‘The Witcher’: Do Jaskier & Radovid End Up Together in the Books?

WARNING: Potential SPOILERS for The Witcher Season 3 below! Continue reading at your own risk!

Throughout the first two seasons of Netflix’s hot show, The Witcher, Jaskier is a character that, as a bard, heavily advocates for love, romance, and kinship. However, we never saw him have a love life of his own. Well, that all changed in Season 3, when we see him share a passionate kiss (and maybe more) with Prince Radovid. But do they end up together in the books as well?

Jaskier and Radovid do not end up together in the books. They don’t even share a romantic interest in each other, as Jaskier is portrayed more as a ladies’ man instead of the pansexual romantic that he is in the show. In the books, Jaskier has several love interests, but Radovid isn’t one of them.

I like that the show chose to change things up a bit and give Jaskier – as the actor Joey Batey himself said – a more modern interpretation. Being pansexual and open to romance certainly fits Jaskier’s romantic character arc, even if it isn’t really book canon – unlike Ciri, who is canonically bisexual in both the books and the show.

Who are Jaskier and Radovid?

Jaskier and Radovid are both characters who appear in The Witcher TV series, as well as Sapkowski’s books and the games. However, some fans were confused about the character named Jaskier due to his name.

In the English translation of The Witcher books, Jaskier’s name is Dandelion, so when the show called the ‘humble bard’ Jaskier, some fans thought he was a new character created for the show. In reality, the show simply used the original name that Sapkowski gave to the bard – Jaskier.

He’s the self-proclaimed friend of Geralt of Rivia, who started following the Witcher to write about his adventures, but he eventually became a real friend, a helping hand, and much more than a background nuisance.

On the other hand, Radovid appears as such in the books and games and the show. The difference is, in the show, he is the younger and more intelligent brother of Vizimir, King of Redania. Prince Radovid hides behind a mask – a front where he doesn’t let on how cunning and intelligent he is. Everyone considers him weak and harmless, but he is far from it.

He met Jaskier in Redania, and almost instantly, we saw some romantic tension and chemistry brewing between the two. Jaskier was interested because he just couldn’t ‘read’ Radovid. On the other hand, Radovid actually started flirting with the bard to get him to reveal where Ciri and Geralt were.

He didn’t do it suddenly or brashly. Instead, he just planted the seed in Jaskier’s mind that, perhaps, Ciri would be safer and better protected in Redania rather than with only a single Witcher.

The romantic tension grew and grew between Jaskier and Radovid – despite Jaskier having another love interest in Vespula – before they finally shared a passionate kiss (and probably more, but the camera cut before we got a confirmation) in Episode 4 of The Witcher Season 3.

Do Jaskier and Radovid end up together in ‘The Witcher’ Netflix show?

While Jaskier and Radovid did passionately kiss and finally acted on all the sexual/romantic tension between them, I’m not really sure if they’ll end up together for several reasons.

Firstly, it’s just not in Jaskier’s style to get involved with someone long-term. Just look at Vaspula – they’re on-again-off-again all the time, and there’s nothing to suggest that Jaskier would be willing to commit. He’s a traveling bohemian, and I doubt that’ll change any time soon.

Secondly, I reckon that Jaskier knows that Radovid is smarter than what he lets on and that he certainly has his own agenda behind the mask of simply liking the bard.

And, finally, as mentioned, even Radovid isn’t fully invested in that relationship. He has his own intentions and a hidden agenda behind being so romantically invested in Jaskier. Ergo, despite the fact that they have been flirting for several episodes before hooking up, I don’t believe it’s something that will last.

Especially considering how morbidly vile Radovid is in the books…

Do Jaskier and Radovid end up together in The Witcher books?

Jaskier and Radovid do not end up together in the books. In fact, it was never even remotely close, not even an option. And again, as in the previous subheading, there are several reasons behind that.

Firstly, Jaskier isn’t canonically bisexual, pansexual, or in any way queer in the books, as confirmed by the actor Joey Batey himself:

“He’s canonically queer in the TV show, which is a departure from the books and the games, as far as I know. It was wonderful to see a panromantic or pansexual person in such a flagship show such as this.”

In the books, Jaskier is more of a ladies’ man, having numerous love interests such as Anna Henrietta, Essi Daven, and Vespula – a character that serves as Jaskier’s love interest in the show as well.

In fact, he meets Geralt of Rivia while running away from a group of brothers who want to beat him up badly (or worse) for impregnating their sister. He never had any interest in a real, long-term romantic relationship, and it was never shown or hinted at that Jaskier might be queer. 

That doesn’t mean it’s a bad change for the show, but simply that Jaskier’s relationship with Radovid couldn’t be a thing in the books.

Another big reason why it just would work is the fact that Prince Radovid is just awful in the books and games. Like, really vile. He’s cunning and charming but does unspeakable things all along. Once you get to The Witcher 3 video game, the guy has literally no redeeming qualities left. He’s just burning everything and killing everyone without remorse.

I highly doubt that someone like that would be a good love interest for somebody as romantic and kind as Jaskier.

While Jaskier and Radovid kissed in Part 1 of The Witcher Season 3, we won’t know if their relationship amounts to anything until Part 2 drops on Netflix. The final three episodes of The Witcher Season 3 arrive on July 27, 2023.

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