The Witcher is so great because it brings us so many elements, something for everyone to enjoy — fantasy, horror, humor… even romance. The main couple of the show, Geralt and Yennefer, undertake a dark and twisted journey throughout the season, with many moments between them that make us swoon and some of the minor characters have beautiful relationships too. Just look at Ciri’s parents and their Beauty and the Beast-esque story!
Geralt and Jaskier may not be a canon couple, but their friendship taking centerstage on the screen so often has many fans wishing they were. So why exactly are fans shipping these two across the internet? Well, we can think of a few reasons…
Jaskier’s Persistence
Jaskier is incredibly persistent when it comes to keeping Geralt around and furthering their relationship. Geralt is so often rough, coarse, and quick to insist that Jaskier is far more of a nuisance than he is a help but for the most part, it doesn’t seem to deter Jaskier who remains desperate for Geralt’s affections. He follows him around even after Geralt punches him for being annoying, and that’s some serious dedication some of us just can’t overlook.
The Bath Scene
When Jaskier requests that Geralt accompanies him to a banquet, he forces the witcher to bathe first — fair, since he’s covered in selkie guts. The bath scene is laden with suggestive lines, including Jaskier commenting that someone may one day want Geralt and then claming he needs him now.
In the words of Geralt: “hm.”
But then there’s a line where Jaskier comments that Geralt let him rub chamomile on some intimate area. Whether it was a joke or not was left unclear, but Jaskier seemed to have little problem with the innuendo nonetheless.
Geralt’s Grudging Fondness
And for all Geralt claims not to want Jaskier around, for all he claims to be deeply annoyed by him and nothing more, we can see the fondness growing as the seasons pass. Jaskier’s persistence begins to pay off when we catch Geralt smiling at him, or chuckling at one of his jokes, and the determined statements that he doesn’t want Jaskier around definitely become lesser as the season goes on.
Jaskier & Yennefer’s Rivalry
Jaskier also seems to develop a rivalry with the actual canon love of Geralt’s life, Yennefer. When someone comments that they would never sully Yennefer’s honor by sleeping with her, he’s quick with a rebuttal, and also gets into a couple of verbal spats with her about Geralt. Their relationship at times almost seems like they’re fighting over Geralt… Could Jaskier have a crush after all?
Jaskier Lightens Geralt Up
Geralt is a very dark and serious character. He went through trauma to become a witcher and after fighting all these monsters, has continued to go through trauma since. Safe to say, it’s not easy to be Geralt, and we rarely see him smile. Understandable.
But most of the time we do see him wryly amused or chuckling is when Jaskier is supposedly annoying him; when he can’t seem to help himself. It’s nice to see that side of Geralt brought up, and is probably good for him and his mental health.
Geralt Saved Jaskier’s Life
When Jaskier is cursed by a djinn, Geralt is quick to save his life. He tracks down Yennefer to ensure that Jaskier is safe, sticking around because he doesn’t trust her intentions, and he even claims that the reason he saves Yennefer at the end of the episode is because she saved Jaskier’s life. Although he clearly has ulterior motives, his care for Jaskier is never more obvious than it is in this episode.
Jaskier’s Obvious Hurt At Geralt Telling Him To Leave
When Yennefer leaves Geralt, Geralt becomes so angry that he yells at Jaskier. He comments that all of the trouble he gets in is usually Jaskier’s fault and although Jaskier is presumably used to Geralt yelling at him, this emotional, raw exchange has him blatantly upset. It’d be difficult to claim after this that Jaskier is just using Geralt for songs and stories — he genuinely has a deep affection for the witcher, and hates being told that it’d be better if he wasn’t around.
They Repeatedly Meet Up… Which Is Unusual, For Geralt
Most of Geralt’s relationships are one-offs, as he travels the continent and doesn’t make plans to meet up with people multiple times. The people he does come across more than once (such as Yennefer) tend to be people who have deep meaning in his life — therefore, doesn’t that mean Jaskier has deep meaning in his life, rather than just being the annoying friend?
It’s A Lighter-Toned Ship In Comparison To The Rest Of The Show
One of the big reasons that fans probably ship Jaskier and Geralt is simply how refreshing they are in this show. It has a very dark tone. The initial episode sees Nilfgaard invade Cintra, people tortured and dying, choosing to kill themselves rather than be caught by Nilfgaard soldiers. It doesn’t get any lighter from there either. But when Jaskier and Geralt are on screen, it’s some lovely comic relief and the scenes are often feel-good at heart. It’s nice to see a relationship that lightens the overall tone and gives us a break from the heavy grit of the show, which might just be why fans are so endeared to the idea of this ship.
They’re Just Plain Hilarious Together
And to follow on from that, they’re the main source of comedy in the show. Although Geralt on his own has a dry wit, and Yennefer often does too, the real humor tends to come from Jaskier and Geralt being on-screen together. Jaskier’s persistence with Geralt and his observations about Geralt that the witcher may not make himself combined with Geralt’s beautiful exasperation make us just adore their chemistry together, and we can totally see why fans are shipping them.
