How & Why Triss Looks Different In The Witcher Season 2
Triss Merigold is one of many magical mage maidens returning for The Witcher season 2, but why does her character design subtly change? Though Yennefer of Vengerberg gets most plaudits out of Tissaia's St. Trinians-meets-Hogwarts student mages, Triss Merigold also finds herself deeply woven into The Witcher's narrative. A key figure in the books and games, Netflix Triss is portrayed by Anna Shaffer. She encountered Geralt during The Witcher season 1's past timeline, solving the tragic case of King Foltest's illegitimate daughter together, before returning for the Battle of Sodden Hill, getting brutally burned by the oncoming Nilfgaardian army.
Triss enjoys a larger role in The Witcher season 2. Still scarred - mentally and physically - from her experience at Sodden, she joins the Witchers at Kaer Morhen. It's revealed that Triss became friendly with Vesemir's crew following the Foltest mission with Geralt, and now her services are required to aid Ciri's training. Though helpful at first, Triss lands out of her depth when Ciri is revealed as the Child of Elder Blood, and the frightened sorceress quickly flees back to Tissaia.
Though Triss' role is expanded in The Witcher season 2, viewers may notice a change in her design too - specifically, Triss' hair color. She wore curled auburn locks throughout The Witcher season 1, whereas season 2 finds her sporting red hair in a straighter style. With 2 years between seasons, the casual Netflix audience may not immediately recognize Triss as the mage who aided Geralt in season 1, but the makeover isn't simply about aesthetics. Triss' new design brings the live-action Netflix character much closer to the version fans know and love from The Witcher's video game series. Red hair is a famous trait of pixel-Triss, and season 1's deviation was one of several recurring nitpicks expressed post-release. Evidently, The Witcher season 2 decided to do jus-triss to the source material, not only by giving her a meatier storyline and adapting those unrequited feelings for Geralt - but also injecting more authenticity into her visual appearance.
Fuss over Triss' hair color might've unfairly overshadowed Anna Shaffer's performance after The Witcher season 1 dropped on Netflix in 2019, but season 2 gives an explanation - or at least an implied one - for her change of style. The Witcher never directly breaks down Triss' hair change, but tacitly suggests being burned at the Battle of Sodden caused this fiery new color. In episode 3 ("What Is Lost"), Yennefer tells Triss, "You look different..." Though Shaffer's character merely responds with, "So do you," her reluctance to share a pool with the other witches hints that being burned triggered Triss' hairstyle makeover. In Andrzej Sapkowski's books, Triss' hair is burned off entirely at Sodden. Though not confirmed, this seemingly happened to the live-action character also, and season 2's red style is perhaps a magical replacement of Triss Merigold's own making. Triss refuses to let her burned skin be cured, and this new red hair feels like another outward expression of how Sodden will follow the sorceress forever.
The Witcher season 2's Triss change might be cosmetic, but it's a positive move nonetheless. Bringing characters closer to their original designs is rarely a bad thing, and the Netflix adaptation manages to morph Triss' previously-controversial locks into a moment of all-important character development.
Source: Screenrant
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