Jaskier is a pansexual character from The Witcher.
Biography[]
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Appearance[]
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Personality[]
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Sexuality[]
In an Interview that came out on May 23rd, 2023, (i.e. the day before Panromantic and Pansexuality Visibility day, on May 24th), Joey Batey described his romance with Radovid in those words: “It’s been really rewarding to see (his love life) told in a very visual way. (We) ensured that these romances are told truthfully — and sensitively and carefully, without resorting to stereotypes… Hopefully we’ve created something that is special, a sapioromantic and sapiosexual (connection) that is as flawed as any other relationship in this show.” [1]
Sapioromantics are people on the aromantic spectrum (greyromantics) that experience little to no romantic attraction, unless they specifically connect with someone's intellect (similar to how demiromantics require an emotional bond to romantically fall in love, sapioromantics require an intellectual one).
Jaskier's sapioromantic identity has also been skillfully highlighted on the show by having him specifically swoon over Radovid's intelligence and insightfulness, as well as Vespula clearly stating "Never have I ever seen you have a crush". Her statement confuses Jaskier ("A crush?") and he instinctively tries to deny it ("Crushes are for children, my darling. I have mind ending, world ending, heart wrenching affairs...") in a way that totally fails to convince Vespula, however ("Whatever you say..."); thus implying that it is perhaps the first time that he experiences actual, genuine romantic attraction towards another person. [2]
In another interview, Joey Batey said, in relation to Jaskier: "He’s canonically queer in the TV show, which is a departure from the books and the games, as far as I know. It was wonderful to see a panromantic or pansexual person in such a flagship show such as this. There are shows that do explore sexuality and equally valued sexualities and identities but, from my reading, this is the first major one in a fantasy show." [3]
Thus, offering us a clear label on his sexuality.
Prior to this interview, another article reported:"Speaking to SFX, Batey explained that he doesn't "think Jaskier really sees gender"" [4], and pansexuality is often quoted as a form of "gender-blind" attraction (note: the individual themselves sees gender, they just don't experience an instinctive sexual and/or sometimes romantic/alterous/platonic interest towards it).
Jaskier's pansexuality had also been hinted as early as in interview about season 1, where Joey Batey expressed that the show's version of Jaskier doesn't womanize, but falls in love with everyone. He went on to say: "He has such a capacity for love, that he'll be in love with whoever he's talking to, [...] and then he'll spot someone, and be like "I love them now as well". And it's not that he's cheating or womanizing, it's just the fact that he genuinely just is like a puppy dog; sort of completely obsessed with whoever is in front of him." [5]
Exceptionally, the actor's involvement in making sure that they got queer representation right went much beyond simple portraying a queer character on screen. As he explains:
"I was actually approached by Lauren [Schmidt Hissrich] before the scripts were even written and she told me about her intentions with the character and the romance. In the show I’ve been interested in exploring other sides to him and also keen to get a bit more queer representation on the screen. So, I was very excited and a little apprehensive, if I’m honest, because I wanted to ensure that this was done sensitively and carefully; that it wasn’t, in any way, becoming stereotyped. That took an awful lot of conversations with Lauren and endless essays of emails to try and figure out exactly how to do this, how to have queer characters in a fantasy world and not reduce them to stereotypes or let them become tokenistic. I applaud Lauren for that collaborative spirit." [3]
"My number-one priority, which I said to her, was just to make sure that we were doing it right and that we did it sensitively with a care and a kinship, and I wanted to avoid all kinds of stereotyping, really.
So there was an awful lot of script rewrites and things like that. We deleted whole scenes in favour of songs. So I brought in a new song, and I said: 'Can we just cut all this dialogue, and I can just sing something?'" [6]
Reaction[]
Reactions to the character’s queerness have been generally mixed, especially given that Jaskier is a character that has never been explicitly shown as being sexually active with any other gender identities than women in either the books or the videogames.
While some people have simply expressed surprise and confusion over the perceived changes made to the original character's sexuality, the negative responses have ranged from deeply homophobic, biphobic, and hateful; to more nuanced observations and criticism.
Among the more nuanced comments that might be worth more specifically addressing, one recurring theme appears to be that, by making a character that is deeply sensitive, artistically inclined, flamboyant, and "effeminate" “gay”; it reinforces the “harmful stereotype” that you can’t be a man exhibiting any of those more diverse forms of masculinity and be still considered "straight”. Some go as far as saying that making Jaskier "gay" is homophobic, and an insult to the gay community. [7]
Sadly, those critiques appear to be rather tone deaf to the fact that there’s something deeply wrong with people treating any sexual orientation as an insult, and/or an opportunity to mock, harass or bully anyone to begin with.
