We Have Joey Batey to Thank For Jaskier's Queer Romance in The Witcher Season 3

Rumours over the sexuality of The Witcher's Jaskier have been around for about as long as the show itself. In the fourth episode of season 1 the bard (played by Joey Bate) was quite keen to help bathe Geralt (played by Henry Cavill), leading to speculation as to whether there was more to it than simply helping a friend stay clean.

It wasn't something brought across from the book series – and there was no official stance put forward by the creators of the show as to whether any of the rumours of Jaskier being gay or bisexual were true.

Until season 3. It's now clear that Jaskier is not heterosexual. And he has a queer partner in the shape of Prince Radovid (Hugh Skinner).

And it seems we have Joey Batey to thank for this clarification.

'It's something that I've been asking the writers about since season one,' Batey told PinkNews. Although, just like fans, he initially got no 'definitive answer.'

Getting nothing back from the series creators, Batey said he 'made a bunch of decisions for myself' about the sexuality of his character.

Interestingly, though, the first openly queer scene of the show (which appeared in season 3) was the one that Batey was asked to perform at his original rehearsal for the role 5 years ago. The actor says he's been 'begging' for it to be included in the show ever since.

And with good reason. The chemistry between the two characters is immediate and obvious. This is a relationship that just had to hit our screens. Filled with admiration, love and lust, it's everything a scene such as this should be.

Skinner said it was a 'fun scene to play' and was quick to praise the writers for its success. 'It was all in the writing, to be honest,' he said. He described his own character as 'bored and aimless and drunk' saying he was 'captivated' by Jaskier by him. It was a fun scene to play.'

From the outset, though, Joey Batey was keen to make sure Jaskier's sexuality was portrayed correctly. He didn't want Jaskier to be a stereotype and spent time 'questioning why, and questioning how, and questioning the manner in which we could present this in as truthful and romantic a way as possible'.

In fact, at one point he 'sent a…dissertation (of) about 7000 words, ripping apart every single bit of the first few drafts'.

And it'll be hard for anyone who has viewed the scene to argue that it wasn't all time well spent.

Source: PinkNews.