'The Witcher' Season 2 to explore Jaskier's past

The new season of "The Witcher" is casting for Countess de Stael, who is presumed to be Jaskier's lover.

"The Witcher" Season 2 may dig into Jaskier's past, specifically his love story, if recent casting spoilers are any indication.

According to Redanian Intelligence, the Netflix TV show is looking to cast the Countess De Stael. She was only mentioned once in Season 1, Episode 5, while Geralt was fishing for a djinn in the river and Jaskier looked on. The way the bard spoke about her suggested that they were in a romantic relationship. He sang about wanting the countess to welcome him back "with glee, open-armed and very little clothing."

The Countess De Stael could be someone important to Jaskier, oossibly his source of inspiration as described in Andrzej Sapkowski's book. In "The Tower of the Swallow," Geralt described her as the reason for Jaskier's singing. She was the bard's muse during his younger years.

"But as I well know, for you've often told me about it, you only began seriously rhyming and composing melodies when you were nineteen, inspired by your love for Countess de Stael," Geralt said.

The casting of Countess De Stael in "The Witcher" Season 2 may provide fans a quick backstory on Jaskier. Joey Batey, who played the character, first appeared in Season 1 in the second episode, "Four Masks." Throughout the bard's appearances, his backstory was never fully explored. The series only gave hints about his past.

Jaskier might just get his wish to see the countess again if the djinn grants his wish. Viewers may remember that he made two wishes in the belief that he is the entity's new master.

Reports about the casting of Countess De Stael in "The Witcher" comes after Netflix paused production in London last week. The pause is mandatory after four people within the production crew tested positive for COVID-19. Coincidentally, the U.K. also started with its one-month lockdown.

There is no update yet when filming will resume. It will likely be a 14-day rest for cast and crew as they wait for the four to complete quarantine. Thankfully, none of the major cast members contracted the virus as confirmed by showrunner Lauren Hissrich, who said the "witchers" are okay.