They appear to be forgetting that being “assumed gay”, or even "assumed queer", does not qualify as a form of insult any more than being “assumed straight” should be; and having to tell someone “Oh, no, I’m straight actually,” should not be treated as a source of concern.
Because if it is, and you fear that, even once you’ve told them, “Oh, no, I’m straight actually”, people will still refuse to believe you and attempt to force you to “come out as “gay”; perhaps this means that more efforts should be made on teaching society to respect all sexual orientations, stop assuming what they are based on physical appearance, behavior, or even partnering alone, take their word for it, and otherwise mind their own business.
Even just looking at those arguments through the idea of heterosexual men believing it to be important to show other heterosexual men that non-toxic models of masculine heterosexuality do exist - and that masculinity itself is a very wide and diverse concept - that concept of masculinity should not be exclusively restricted to heterosexuals. [8]
Jaskier being queer does not make him any less of "a man", nor does it make him any less of a model of positive masculinity that heterosexual men could draw inspiration from.
The other huge problem, with that argument, when specifically made in regards of reinforcing "gay stereotypes", is that the character has been made canonically pansexual on the show, not gay.
And, one of the factors that have been recognized as contributing to bisexuals and pansexuals often being erased within society, and wrongly assumed to be straight or gay, is the lack of shared social codes, behaviors, and/or physical appearance cues that one is specifically attracted to more than a single gender, and/or regardless of them. [9]
Essentially, bi/pan/omni/poly individuals lack any social stereotype of their own allowing you to suspect they might be bisexual, for example, instead of gay or straight.
So, blaming a pansexual character for reinforcing gay stereotypes and homophobia not only makes absolutely no sense, but could arguably be considered a form biphobia and bisexual erasure, as they are completely ignoring the actual shared characteristics and experience of the members of the bi/pan/omni/poly communities by calling Jaskier “gay”.
Actually, when bisexual or pansexual men too strongly resemble gay stereotypes, people tend to believe that they are just "going through a phase" on their way towards homosexuality, and women may find themselves too afraid to date them out of fear that they might be leaving them for a man.
Therefore, Jaskier is actually helping break harmful bi/pan/omni/poly stereotypes!
i.e. Bi/pan/omni/poly men - that are in touch with what society might consider their more feminine side, emotionally sensitive, and highly artistic - are still 100% pansexual and not on their way to becoming gay.
By showing him as being sexually involved with both more than a single gender on the show, and having Vespula clearly state “I’ve cursed you for chasing tails of every kind. Men, women, dwarves, elves, polymorphous…"[2] they are showing that queer coded men don't all have to be gay. They can also be pan, they could also be bi, they could be poly, they could be asexual, and so forth.
When it comes to LGBTQ+ and LGBTQ+ allies fans of the show, many of which had already been criticizing the way that Joey Batey’s portrayal of Jaskier in the series had heavily been queer coded since season 1 [10][11], many were overjoyed when he was confirmed to be given a male love interest in season 3, thus suggesting that the character would be officially portrayed as being either bisexual (attracted towards more than one gender identities), omnisexual (attracted towards all gender identities), or pansexual (attracted regardless of gender identities).[12]
However, some fans have also expressed resentment towards those involved in the show, over what they've perceived as them having queerbaited their audience since season 1.
More specifically, accusations of queerbaiting appear to come from the inclusion of a line, in season 3, where Jaskier playfully downplays his feelings for Geralt by saying that he loves him “platonically, and occasionally with great effort, as one would a family goat”. [2]
Given the heavy queer subtext that has been infused into Jaskier and Geralt’s relationship since the very beginning of the show, for some fans, it appears that Jaskier specifically using the term “platonic” to refer of his feelings for Geralt, has (very understandingly) been interpreted as the show’s attempt to invalidate their queer audience’s perceptions, and telling them that they’ve been wrong for reading queerness in what was meant to be portrayed as a “mere friendship”.
To offer some context (might be necessary to understand how complex the queer audience’s reaction is, in this specific case), on the show, Jaskier and Geralt are often shown to be more emotionally and physically intimate than one would typically expect friends to be together (at least, according to society’s standards).
