Character Highlight: Philippa Eilhart

I am still elbows deep in my most recent playthrough of The Witcher 3.  Every time I play through a game that I truly enjoy I try to find something new or something different to ponder.  Last week I posted about the whole Radovid issue and the double-edge sword type of choice players must make.  In deeper thinking about Radovid and the characters involved in the plot, I really started thinking about a character who I mostly like but who is tough to place in your typical "good guy/bad guy" scheme.  Love her or hate her, Philippa Eilhart is one of the more interesting sorceresses in The Witcher 2 and The Witcher 3.

Philippa isn't an easy character to love.  She is cold, ambitious, constantly plotting, and more than confident in her abilities.  Her abilities are so powerful that she is one of only a handful of mages who have ever mastered the art of polymorphy.  This ability to morph into an owl is extremely useful and helps her to evade her captors in The Witcher 3. Her motives always seem to be about what will put her ahead--be it good or be it bad.  She agrees to help Geralt life the curse afflicting Vergen in The Witcher 2, but only as a means to an end.  That end involves saving the life of the poisoned Saskia (who happens to be a powerful dragon in human disguise)...but only so that she can cast a charm spell that allows her total control of the poor woman/dragon's life.

The more you learn about Philippa the more you realize how truly cunning she is.  The Witcher 2 contains several goofy scenes involving a romantic relationship between Philippa and her "leashed" apprentice Cynthia.  It's very apparent that Philippa prefers the ladies.  In The Witcher 3 things become much more complicated as Geralt attempts to locate her as a favor for Radovid.  In his search of Philippa's temporary hideout he finds a series of love letters between the sorceress and one Sigismund Djikstra, the head of Redanian intelligence.  Triss also reveals that Philippa has had other male lovers in the past, but usually only as a way to get her closer to whatever she is planning.  And there's always a plan....

In order to defeat the Wild Hunt, Geralt must restore the Lodge of Sorceresses and request their magical assistance.  This task is particularly difficult since the Lodge has been outlawed by Radovid and it's members, including Philippa, are in hiding throughout the world.  Now that Geralt knows that Philippa has been hiding in her owl form (and right under his nose) he has a better idea about where to locate her.  The rescue gets much more complicated when he learns that Zoltan has lost his friendly own, who he named Polly, in a card game.  The lucky winner was Sigismund Djikstra (AKA Sigi Reuven) who has plenty of reason to want to harm Philippa--she did use him, then discard him, then attempt to have him assassinated.  Geralt and Triss arrive right in the nick of time and track down Philippa who despite being blind is still extremely dangerous.  She's managed to destroy Sigi's bath house and leads Geralt on a brief chase through the sewers.  Geralt manages to subdue Philippa and convinces her to help.  Once they are back in the bathhouse Sigi lets slip the plot to kill Radovid.  Philippa, of course, is very interested and wants in on the plot.  Djikstra does not agree and excludes her from the plotting.

Revenge is sweet.

My favorite Philippa moment comes during the mission to kill Radovid.  Geralt isolates Radovid on the bridge leading to Temple Island but the plot starts to fall apart.  Radovid flees wildly and orders in a large contingent of Redanian soldiers--a fierce battle breaks out and it looks like he might actually get away.  As he desperately seeks a place to hide he bangs on the door of a house and demands entrance.  The door opens to reveal none other than his nemesis, Phillipa.  In a form of poetic justice she blinds him by blowing magical dust in his eyes.  He stumbles away into the street and into a dead end.  Rather than kill him with magic, Philippa plunges her dagger into his back.  Thus ends the rule of Radovid V.  Revenge is sweet!

Philippa keeps her word and along with the other sorceresses of the Lodge helps to defeat the Wild Hunt.  Her help seems to have some strings attached as she tries to convince Ciri to become a member of the Lodge.  There's always something...

I'm not really sure what it is about Philippa that makes her one of my favorites.  She's not a traditional "good guy" kind of character--she's probably more of an enemy than a friend.  The fact that she's so complicated, devious, ambitious, powerful...all those things make her a truly interesting character.  There has been little talk about the future of The Witcher franchise, but if there is another game I hope Philippa is one of the characters.  I would love to see a story that involves the Lodge of Sorceresses.