Geralt/Jaskier: books vs Netflix adaptation
In the wake of the new Netflix series, Geralt/Jaskier has suddenly become one of the most popular ships in the Witcher fandom. As someone who’s been shipping these two idiots for almost fifteen years, I couldn’t be more pleased. However, I can’t help but notice the majority of the fandom acting as if the adaptation had invented love between Geralt and Jaskier, and I must call bullshit.
Sure enough, the Netflix series has blessed us with Joey Batey, whose Jaskier is a wonderful bisexual disaster, hopelessly in love with his Witcher. His feelings for Geralt are clear as day, impossible to miss. That’s not the case for book Jaskier. Not because book Jaskier doesn’t experience the same love and yearning, but because book Jaskier can’t afford to let it show, just as he can’t afford to exclaim his full name to a bunch of strangers, or show the darker, more insecure side of his personality to anyone but Geralt. What the Netflix Jaskier puts on display, the book Jaskier tries to keep hidden, and you can only see it when he slips up.
The main difference between the books and the show, however, is not the portrayal of Jaskier. It’s Geralt.
The show chose to present the relationship between the bard and his witcher as very one-sided, with Jaskier obviously pining for Geralt, and Geralt being too emotionally constipated to even call Jaskier a friend. That’s not the case in the books – the first time we get a mention of Jaskier is when Nenneke announces his arrival to Ellander and asks whether Geralt wishes to see him, to which Geralt responds right away with ‘Of course. He’s my friend’. ‘Opposites attract,’ he tells Nenneke a moment later, when she wonders what on earth brings these two together.
Is the love between Geralt and Jaskier romantic in the books? Not necessarily. It’s not any less deep or precious because of it, though.
What’s important to keep in mind, is that Geralt’s relationships generally fall under two categories: those driven by destiny, and those driven by negative emotions. The first category is people like Vesemir, to whom Geralt is bound by the Law of Surprise, Ciri, bound to Geralt by the same law, and, in a way, Yennefer, whom he can no longer escape, after the wish he made. Yennefer could also fall under the second category, though. Her relationship with Geralt is strong and fierce, but ultimately toxic, full of jealousy, doubt, and often resentment. The other relationships stem from either pity, or Geralt’s self-loathing, and more often than not Geralt enters them just so that he can hate himself for it later, the way he did with Renfri, for example.
There are two notable exceptions in his life, however. First being Nenneke, the priestess of Melitele, the mother-figure in Geralt’s life. Nenneke is the missing puzzle-piece to Vesemir, Geralt’s other parent-figure, she’s the person Geralt needs to complete his illusion of a family he wants so badly, she’s the person whose approval Geralt craves, with whom he’s not afraid to be vulnerable. The other exception, is Jaskier.
What makes Jaskier special is that Geralt doesn’t need him. Jaskier doesn’t fit into a specific archetype, he’s not bound to Geralt by a greater force, he might very well be a casual acquaintance like Mousesack. And yet, whenever their paths cross, Geralt chooses to keep Jaskier in his life.
This friendship and platonic love that stems from it, defy all logic. On one hand, we have Geralt, who spends his entire life pushing regular humans away, convinced that they must despise him deep down, and doing his best to not get involved. Geralt, who sees a bard in trouble, and saves his sorry ass, without thinking. And on the other – there’s Jaskier, a coward, who meets the infamous Butcher of Blaviken, and follows him to the end of the world, as if that’s the most natural thing to do.
In the show, it’s Jaskier, who approaches Geralt, who invites himself to tag along, who doesn’t get discouraged even when he gets punched in the gut. In the books, two lonely men run into each other while running away from their problems, and decide to travel together. And they will keep running into each other, time and time over, because they feel safe around each other. Geralt keeps Jaskier safe physically, saving him from monsters, fleeing with him from war. Jaskier, on the other hand, keeps Geralt safe from his worst enemy – himself. He’s not afraid to call Geralt out on his bullshit and be brutally honest, when it’s needed. The story we first see Jaskier in is called ‘The Voice of Reason’. And that’s precisely what Jaskier is for our Witcher who’d otherwise brood and spiral.
And the book Geralt appreciates it. He never treats Jaskier the way Netflix Geralt does, he’s never violent, or intentionally cruel. When they get captured by the Elves in Dol Blathanna, Geralt pleads with Filavandrel without calling Jaskier ‘just a bard’. When they encounter the djinn and Jaskier gets hurt, Geralt seeks help and bargains with Yennefer not because it was his wish that injured Jaskier, not because he feels guilty, but because he genuinely cares for his bard and simply has to do all he can to save him. He’s willing to pay whatever price Yennefer demands, but only after he gets Jaskier into safety.
What the show misses is the softness and casual intimacy that is a big part of Geralt and Jaskier’s relationship in the books. They feel perfectly comfortable touching, they share a bed on multiple occasions, they share clothes, they ride Roach together many a time, and if Jaskier is conscious during those rides, he always clings to Geralt’s waist. They’re always looking out for each other, often making small sacrifices just to give the other what he needs at the moment.
The Netflix Geralt treats Jaskier as a mildly amusing nuisance. The book Geralt gets exasperated at times (hey, who wouldn’t?), but he’s never dismissive – he knows Jaskier is talented, intelligent, and well educated, and he cares for his opinion. ‘I’m a poet, Geralt. Does it matter what I think?’ Jaskier asks when facing the golden dragon. ‘It does,’ Geralt says. And it’s Jaskier’s ‘Don’t kill… Can you?’ that affects Geralt’s final decision, not Yennefer’s ‘Kill that dragon for me’.
The book Geralt would’ve never said something like ‘If life could give me one blessing, it would be to take you off my hands’. The book Geralt enjoys Jaskier’s company. ‘You must’ve lost your mind, Jaskier,’ he says instead. ‘You must’ve lost your mind, if you think I’d leave you’. Because the book Geralt loves his bard, out of his free will, he chooses to love that absolute disaster. And that disaster loves him back, without jealousy, without strings attached, without destiny’s sword and axe hanging above their necks. Because not all relationships have to be grand and tragic, and full of heartbreak.
