Editor’s Note: The below contains spoilers for The Witcher Season 3, Episode 2.

Slowly but steadily, the two previous seasons of The Witcher expanded the Continent by introducing all the different people and factions fighting to seize power. The cast for The Witcher is so big that sometimes it can be hard to track everyone’s whereabouts. Some episodes, like Season 3’s premiere, balance the worldbuilding the series needs with solid emotional growth for the main characters we love. Unfortunately, Season 3, Episode 2 has so much ground to cover that it can feel overwhelming.

At the end of Season 3, Episode 1, Geralt of Rivia (Henry Cavill) says goodbye to Ciri (Freya Allan) and Yennefer (Anya Chalotra) as the White Wolf’s found family looks for ways to get rid of their enemies for good. Episode 2, “Unbound,” splits its focus to try and tell Geralt and Yennefer’s stories simultaneously. And while that could already damage the pacing of a TV episode, “Unbound” also tries to explain what’s happening with Elves, the Nilfgaardian Empire, Redania, Aretuza, and Jaskier (Joey Batey). There’s just too much happening at the same time. So, let’s try to break down all the main events in an orderly way.

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After they decide to split up, Geralt takes Jaskier to see Codringher (Simon Callow) and Fenn (Liz Carr), two investigators who deal in secrets. Geralt wants to know who Rience’s (Sam Woolf) master is and why the fire mage is after Ciri. Unfortunately, all the White Wolf learns is that Rience often meets his boss in an abandoned castle. Since Geralt doesn’t want to put Jaskier in further danger, he leaves the bard behind to deal with his business. The two friends also learn Istredd (Royce Pierreson) is also looking for Ciri, but the mage is yet to show up in Season 3.

From his meeting with Codringher and Fenn, Jaskier realizes the investigators know more than they told Geralt. So, Jaskier goes to see Prince Radovid (Hugh Skinner), who would supposedly have enough money to buy the secrets Geralt couldn’t. Jaskier is still willing to work with Radovid to take down Rience and turn Ciri into a queen in Redania so that the girl, and everyone around her, can finally be safe. During Jaskier’s encounter with Radovid, we can practically see sparks in the air. The prince is fascinated with Jaskier’s musical abilities and determined to keep the bard around. So, while Radovid is most definitely using Jaskier to keep tabs on Ciri, it seems like the prince is also quite fond of the bard. Now we must wait and see whether their relationship will evolve beyond secretive allies in the following episodes.

Ciri and Yennefer Bond Over Shared Trauma

While Geralt and Jaskier try to gather information on Rience, Yennefer takes Ciri back to Aretuza. The two women hide the best they can when crossing the Northern Kingdoms, where the political instability has led monarchs to turn against each other. Ciri is troubled by the death and destruction she meets on her path. To make things worse, Ciri’s magical training didn’t help her control her visions about the future, instead making them more frequent and intense. That’s how Ciri correctly predicts that a Redanian commander named Aplegatt will have an arrow shot in his direction, which happens later in the episode.

Because they are trying to remain incognito, Yennefer stops Ciri from meddling in Aplegatt’s affairs. However, once Ciri has a vision of an enslaved child beaten to death, she frees the kid, drawing the anger of their owner. Yennefer is forced to interfere, killing a man revealed to be one of Houvenaghel’s men. Houvenaghel is a powerful landowner and the cousin of bounty hunter Leo Bonhart, who will unquestionably be unleashed upon the North to find the responsible for the crime. So, while saving a kid, Ciri might have doomed dozens of people to be tortured and killed by Leo Bonhart.

To explain to Ciri how dangerous it can be to interfere with fate, Yennefer takes the girl to her place of birth, showing her the horrors she had to endure. Yennefer explains how she was sold to Tissaia (MyAnna Buring) by her family, taken to Aretuza, and taught to channel Chaos. Yennefer also explains her desire to follow her own path led her to free Cahir (Eamon Farren), which resulted in the Northern Kingdoms turning their back on the Brotherhood of Sorcerers and the current turmoil in Aretuza. It’s an emotional moment in which Ciri realizes she’s not alone and Yennefer might be the only person on the Continent who understand what she’s going through.

What’s Happening in Aretuza?

