Who is Merwyn in The Witcher Blood Origin? This article contains spoilers for The Witcher Blood Origin. The Witcher Blood Origin is the latest fantasy series to hit Netflix and a prequel The Witcher. The story of the show follows a group of seven warriors setting out on a quest for redemption and revenge.
But every good story needs its antagonists. Alongside the many heroes, like Eile, Fjall, and Scian, are the TV series‘ villains. Chief among these are the mage Balor (Lenny Henry), and Princess Merwyn (Mirren Mack). The pair join forces to cause chaos on the continent over a thousand of years before Geralt is around to stop them.
Their evil deeds lead to some unforeseen consequences which reach far beyond what anyone ever could have expected, and change the course of the continent forever. But who is Merwyn in The Witcher Blood Origin, and what do we know about this new character?
Who is Merywn in The Witcher Blood Origin?
When we first see Merywn, she is an elven princess of Xin’trea and sister to the king. She is having an illicit romance with the royal bodyguard Fjall, and when they are found out he is expelled.
Despite being an underestimated princess, Merwyn has high ambitious and is both highly intelligent and educated too as she spends her (lots of) free time reading books of ancient tales and seeking inspiration from deities. However, her family decides that her best use is in an arranged marriage, and her destiny seems to be decided before she takes it into her own hands.
Prior to her marriage ceremony, she makes a pact with the druid Balor to take charge of Xin’trea and overthrow her own family. Balor uses his magic to summon a huge beast which kills Merwyn’s family, leaving her as the new emperor of the kingdom and in control of her own fate. Then, Merwyn seeks to consolidate her newfound power sending assassins to eliminate threats to her and she begins to discover that power comes with more danger than you might initially expect.
When we sat down to talk to Mirren Mack about The Witcher Blood Origin and Merwyn, she spoke to us about her character’s motivation. She said “So Merwyn is a princess born into a patriarchal monarchy. She has lived in the shadow of her brother all of her life. And, her worth has been seen by all those in her life as a pawn in this never ending war, this 1000 year war. She’s going to be only used for marriage alliances. That’s all she’s deemed worthy of.”
Mack continued “I think it’s feeling the power for her to take a life and that control that she so desperately wanted but didn’t have. Now she can see that her choices can end lives and give power to new ones. So I think there’s a real sort of hunger for more of that.”
Despite all her potential and ambition, Merwyn’s fate doesn’t end well. She is eventually killed by Eile, ending her short rule. For more on The Witcher Blood Origin, find out if Henry Cavill is in the Witcher Blood Origin as Geralt, or learn more about The Witcher Blood Origin filming locations. Alternatively, check out our The Witcher Blood Origin review.