Following a lengthy and informative thread on Twitter by @mustangsart about how Geralt of Rivia is a disabled character, Netflix’s The Witcher showrunner Lauren S. Hissrich stated that she is excited to explore and add this complex layer to the character in the future.

The thread begins with a detailed presentation of how the character of Geralt suffers a terrible injury in the book Time of Contempt to his knee, elbow, and hip. Although he is later healed in the book through the magical Waters of Brokilon Forest, the long-term damage done to the body remains. Geralt will go on to complain of constant pain, his fighting style will have to adapt as his range of effective movement is reduced, horseback riding causes immense discomfort in his leg, and more.

The author Andrzej Sapkowski did an excellent job at portraying the long-term effects that serious injury can have on the body, while also showing the adaptation taken by a character to continue moving forward. It's a reminder of why you should read the Witcher books to better enjoy the games and show.. Long after the wounds have ceased to be an immediate concern, the reader is reminded of the pain felt by Geralt:

"[Geralt] caught sight of Regis looking at him intently. 'Is that a fresh injury?'

"'Not really. But it's tormenting me. Do you have any herbs capable of soothing the pain?'"

- Baptism of Fire by A. Sapkowski, pp.128

If this is the first time you are hearing of Geralt as a disabled character, it might be because the video games, for which the series is largely known before the show aired, largely omits any mention of the condition. This could have been intentional, as the games are not known for their direct adaptation of the all the books, or it could have been largely unintentional, because even those who have poured over the material can miss the signs of disability.

Via: amazon.com

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This is exactly what happened with Lauren S. Hissrich, who stated that she had read all of the books several times over, even the specific stories referenced in the original Twitter threat, and had not fully understood the extent of Geralt’s long-term pain and the changes to his life.

Now it seems that the show will set out to explore this new layer of complexity, though given that season two has been in production for some time, it probably will not be apparent until future seasons. If done correctly, the show has the potential to properly represent a disabled character even after the video game erased this fundamental part of Geralt’s identity.

Hats off to both @mustangsart for their informative thread, and to Hissrich for so positively embracing the need for accurate representation.

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