In an infamous "bath scene", where Jaskier helps Geralt bathe while referring to him as “his very best friend in the whole wide world”, Geralt replies “I’m not your friend”, to which Jaskier answers “Oh, oh really. Oh, you usually just let strangers rub chamomile onto your lovely bottom?” [13]
And, when Yennefer says “Just a friend, I hope?” in reference to Jaskier, upon meeting them for the first time, Geralt doesn’t answer. Later, in the same episode, while Geralt expresses regret over an argument he and Jaskier had before he got mortally wounded by a Djinn (an incident that Geralt accidentally caused), he trails off “He’s a…”, to which Yennefer supplies “a friend?”, once again receiving no clear answer. [14]
Jaskier’s heartbreak over having been abandoned by Geralt on top of a mountain near the end of season 1 – as well as the bitter break-up ballad he wrote, “Burn Butcher Burn”, that he sings with such intensity and passion, ending his performance with as dazed and empty look in his eyes, on the brink of tears and quivering on the floor – are often seen as suggesting that he was very much “in love with” the man he’s been calling “his best friend in the whole wide world”. [15]
Even their very first encounter is taken right out of a classic romantic comedy, where the “boy” (Jaskier) is immediately smitten with the “girl” (Geralt) at first sight, and walks towards “her” in a trance. [16]
So, the queerness of their relationship has always, indeed, been heavily implied; and any queer member of the audience, with basic knowledge of queer coding, would have picked up on it right away.
However, by establishing Jaskier as a sapioromantic - through interviews, as well as making sure that the show’s narrative support that statement - the show actually isn't denying that Jaskier and Geralt’s relationship has always been, indeed, a very queer one.
They have Jaskier, on the show, talk about Geralt and Radovid, while reflecting on his feelings about them, by saying “The problem is different. The solution needs to be different. And Radovid… is different,” while seemingly being very confused over whatever those feelings he’s experiencing are.
It is a third party Vespula (his lover in that scene) that picks up on the signs that Jaskier is experiencing a romantic crush, and bemusedly points out that it's something she’s never seen him experience before. [2]
They are thus actively establishing Jaskier as being on the aromantic spectrum, while differentiating between the platonic love that aromantics experience for their best friends vs romantic love.
Because aromantics do fall in love with people. But they typically experience squishes (platonic attraction) and meshes (alterous attraction), rather than crushes (romantic attraction) when they do. [17]
They can also experience a strong desire to be amorous (i.e. be involved in a significant partnership) with someone, including the desire to form a queerplatonic relationship, and/or a found family with the friends they feel the most emotionally/physically intimate with.
They can be aesthetically, sensually, and even sexually attracted to some of their friends as well… They can appreciatively lick their lips, while commenting on their friend's bloated biceps [18], etc.
Romantic love isn’t stronger than platonic/alterous forms of aromantic love, nor devoid of the potential for sexual attraction (unless the person is aromantic and also asexual); it is simply different. And Radovid is different.
In season 3, Jaskier also clearly refers to Geralt, Yennefer, and Ciri as “people I love", while considering making certain significant new lifestyle choices for them (i.e. settling down at court to ensure their safety) despite his usual aversion for staying in one place [19], and as “my family”. [20]
In interviews, Joey Batey has often been refering to them as “Jaskier’s found family”. [21]
So, while the hurt some LGBTQ+ fans have expressed over the impression that they’ve been, once again, queerbaited with the portrayal of a deeply loving and intimate relationship on the show between two men, only to be later told that it was meant to represent “platonic love”, is entirely understandable…
And yes, one could argue that such hurt could have been prevented had the aromantic aspect of the character been brought on earlier in the series, before fans could get highly attached to the idea of a romance between Geralt and Jaskier. Having waited until season 3 before clarifying the nature of Jaskier's very queer feelings for his best friend in the whole wide world may not have been the ideal way of going about it.
However, they have still done something that’s rarely – if ever – been done on any show not specifically aimed at a queer audiences, by canonically approaching such close and intimate friendships through the more specific lens of aromantism.
They are providing a context to address the queer coded depth of that friendship, and allowing the aromantic community to claim those moments of love and intimacy between Jaskier and Geralt as their own.
Canonical aromantic representation matters, too, and those forms of emotional attractions are very rarely explored as such.