Since Yennefer is a pariah in Aretuza, she sends a letter to Tissaia to warn about her journey. Yennefer doesn’t know if she might be forgiven, which is why she prefers to warn Tissaia of her coming. Tissaia is unsure if she should welcome Ciri. However, thanks to the support and kindness offered by Vilgefortz (Mahesh Jadu), Tissaia agrees to meet Yennefer and maybe bring her to Aretuza.

Things are not going so well in Aretuza, though. In Season 3, Episode 2, we can see the members of the Brotherhood of Sorcerers fighting each other about the best way to reattach the broken bond with the Northern Kingdoms. There’s also the mysterious disappearance of a young student, Nissa, who only left a blood stain on the wall of her bedroom before vanishing. The blood is found by Triss (Anna Shaffer), who’s become a teacher in Aretuza after leaving Temeria. We can’t tell if the student’s bloody disappearance is related to the Brotherhood squabbles. Still, Season 3, Episode 2 underlines dark things are happening in Aretuza.

Chaos All Over the Continent

Everywhere in the Continent, the pieces of the political game keep moving. Season 3, Episode 2, shows us how Cahir is being punished by the White Flame (Bart Edwards) by being demoted to the position of a soldier and forced to attack the caravans of the Northern Kingdoms. Nevertheless, Cahir remains loyal to the Nilfgaardian Empire.

Cahir has a fateful encounter with Gallatin (Robbie Amell), the leader of the Squirrels, who’s tired of seeing Queen Francesca (Mecia Simson) lead the Elves to laughter in search of ancient prophecies. Gallatin tells Cahir he’s ready to seize power and lead the Elves, intending to take the North Kingdoms for the Nilfgaardian Empire and win the White Flame’s favor.

Season 3, Episode 2 also shows us more of Emhyr, and everything we’ve seen so far indicates he truly wants to create a peaceful empire where all races can thrive together. So, while Nilfgaard’s methods are twisted, at least the White Flame doesn’t seem to be racist… yet.

Speaking of Nilfgaard, Season 3, Episode 2 also reveals Fringilla (Mimi Ndiweni) has been locked away in a dungeon after betraying the White Flame. Fringilla spends her days tasting wine to ensure no one is trying to poison Emhyr and waiting for her body to give up and die due to an alcohol overdose. Fringilla won’t go down without a fight, though, and she uses her dire condition to escape her prison. That’s because, when one of her cellmates dies, she hides inside the body bag and lets herself be carried away by the soldier disposing of corpses.

Meanwhile, in Redania, Philippa (Cassie Clare) convinces Dijkstra (Graham McTavish) that Radovid might be a good ally in their quest for power. And while Dijkstra is initially reticent, once Radovid reveals King Vizimir (Ed Birch) had a secret meeting with Nilfgaard, the spymaster starts to see the value of the young prince.

Finally, Rience pays a visit to Codringher and Fenn to know what they told Geralt. The investigators assure the villain they didn’t reveal the identity of Rience’s master. Unfortunately, when Codringher lets it slip that they know Rience’s master’s true intention with Ciri, the fire mage torturers the investigators to extract their secrets before burning them alive inside their shop. To make matters even more suspicious, Rience flees through a portal, followed by an owl. The owl is the preferred form of Philippa, which indicates Redania’s mage is somehow involved with Rience — or might be spying on him herself.

Is That a New Ciri?

After Geralt locates the abandoned castle supposedly used by Rience and his master, Geralt is convinced he’s walking into a trap. The White Wolf enters the castle’s stony corridors anyway, with a sword in his hands and drugs pumping in his veins. Soon, Geralt discovers a gruesome experiment in the castle’s dungeons, a flesh monster made from the body parts of several women. The women are still conscious of their dire situation, even though they cannot fully control their monstrous body. Even worse, there’s a frail girl (Frances Pooley) in the basement with green eyes and light hair, who seems untouched by the grotesque experiments

Even though the women who are part of the disturbing experience beg Geralt for help, he’s forced to kill the beast when it threatens the young girl’s life. Geralt rescues the girl, who looks somewhat like Ciri. And once the girl wakes up and meets her savior, she reveals she’s actually Ciri. Geralt is shocked, not knowing if the girl could be Ciri in disguise or if it’s a plot from his enemies. Hopefully, Episode 3 will give us some answers.

The Witcher Season 3, Volume 1 is currently available on Netflix. Volume 2 will be released on July 27.