The Witcher 3 is one of the greatest masterpieces in modern gaming and has won thousands of fans worldwide for the – admittedly quite brutal – universe of the Witcher. Geralt and all the characters from the games have existed much longer… and in some ways quite differently than what you might know.
The number in the title suggests it, but The Witcher 3 did not establish the universe. Logically, there were already two games in the main series before that – fewer of you may know that all of this is based on a book series and that even a film existed before the popular series with Henry Cavill and later Chris Hemsworth.
The Witcher has its origin in the “Witcher” saga by Polish author Andrzej Sapkowski, which now comprises at least nine books. Seven of them were released before the first Witcher game in 2007.
As someone who read the books before the game series existed, one thing has always puzzled me: Why the hell would anyone actually like Triss Merigold?
Sure, she is one of the most powerful women in the Lodge of Sorceresses. But the lady has a terrible character. That’s always a topic of conversation in the community, recently in a thread on Reddit with over 10,000 upvotes.
Team Triss vs. Team Yen is a Phenomenon of The Witcher 3
The Witcher 3 allows you romance paths, something that was already more or less the case in the previous games. A little aside: Since Witchers become infertile but still physically fit due to the herb trial, they are quite popular with women in the universe. They have a corresponding reputation, which is very graphically displayed in all Witcher games.
However, The Witcher 3 goes a bit deeper here with real relationships and not just quick flings. Two potential partners are available for Geralt, each with their own character traits:
- Triss Merigold, the “tradwife”, with whom Geralt will grow old on a cozy farm somewhere in the middle of nowhere (or perhaps will not grow old),
- or Yennefer of Vengerberg, Nilfgaard’s court sorceress with a strong will and the woman who Ciri would most likely recognize as a mother.
Since many players apparently want the “happy ending” for Geralt and wish him a peaceful evening after all the wars and monster slaying, they choose Triss. If they knew who this woman is, they would probably decide differently.
One more piece of information on the side: It is also possible for Geralt to choose both women. In this case, a “secret” scene awaits with a not-so-happy ending for the Casanova.
Triss Merigold is a Selfish Beast and Doesn’t Even Feel Ashamed of It
Mild spoiler warning: I will touch on information that you only get when reading the books and sometimes when playing The Witcher 1 and 2. If you haven’t done both yet, you absolutely should catch up.
Already in the first books about Geralt, his current and recently past state is discussed: He suffers from memory loss, does not really know who he is, who his friends are, and what he should actually do.
Before all this happened, he was actually already in a relationship with Yennefer for a long time – or as “together” as one can be in a mutually toxic relationship. In any case, they were a couple and had honest feelings for each other.
Triss, on the other hand, exploited this amnesia and posed as his partner, repeatedly instilling in him that they were a couple and she was the love of his life. Pure gaslighting. At one point it is even described how she “helped with magic” to seduce Geralt…
Apart from jealousy or a crush on Geralt, there are no other reasons that would be obvious. Some fans say: For a sorceress, Triss is still very young. Suddenly having so much power leads her to act impulsively. To me, that sounds more like a poor excuse.
Those Who Only Know The Witcher 3 Have a Completely False Image of Triss
In The Witcher 3, Triss does admit to this entire story, but it sounds less wild than it must have been in reality. So, those who know only the (still) latest Witcher part or the modern series cannot know how treacherous Triss really is.
The game portrays her as a quite nice, considerate woman who takes care of Geralt like a wife, making every effort to make her husband’s life as pleasant as possible. If they were both still fertile (because also sorceresses are normally not), family planning would probably even be a topic. Only those who already suspect something will catch on to her:
I did not like Triss before I read the books because she openly admits in TW 3 to having exploited Geralt when he was suffering from amnesia. Reading the books only strengthened my opinion of her.
claytalian on Reddit
Now there are discussions about whether Yennefer would also be a bad choice and whether Geralt does not force the raven-haired woman into things similar to what Triss did to him. I don’t want to spoil the entire story, but the relationship between Geralt and Yen is more nuanced. A certain scene in a bathhouse with a razor blade clearly shows how the two stand to each other, and based on that, I can tell you: Yen is the only right choice.
Have you read the books or do you only know The Witcher 3? What do you think about all this? Has this information about Triss given you a different image of the sorceress? Let us know in a comment!
In The Witcher 4, the choice between Yen and Triss will probably no longer take place… which would seem strange anyway considering that one of them is Ciri’s adoptive mother and Ciri plays the main role in the next part. For those who don’t like that, Geralt personally
has a message: “Read the damn books” – Geralt comments on complaints about Ciri as the protagonist of The Witcher 4
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