Witcher Netflix Series: Who Are Leo Bonhart, Villentretenmerth, and Yarpen?
Last week, a list of core characters was announced for the upcoming Witcher Netflix series. The series’ showrunner, Lauren Hissrich, posted the list on Twitter, along with a brief description of each one. The list cemented the speculation that the series will be drawing more upon the original novels than the game. If you haven’t read Andrzej Sapkowski’s Witcher novels then some of the characters who’ve been announced might well be unfamiliar to you.
The Witcher games made by CD Projekt Red generally take place after most of the novels. As such, plenty of characters have already departed the story of Geralt of Rivia. With the series set to revisit his younger days, it will no doubt feature numerous characters who have never appeared in the games. Details on Cahir, Milva, and Vilgefortz can be read here.
Who is Leo Bonhart?
A ruthless Nilfgaardian bounty hunter and former soldier, Leo Bonhart is sure to be one of the series’ coldest and scariest villains. Lauren Hissrich said of Leo:
“Sadistic. Ghoulish. Ruthlessly efficient. Hedonistic. His-depth-lies-in-his-lack-of-depth-because-we-keep-searching-for-reason-or-redemption-and-in-fact-there-is-none-just-a-cold-brutal-soul-who-desires-to-be-colder-and-what’s-more-terrifying-than-that?”
Leo Bonhart was such a talented killer that he carried three different witcher medallions; all taken from witchers he had slain. He was hired by a Nilfgaardian intelligence agent called Steffen Skellen to kill Ciri, and simultaneously hired by the Baron of Casadei to capture her alive. However, he ended up holding her captive, drugging her with fisstech, and forcing her to fight in his cousin’s arena. It was from Bonhart that Ciri acquired her sword, Zireael. His fate became entangled with those of Geralt and his companions at Stygga Castle.
Who is Villentretenmerth, a.ka. “Borch Three Jackdaws”?
A powerful and kind golden dragon, Villentretenmerth loved to travel, and often did so in human form.
“Perceptive. Protective. Merciful. The most beautiful. An-observer/-philosopher/-seeker-of-freedom-which-means-he-didn’t-kill-just-because-he-could-but-rather-sought-to-understand-why-others-wanted-to-kill-him-which-is-EVERYTHING.”
Villentretenmerth is the father of Saesenthessis, better known as Saskia the Dragonslayer, who was a major character in The Witcher II: Assassins of Kings. This polymorphing dragon met Geralt while in human form, masquerading as a knight named Borch Three Jackdaws. He approved of Geralt’s policy of not hunting dragons and later clashed with a dragon hunting party in Villen which included Yarpen Zigrin (see below).
Who is Yarpen Zigrin?
A dwarf adventurer and dragon-hunter, Yarpen Zigrin led a company of like-minded hunters.
“Feisty. Fierce. Wise. A diplomat of the highest order. His-gruff-demeanor-and-crude-language-belies-an-intelligent-soul-who-has-his-finger-on-the-pulse-of-the-Continent’s-complicated-landscape-and-who’s-well-on-his-way-to-a-life-in-politics-VOTE-FOR-YARPEN!”
Yarpen Zigrin met Geralt on a dragon hunt in Villen, along with other characters such as Yennefer, Dandelion, and Borch Three Jackdaws (who would later waylay the hunters in his dragon form). Yarpen met Geralt, Triss, and Ciri some time later when he was working for King Henselt of Kaedwen. He would go on to fight against the Nilfgaardians in the Northern Wars and then appear in Witcher II: The Assassins of Kings, where he joined Saskia’s forces.
Although Yarpen is one of the few side-characters to feature in one of CD Projekt Red’s games, he was only a minor character in The Witcher II. He did not appear in the Witcher III, though Geralt does mention at one point in Novigrad that Yarpen had survived the third Northern War.