Because when dynamics on TV shows and movies could be read as either queerplatonic or romantic, those TV shows and movies very rarely establish one of the characters involved in that relationship as being on the aromantic spectrum. They usually prefer to continue to keep it up to the queer audience’s imagination, while denying any queer intent (hence, the "baiting" rather than mere artistic coding art-form), in order to avoid alienating their anti-LGBTQ+ audience by providing them with any sort of answer that could offer queer viewers some sense of closure on the subject.
So, while one can most definitely understand where the hurt and the accusations of queerbaiting - in relation to the way Geralt and Jaskier’s relationship has been portrayed on the show - have been are coming from, and see in them no ill-intent; it can also be very difficult, for members of the aromantic community, to come across those few posts and publications aiming at proving that Geralt and Jaskier's relationship can’t be representative of anything other than romantic love on the show.
Some aromantics have confessed having felt the need to stop following certain fans, because they had a hard time seeing people treat the way they love as being less valuable than romance, and being told that no one could ever realistically write as passionate a song as “Burn Butcher Burn” over a the mere “loss of a friendship”, and/or be that heartbroken, if they weren’t obviously romantically in love with that person.
The positive aspect of this, however, is that those misconceptions and misunderstandings have opened the door for healthy and constructive debates between LGBTQ+ fans of the show; while also offering the opportunity to bring more awareness towards people on the aromantic spectrum, and towards amorous and nonamorous relationship models that exist outside of traditional romantic couple and traditional friendship models.
Relationships[]
Prince Radovid[]
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Vespula[]
When we are first introduced to Vespula [19] , she is seen very publicly and loudly arguing with Jaskier from the balcony of her apartment in the Town-square – throwing various objects down at him – while the locals appear to be totally unphased by the scene they are causing (only giving them the occasional glance, trying to avoid the falling objects as they walk by…), thus suggesting that such heated confrontations between the two lovers are a recurring theme in their relationship.
While Jaskier is attempting to argue with her that “it was just one time – admittedly with many different people – and it meant nothing!”, she throws down a pair of pants that the bard remarks aren’t even his, to which she responds “Do you think you were the only one having some fun on the side, you lying, wretched son of a devil?”, and gets even more irritated when he answers “Well… yeah, kinda?”
Jaskier then attempts to pacify her saying “This is what we do, my sweet. We are creatives. Freethinkers. All is fair!”
The argument eventually culminates in Vespula throwing Jaskier’s beloved lute from the balcony as far as she can (much to Jaskier’s horror) … with Radovid unexpectedly showing up and catching it before it shatters on the ground (thus initiating Jaskier and Radovid’s very first meeting).
The next (and last) time we encounter Vespula [2] , she and Jaskier have apparently fully reconciled and are lounging around in Vespula’s apartment together (Jaskier seemingly still naked in her bed, while Vespula is standing by the window, smoking a pipe with only her shirt on, suggesting they’ve just had sex together).
As Jaskier dreamily reflects on how intelligent, insightful, and different Radovid is – visibly affected and intrigued by the feelings the Prince is inspiring him (while trying to explain them by comparing Geralt to a hammer, and Radovid to a spoon) – Vespula eventually tells Jaskier “you like him”, looking fondly amused by the whole situation.
When Jaskier answers “Who, Geralt? Yeah, I guess. Platonically, and occasionally with great effort, as one would a family goat,”; Vespula rolls her eyes at him, looking even more amused, before clarifying “I mean the spoon guy.”
When Jaskier denies it, she insists, telling him “I’ve cursed you for chasing tails of every kind. Men, women, dwarves, elves, polymorphous… […] But never have I ever seen you have a crush,” thus implying that, despite what their very first scene together would suggest, Vespula has not only been very much aware of Jaskier’s rather diverse and frequent sexual encounters for quite some time now, but also seems to be generally okay with them.
She also appears to find the idea of Jaskier having a romantic crush (something she’s never witnessed him experience before) on someone else amusing and endearing, given that the way she teases him about his feelings for Radovid remain very good-natured, affectionate, and even supportive.
As the scene comes to an end, they are seen laughing together in bed as she straddles and kisses him, playfully calling him “The Lothario of Lyria! The Romancer of Redania! The Stud of Cedaris!”, much to Jaskier’s fun and delight, right before Geralt knocks on the door, interrupting their moment.
Otherwise, not much is known about the exact nature of Jaskier’s relationship with Vespula on the show.
We can see that the two of them appear to be amorously and sexually involved with each other; and that there’s enough emotional trust, intimacy, and acceptance between them for Jaskier to feel comfortable discussing his feelings of attraction towards other people with her.
