For those familiar with The Witcher saga and the video games, the name Eredin should definitely have sounded off some alarm bells when he appeared in The Witcher: Blood Origin. Played by Jacob Collins-Levy, Blood Origin details the beginnings of Eredin’s story and how he eventually ends up as the commander of the Wild Hunt also known as Wraiths of Mörhogg.
While it’s unclear how the Wild Hunt will be portrayed in the upcoming third season of The Witcher, Blood Origin offers us insight into how Eredin and his elven soldiers find themselves separated from the Continent. In one of the final scenes of Episode 4, we see Eredin picking up the iconic skull that he wears as a part of his armor, seemingly the first step in his journey to becoming King of the Wild Hunt.
Much of Eredin’s story in the prequel miniseries revolves around his time in the royal court, where he helps run the empire as High Commander along with Balor (Lenny Henry), the Chief Druid, using the Empress Merwyn (Mirren Mack) as their puppet. When Merwyn discovers his secret affair with the lowborn merchant Brían (Nathaniel Curtis), she uses their relationship in order to gain Eredin’s alliance. Not only does she offer Brían a seat on the Imperial Council, but offers to create a whole new role for him as an ambassador of trade to the new world, provided they expand their empire to the new worlds without Balor’s help. But everything soon goes awry when Balor sends Eredin and his troops to another world, trapping them there.
How Does Eredin in Blood Origin Connect to The Witcher?
Collider’s Steve Weintraub spoke with Blood Origins showrunners Declan de Barra and Lauren Schmidt Hissrich about what this ending means for Eredin and how the skull comes into play. On the revelation of the skull, de Barra said:
It was a way of showing the genesis moment and giving a huge nod to fans as to the… It’s the beginning of the Eredin we know and love from the books, and the games, and the TV show to come. That is the dark Wraith of Mörhogg eventually to become King of the Wild Hunt after he poisons the king. The dark Eredin, it’s his genesis moment, the aha moment, you see him pick up that skull, which is so visually symbolic of the Wild Hunt and what they become.
De Barra clarified that the skull was more a nod to the fans, who got a glimpse of the Wild Hunt at the end of Season 2. “This is the beginning, folks, you see him here and this is him as innocent as he can be,” De Barra explained, saying that after Eredin loses everything, this is the beginning of his motivations.
The Witcher: Blood Origin is now available to stream on Netflix. Check out our interview with some of the cast below:
