Why Is Geralt the Only Witcher with Yellow Eyes?

One of the things that we’ve noticed in the Netflix adaptation of The Witcher is the fact that Geralt of Rivia has notable yellow eyes that are quite easy to spot because no other person has those features. Yes, not even the other Witchers in the storyline have the yellow eyes that have allowed Geralt to stand out among his fellow monster hunters. So, in that regard, why is it that Geralt is the only Witcher with yellow eyes?

Geralt is the only Witcher with yellow eyes because he was the only one that showed immense tolerance to the Mutagen that transformed young kids into Witchers. As such, he was subjected to more experiments that allowed him to mutate into a stronger Witcher with unique features, such as his yellow eyes.

The truth is that the yellow eyes that Geralt has are actually not only aesthetically appealing but are also quite useful. That’s because they allow him to see better in the dark, and that is very important in hunting monsters that often keep themselves hidden in dark areas. Of course, this is thanks to his more advanced mutation. That said, let’s look at why Geralt has yellow eyes.

Do All Witchers Have Yellow Eyes?

When we first met Geralt of Rivia during the events of The Witcher series, one of the things that were noticeable about him was the fact that he had yellow eyes that were quite unusual. Of course, we also found out that he was a mutant that lived to hunt monsters. He is one of a few people that are called Witchers, which roam the land called the Continent to seek and kill monsters that other humans are ill-equipped to handle.

As such, Geralt’s physical features became synonymous with the fact that he was a mutant that had enhanced physical abilities and limited magical powers. That is why people began to think that all Witchers look like him or, at the very least, have similar features. Of course, that also allowed people to think that all Witchers also have yellow eyes. So, is it actually true that all Witchers have yellow eyes, just like Geralt?

It was during the events of season 2 of The Witcher that we got to meet some of the other Witchers that Geralt calls his brothers. He and Ciri traveled to Kaer Morhen, which is the final stronghold of the few Witchers that exist. Of course, we got to see that the other Witchers that live in Kaer Morhen don’t have the same physical features that Geralt has.

That means that the other Witchers in that stronghold don’t have his yellow eyes. In fact, all of the other Witchers look like normal people and don’t have distinguishable physical features that allow people to think that they could be Witchers.

None of them had Geralt’s iconic features, which are his white hair and his yellow eyes. Coen has a black beard and eyes that aren’t yellow. Meanwhile, Lambert has brown eyes and red hair. And Vesemir, the oldest of all of the Witchers, has grey hair and golden eyes that aren’t as prominent as Geralt’s own yellow eyes.

In fact, in The Witcher: Nightmare of the Wolf, which is an animated movie that serves as the prequel story to season 2 of The Witcher because it tells Vesemir’s backstory, we see a younger version of Vesemir. He had black hair in that movie. That suggests that being close to 300 years old by the time of The Witcher is the only reason why he has greyish hair. Meanwhile, his golden eyes are probably his natural eyes.

As such, it is clear that Geralt’s features are unique among all of the other Witchers. That is why he is called the White Wolf, as he is the only one that has white hair. Meanwhile, his eyes are the ones that truly allow him to stand out because they are unlike any of the eyes of the other Witchers.

Why Does Geralt Have Yellow Eyes?

We have established that Geralt is the only one among all of the Witchers that have yellow eyes. On top of that, he is the only one with white hair as well. This raises the question about his unique features. Of course, we can’t even say that these are his natural features because his mother didn’t have any of these features at all.

For us to understand this topic more, it is important to understand what Geralt had to go through as a child when he became a Witcher. He was abandoned by his sorceress mother when he was still just a child and was left to the care of the Witchers of Kaer Morhen. Naturally, the Witchers turned him into one of their own and eventually trained him to become the best among all of the Witchers.

Of course, we know that Geralt is an old man in terms of the years he has lived because Witchers tend to have long lives. But his white hair and his yellow eyes are not related to his age at all. In fact, the way that he was turned into a Witcher is what contributed to the massive physical transformation that he underwent.

When young children are turned into Witchers, they have to undergo something called the Trial of the Grasses, which is a painful procedure that subjects them to undergo experiments using a Mutagen that could turn them into Witchers. Witchers are mutants that have enhanced physical abilities and limited magical powers. That is why it is important for them to undergo this trial for them to obtain their enhanced abilities.

The process of turning a child into a Witcher is one that is extremely painful and dangerous, as only a few children are able to survive the procedure. Only 3 out of 10 children are able to survive getting transformed into a Witcher, and this was one of the reasons why Geralt didn’t want Ciri to take the Witcher Mutagen in season 2, as there was no guarantee that she would survive the transformation.

However, Geralt, as a child, was not only able to survive the process of becoming a Witcher but was also able to showcase a strong ability to resist the pain and effects that are associated with the transformation. As such, he was subjected to further experiments that other Witchers would not have survived.

It is the fact that Geralt underwent experimental procedures that allowed him to mutate even further that changed some of his physical attributes. That is why he has white hair and yellow eyes, as these were side effects of the process that he underwent. And none of the other Witchers went through the same kind of procedures that he had to endure, as they wouldn’t have survived.

Of course, it is worth mentioning that Geralt’s yellow cat-like eyes are not only for aesthetic purposes. While Witchers are known to have eyes that allow them to see better in the dark, Geralt’s eyesight is even better than a regular Witcher’s due to how he mutated even further than they did. Nevertheless, we don’t know why he has white hair, but it may be the result of how stressful the procedure of turning into a mutant among mutants turned his hair white.

It is even possible that Geralt’s lack of emotions was one of the side effects of the procedure that he endured. That’s because, compared to the other Witchers, who seem to be human in terms of their appearance and personalities, Geralt is a lot less emotional. As such, the experiments he underwent must have also affected the way he felt emotions, as a monster killer needed to be as cold as possible to be the best at what he does.