What is The Law of Surprise in The Witcher? Details explored in depth

Netflix's The Witcher premiered in 2019 and was considered one of the fan-favorite shows of the streaming platform. The series followed the adventures of Geralt of Rivia, a witcher, Princess Ciri, and Yennefer of Vengerberg. Based on the best-selling novels of Andrzej Sapkowski, the series plays with fate and destiny to connect the stories of various characters, in particular Geralt and Ciri's.

Season 1 of the series provided the answers to how Ciri and Geralt were connected by destiny. It was revealed to be The Law of Surprises, which played a huge role in Ciri and her mother's lives. In Season 1, Episode 4, it was revealed that Ciri's father had asked for her mother's hand in marriage, claiming The Law of Surprise. Due to Geralt helping him in the duel, he also asked for the same repayment gift, resulting in his destiny being linked to Ciri before she was born.

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What is The Law of Surprise in The Witcher? Details explored

In Season 4 of The Witcher, which premiered on October 30, 2025, Geralt was seen on a quest to save Ciri, who he thought was in Nilfgaard. The trio: Geralt, Ciri, and Yennefer were fighting their own battles to reach one another again, as destiny has connected them.

From the beginning of the series, the role of destiny has been emphasized in the Netflix show, specifically The Law of Surprise. While the series does not delve into it much, it still provides the answer to how Geralt was connected to Ciri. In Episode 4 of The Witcher Season 1, Pavetta, Queen Calanthe's daughter, was being betrothed. However, the feast is interrupted when a masked man named Duny comes to ask to marry Pavetta. He claims that he had saved the late King's life once and was granted the Law of Surprise to repay the debt of saving him.

The term The Law of Surprise comes from ancient Slavic and Polish folklore, which states that when someone saves someone else's life, by tradition, the person who saves a life can ask for a gift that the other person might have but is not aware of. In Duny's case, it became Pavetta because when the late King returned to his home, he received the unexpected news of becoming a father.

It is also revealed that Pavetta and Duny were also in love after an unexpected meeting before her bethrothal, giving Duny a reason to evoke The Law of Surprise and fight for Pavetta, which is also joined by Geralt, helping Duny win. After saving Duny's life, Geralt also nonchalantly chooses to be repaid with The Law of Surprise, asking for something that Duny has but does not know about it yet. Just then, the unexpected news of Pavetta's pregnancy comes to light, resulting in Pavetta's child, Ciri's destiny to be linked to the Witcher.

This is how Geral and Ciri's destiny connected, making her his Child by Surprise, to protect whom he has risked his everything. At the end of Season 4, Ciri and Geralt are both shown to be in danger as the former is captured by Bonhart while Emhyr sends a monster to kill Geralt of Rivia. Their ultimate fate will be revealed in the final season of the Netflix series.

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Also Read: 5 reasons why The Witcher Season 4 is getting its worst reviews yet

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