WARNING: THIS ARTICLE CONTAINS MAJOR SPOILERS
Originally conceived as a full series, doomed by a disastrous production and thought to be consigned to the great dustbin of non-starter spin-offs and supplementary projects, The Rats: A Witcher Tale is the most surprising feature of The Witcher Season 4’s suspiciously regarded release. Available to stream on Netflix, but only if you’ve chewed through all eight episodes of the main series, the special provides some backstory for the Rats and details their first encounter with Leo Bonhart.
It’s also really weird to talk about it. You can’t really review it, since it’s not supposed to be judged on its own terms but as a companion piece. And you can’t even outline it without giving away major events from Season 4, because despite being a prequel, it uses a framing device that takes place after the action-packed finale. But it’s still interesting to discuss since it provides a lot of welcome details, loops in and out of the Witcherverse lore in fun ways, and ultimately helps to improve what was probably the best part of the fourth season. So, let’s do that.
When is The Rats: A Witcher Tale set?
Technically, the bulk of the special takes place before the Rats, a band of Robin Hood-style thieves, crossed paths with Ciri at the end of Season 3. However, the events of the story are being told to Ciri by Leo Bonhart, after he has killed the Rats and kidnapped her. That’s why you can’t even find the movie until you’ve logged the entirety of Season 4 on your Netflix account.
Truthfully, there’s no reason for the framing device – it just creates a needless spoiler barrier that prevents anyone from actually consuming the film as an appetite-whetting special, which is arguably, ironically, how it works best. Since the special’s events are mentioned in the season and the Rats’ background with Leo is an extremely important plot point, it would have been nice, and probably smart, for Netflix to have released the special ahead of the new season. But here we are.
The Special Does A Better Job Characterising the Rats Than the Main Show Did
There’s a generic heist plot threaded through The Rats: A Witcher Tale, with the grand plan being to steal a bunch of takings from Dominik Houvenaghel’s new fighting arena, but it’s mostly just an excuse to dig into the surrogate family bond of the Rats, all of whom have been brought together as a consequence of Emperor Emhyr’s conquest of the Continent.
Mistle (Christelle Elwin), Asse (Connor Crawford), Giselher (Ben Radcliffe), Iskra (Aggy K. Adams), Kayleigh (Fabian McCallum), and Reef (Juliette Alexandra) all feature in the special and have things to do, but Mistle and Asse get the bulk of the focus, the former particularly. Mistle is revealed to have been a betrothed highborn who was secretly in love with her handmaiden, Juniper, but they were separated by one of Emhyr’s mercenaries, Bert Brigden, and Mistle believed Juniper to be dead. That loss, of her love and her privileged life, fundamentally changed her and ultimately led her to the Rats. It also continues to haunt her.
This background improves Mistle’s relationship with Ciri, which is why I think it would have been better served as something you could watch before Season 4, since Mistle is already dead and that relationship is, by definition, over. It would have helped.
Mistle also knew Asse from her time as a noble – he was the family’s stablehand, and they escaped together. A lot of potentially interesting stuff about that class disparity is admittedly left on the table, but Asse does get his moment to shine when he has to train and pose as a fighter as part of the heist plan.
Brehen Has A Connection To The First Season Of The Witcher
To complete their mission, the Rats enlist the services of a Witcher named Brehen, played in an inspired bit of casting by Dolph Lundgren. Brehen is from the School of the Cat, and his experiences growing up in that clan, coupled with a particularly traumatic event in his past, have turned him into a drunk and a shadow of his former self.
That traumatic event is connected to the third episode of The Witcher’s first season, when King Foltest hired three Witchers to kill a striga. One was killed, one was Geralt, and one supposedly ran away with his money – that was Brehen, though there’s more to the story than that. The guilt over this event informs Behen’s decision to team up with the Rats, and ultimately the sacrifice he makes to save them.
Brehen’s involvement is necessary since the vault where the loot is stashed is protected by a jalowick, a monster that requires the services of a Witcher, even a washed-up one, to kill. Brehen gets himself sober and even gives Asse a crash course in combat to help him pass as a pit fighter as part of the ruse.
The Ending Of The Rats: A Witcher Tale Has Several Reveals
Naturally, the heist goes completely wrong, and some of the gang find themselves trapped in the vault battling the jalowick while Asse prepares to enter the arena. Multiple revelations occur here, some of which connect directly to what we see in The Witcher Season 4.
The jalowick is revealed to be Mistle’s former lover, Juniper, who has been turned into the monstrosity thanks to Briden’s alchemical experimentation. Mistle sends the plan haywire by refusing to allow Brehen to kill Juniper when he has the chance, though she ultimately is forced to do so herself, allowing her to find some closure.
Leo also makes an appearance. He’s revealed to be Houvenaghel’s cousin, and when he discovers that Brigden has been siphoning funds from the arena bets, he gets himself involved. However, he’s particularly focused on Brehen, since he makes a habit of killing Witchers where possible, and hasn’t yet bagged himself a medallion from the School of the Cat.
When the Rats have a chance to flee, Brehen locks himself in the vault to give them time to escape, taking on Leo alone. He’s ultimately killed by the bounty hunter, who takes his medallion, which he’s seen wearing in Season 4. He also promises to eventually track down the Rats, a promise he eventually makes good on.