“We’ve had some controversy with characters that we have killed off before, that aren’t killed in the books,” said showrunner Lauren Schmidt Hissrich in an interview with GamesRadar+. “Yet we always do it for a reason.”

Season four of Netflix’s The Witcher didn’t really manage to defy the odds. The show faced a lot of backlash after Henry Cavill’s high-profile departure. While I personally feel that Liam Hemsworth was a good replacement, given the circumstances, Cavill’s imposing presence is what carried the show in the previous season, and it was sorely missing in parts of season four.

However, it’s not like the previous season was phenomenal, even with Cavill in Geralt’s boots, and that’s down to the writing and pacing of the show. He famously left the show because it deviated from the source material, and season four was no different, with major characters getting killed off even though they survive in Andrzej Sapkowski’s books.

Major spoilers for Netflix’s The Witcher ahead

Is Vesemir Really Dead In The Witcher Season 4?

Liam Hemsworth as Geralt in The Witcher TV series, standing in a forest.

During the big battle against Vilgefortz and the Sorceresses of the Lodge, Triss asks Vesemis to help bolster the defenses of Castle Montecalvo. He brings along two other Witchers to add a few blades to the fight. However, everyone’s favourite Witcher daddy doesn’t survive his duel against Vilgefortz, which a lot of fans may have found surprising.

“We’ve had some controversy with characters that we have killed off before, that aren’t killed in the books,” said showrunner Lauren Schmidt Hissrich in an interview with GamesRadar+, perhaps nodding towards Eskel’s divisive Leshen-shaped demise in the second season. “Yet we always do it for a reason.”

Some big characters meet their end in the episode, with Istredd also dying while taking away Vilgefortz control over portals. However, Hissrich said that these decisions weren’t just for shock value. “I don’t think anyone is sitting around going, ‘Let’s just kill that person. Let’s have that shock value.’ One of the things that our characters have to deal with is the trauma of losing someone and how that changes who you are and how you view the world.”

For those who’ve only played the games, it’s worth noting that Vesemir is still alive and well in the books, unlike his counterpart in The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt, who died defending Ciri from Eredin and gang.