By having Vespula use the expression “some fun on the side”, there’s a suggestion that she might consider Jaskier to be her primary sexual partner.
Since she specifies that she’s never ever seen Jaskier have a crush before, it should be safe to assume that the type of emotional intimacy between them isn’t of a romantic nature (otherwise, she would have seen Jaskier have a crush on her, or eventually develop such a crush at some point in their relationship).
And the contrast between her jealous outburst in the first scene v.s. her open-mindedness, acceptance of Jaskier’s sexuality, as well as the idea of him romantically falling in love with someone else in the second one, raises questions as to whether that first scene might have been (at least partially) staged between them.
Perhaps the two of them have learned to deal with any feelings of jealousy that may arise in their own unique partnership by allowing Vespula to just blow off some steam and yell at him from time to time?
Either way, their relationship recovered remarkably well from that initial outburst, and the last interaction we had between them in season 3 finished on a very harmonious and loving note.
Countess de Stael[]
The Countess of Stael has been amorously involved with Jaskier in what appears to be an on-again off-again relationship at some point during the show’s timeline.
In an episode 5 of season 1 [14], Jaskier shows up drunk, while Geralt is fishing for a Djinn bottle, and tells him “Well, the Countess de Stael, my muse and beauty of this world, has left me. Again. Rather coldly and unexpectedly I might add”, then laments “I fear I shall die a broken-hearted man.”
When Geralt implies that the reason why she might have left him is because Jaskier sang to her and tells him that his singing is like “ordering a pie and finding it has no filling”, the two of them have an argument resulting in an immature tug-of-war confrontation with the bottle, culminating in the accidental release of the Djinn.
Upon its release, both Jaskier and Geralt mistakenly assume that the one left holding the bottle gets the three wishes (when it’s the one holding the stopper with the engraved Djinn symbol on it, a.k.a. Geralt), and one of the wishes that a drunk Jaskier makes is “Secondly, the Countess of Stael must welcome me back with glee, open arms and very little clothing.”
As of the end of season 3, it is the first and last time the countess is ever mentioned on the show. Whether she and Jaskier got back together afterwards and might still be amorously involved from time to time, hasn’t been addressed since.
Tropes[]
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See Also[]
References[]
- ↑ https://www.netflix.com/tudum/articles/witcher-season-3-henry-cavill-interview
- ↑ 2.0 2.1 2.2 2.3 2.4 Season 3, Episode 3 (Reunion)
- ↑ 3.0 3.1 https://www.gaytimes.co.uk/originals/the-witcher-joey-batey-hugh-skinner-queer-interview/
- ↑ https://www.slashfilm.com/1309204/the-witcher-joey-batey-confirms-jaskiers-romance-season-3/
- ↑ https://youtu.be/A3FrLM1kI1g?t=284
- ↑ https://www.digitalspy.com/tv/ustv/a44354402/witcher-joey-batey-interview-lgbtq/
- ↑ https://wegotthiscovered.com/news/the-witcher-season-3-slapped-with-accusations-of-homophobia-over-key-character-change/
- ↑ https://youtu.be/EySzphKPBmE
- ↑ https://www.taylorfrancis.com/chapters/oa-edit/10.4324/9780367809881-15/invisibility-bisexual-pansexual-bodies-nikki-hayfield
- ↑ https://www.themarysue.com/netflix-the-witcher-make-jaskier-bisexual-you-cowards/
- ↑ https://thegeekiary.com/jaskier-netflixs-the-witcher-queer/75637
- ↑ https://thegeekiary.com/the-witcher-season-3-part-1-finally-confirms-jaskier-as-a-queer-character/118314
- ↑ Season 1, Episode 4 (Of Banquets, Bastards and Burials)
- ↑ 14.0 14.1 Season 1, Episode 5 (Bottled Appetites)
- ↑ Season 2, Episode 4 (Redanian Intelligence)
- ↑ Season 1, Episode 2 (Four Marks)
- ↑ https://www.aromanticism.org/en/attraction-relationship-terms
- ↑ Season 2, Episode 7 (Voleth Meir)
- ↑ 19.0 19.1 Season 3, Episode 1 (Shaerrawedd)
- ↑ Season 3, Episode 6 (Everybody Has a Plan 'til They Get Punched In The Face)
- ↑ https://collider.com/the-witcher-season-3-found-family-joey-batey-freya-allan-comments/
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