entire season, she was looking for a way to get her powers back and even became so desperate. But she did get her powers back eventually. So, how did Yennefer get her powers back?
To understand how Yennefer got her powers back, it is important to discuss some of the most important parts of season 2. Doing so will allow you to see some things that you might have overlooked when you were watching the second season of The Witcher.
As mentioned, Yennefer lost her powers at the Battle of Sodden Hill when she used fire magic, a forbidden spell, to defeat the forces of Nilfgaard. After the battle, she was seemingly lost, but it was revealed in season 2 that she was just taken prisoner by her former friend Fringilla and the remnants of the Nilfgaardian army that lost the Battle of Sodden Hill.
While on their way back from the battle, the Nilfgaardian forces were ambushed by a group of elves, who captured both Yennefer and Fringilla. The duo of mages met Francesca, an elven sorceress, who was seemingly looking for some sort of entity that had been visiting her in her dreams. Both Yennefer and Fringilla were also getting similar visions, but the versions of the visions that they were seeing were different.
The trio of magic users stumbles upon a hut that was sealed away. They released the entity that was trapped in this hut, and it was later revealed that this entity was named Voleth Meir, who is also called the Deathless Mother.
In truth, the Deathless Mother is an ancient demon that was once sealed long ago by the first Witchers. This entity is capable of manipulating desperate people and using their desperation against them. She also feeds on the pain and suffering of the people around her.
At first, Yennefer didn’t trust the Deathless Mother. However, as she was on her way to face execution for witchcraft, she eventually called Voleth Meir out of desperation. The Deathless Mother transformed herself in the form of Ciri and essentially told Yennefer that this girl was the key to getting her powers back. While there is some truth to what the demon said, she was merely manipulating Yennefer because Voleth Meir wanted to take Ciri for herself due to the princess’s powers.
Yennefer encountered both Geralt and Ciri and realized that the girl she was supposed to bring back to the Deathless Mother was important to Geralt. Still, that didn’t stop Yennefer from betraying the Witcher and the princess. She brings Ciri to Cintra so that she can offer her up to the Deathless Mother.
As Yennefer got to know Ciri, she eventually refused to give her up to the Deathless Mother. However, Voleth Meir is still able to possess Ciri, as she uses the young girl’s body to perform devastating feats of power. This also prompted the release of several monsters that the Witchers had to fight their way through.
Knowing that she had made a terrible mistake, Yennefer performs an act that forces the demon to possess her instead of Ciri. While Ciri may have come back from the demon’s possession, Voleth Meir was now inside the body of Yennefer. Geralt and Ciri still needed to expel the Deathless Mother from the powerless mage.
In that regard, Ciri used her powers to teleport herself, Geralt, and Yennefer to what was seemingly an unknown world. By doing so, Voleth Meir was expelled from Yennefer and was forced to ally herself with the Wraiths of Morhogg, otherwise known as the Wild Hunt. Before the Wraiths can get ahold of Ciri, she uses her powers to get herself and the others back to Kaer Morhen.
When the trio got back from the other world to their own world, Yennefer was able to get her powers back. There was no clear explanation of how she got her connection to chaos back, but the speculation is that traveling to a different sphere or world allowed her to regain what was once lost. Some would say that it was her selfless act to expel the demon from Ciri that repaired her connection with chaos.
Did Yennefer Sacrifice Herself For Ciri?
As you can see from how Yennefer got her powers back in the final portion of season 2 of The Witcher, what you would instantly know is that Yennefer did indeed sacrifice herself for Ciri. This was the selfless act that was hinted at as the cause of her reconnection with chaos.
Yennefer sacrificed herself when she chanted a spell and drank a potion she thought could release the curse. This was also the act that forced the Deathless Mother out of Ciri, as the demon used Yennefer as her vessel instead.
As mentioned, they were also able to get Voleth Meir out of Yennefer near the end of the season, as Yennefer got her powers back when the trio returned from the alien world to their own world. So, while some people would speculate that traveling to a different world was what allowed Yennefer to re-establish her connection with chaos, the indirect cause of her powers returning was the fact that she was willing to sacrifice herself for Ciri.
It is unclear how exactly Yennefer got her powers back through this sacrifice and by traveling to a different world. After all, none of the events regarding Voleth Meir were ever in the books. But we might get a suitable explanation in the next season.
