The Witcher TV show seems to be quite the hit. According to our own reporting, the first season as a whole did better than Game of Thrones’ final season finale, which is quite a feat for something that was receiving mixed to negative reviews prerelease. But, much like the Witcher after which the series is named, the show has taken the heat and continued onwards, quickly gaining a dedicated fan following with things as innocuous as remixes making the news. There has only been one real issue roundly criticized; the timeline.
The show can, at times, be a bit confusing, especially to newcomers who have no prior experience with the books, the games, or any of the other related media. Even some of those who had a decent handle on the lore going in found themselves somewhat confused. The Witcher takes more of a naturalistic approach to lore building, eschewing lore dumps for just treating subjects as a natural part of the diegetic dialogue between characters appearing on the screen. That, combined with the fact that the show is heavily non-linear and features scenes and flashbacks that sometimes take place decades apart slotted in right next to each other, can make things hard to follow for even the most devout fantasy fans.
It’s a pretty cool show.
But hark! Take heed. The producers of the show have provided a neat little interactive index for those wishing to get a better handle on the timeline of the world and the events they behold on screen. Entitled, simply, the Map of the Continent, this interactive web page is fully searchable and offers all the answers any Witcher fan could want. It starts you off with some of the events from Episode 1 but will let you look at everything from the Conjunction of Spheres, the event in prehistory that brought both humans and monsters to the continent, all the way up to the events of episode 8, in the year 1234. If the lore of the show or just the concept of a map sounds interesting to you, give it a try. There are even some minor easter eggs hidden around if you know where to look.
Videogame Journalist by day, Author of Weird Fiction by night. If you don’t like one, might I suggest giving the other a try? I am here to inform and entertain and seek to be either or both when elsewhere. ; 3
