Jonathan Wright of We Got This Covered points out pretty easily that Jaskier from The Witcher is about the only character that a lot of fans might notice isn’t quite up to snuff when transitioning from the books to the screen. Surprisingly one of the biggest details concerns Jaskier’s hat, which is something like a Tudor’s bonnet in the books. If you’re wondering what this is it’s essentially a flat cap with a cord tied around the base that is quite common for a story such as The Witcher. The only problem is that the rest of the cast couldn’t stop laughing when they noted just how Joey Batey, the man in charge of making sure that Jaskier sings the praises of Geralt of Rivia in order to spread his legend. That does become something of an issue when people can’t stop laughing at a piece of apparel since it looks so ridiculous that it’s an easy target for ridicule. The showrunner is thinking that there is a chance that they might try the hat again but there’s no promises being made just yet. Perhaps if Jaskier is aged up a bit in season 2 things might go a little differently since this is another part of the bard’s performance that a lot of people realize was dropped in a manner that didn’t make sense. In a show where a lot of key people don’t age however it’s a little too tempting to just keep people the same age since a normal human like Jaskier can’t even keep up with Yennefer when it comes to combat, much less Geralt, so an aging bard is going to be more of a stone around anyone’s neck than a true boon since he really has no fighting skills to think of. Were this a D&D show the bard might actually possess some magic power of his own and a bit of fighting prowess that could help him out. But given that The Witcher bestows power and skill upon only those that are trained to be fighters Jaskier’s just out of luck.
Jaskier has actually been given more prominence in season 1 than the first book of The Witcher series gave him as he shows up later on in the first story and is mentioned throughout a good part of it. In essence he’s important since he does tell the story of Geralt, but he’s also a massive annoyance since he can’t do anything more than chronicle the stories he sees and he has a terrible habit of embellishing the truth as many storytellers do on occasion. One might say that Geralt has a minor soft spot for him, but even that would be generous since the Witcher doesn’t always have a kind word for Jaskier and usually sees fit to insult and deride him more often than not. And yet for some reason season 1 saw Geralt allowing Jaskier to stick around time after time for one reason or another and even had the Witcher stomaching the bard’s attempts at friendship up to a point. If you’ll remember, Geralt ended up driving everyone off at one point with his less than astute charms and was content to be on his own again until he and Ciri found one another. What part Jaskier is going to play in the Witcher’s life in the second season is interesting to contemplate since there’s no telling just when and where they’ll meet unless you’ve read the books and perhaps played the game. Likely as not though Jaskier, even if he’s aged by season 2 and grown somewhat wiser, will still be something of an annoyance to a character such as Geralt that values quiet and the tumult of his own thoughts when he can hear them.
In a way Jaskier is a necessary bother since his presence, as it happens in many stories, is the kind of element that breaks up the monotony and introduces a moral quandary here and there that is brought on by a third party that’s not necessarily connected to the main character but has something to do with them all the same. Be it comic relief or just another voice in the midst of those that are seen to drive the story, this third wheel tends to be someone that can serve as a conscience to the main character and an annoyance at the same time, or will possibly be someone that will show up now and again when needed to inject their character into one situation or another where the storyteller might feel that something extra is needed. This feels like the best way to describe Jaskier apart from his ability to tell a story, as someone that is simply needed for whatever reason and will be important to the overall plot of the story at some point.
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