[American86]

Did anyone else hate that scene where Philippa gets her eyes scooped out with a spoon as much as I did? I thought the scene really crossed the line and was in tremendously poor taste. Also, it forever ruined one of the very best characters in the game.

[M4xw0lf]

I skip the scene every time after the first playthrough
But I think its one of the most intense and best scenes of the game, as it makes the cruelty of the witcher's world really tangible. And btw, Philippa is not ruined - sorcerers have their ways to regrow even lost eyes

[Sforza-il-Moro]

It is pretty gruesome, but it does add to the realism of the game since physical torture and maiming were fairly commonplace in medieval times.
If it is in poor taste it has good company in Shakespeare's King Lear where the Duke of Gloucester has his eyes shockingly plucked out, with the words "Out, vile jelly!". It amplifies the emotional impact of the story, and is supposed to shock you.
But I don't like to watch, either!

[Dragon'sDream]

I enjoyed every second of it .

[American86]

Do sorceresses regularly grow back their eyes in the books? I never heard of that in the game.

I don't mind some gore in order to portray a dark and grim world. But I just thought that scooping someone's eyes out with a spoon was going too far, especially since it happened to a woman. Don't you think there should be some limits on gore no matter how dark the world may be? I'm also not sure how someone would survive that in real life.

[Colibrie]

Such thing could be one way used in Middle Ages to torture people. There were lots of them and they all were horrible.

[guipit]

what's more gruesome is the people in loc muinne if you choose Iorveth or Roche path in chapter 3. People hanging from a stick stabbed through their ass that's damn sick. I thought THAT was going overboard.

[American86]

And I also think that there are better ways to present a dark fantasy world than just shocking you with gore. It reminds me of a problem I have with many horror movies. Often they simply try to gross you out with brutal gore instead of scaring you.

[ISL]

i did not realize it was shocking i was not disturbed by not even once

[Lightice]

It's meant to be horrible and gruesome. The Witcher 2 is not a gorefest that throws blood and guts at you for the sake of shock value, but it doesn't pull punches either, when the plot requires something horrible to happen. The scene where Philippa loses her eyes is a major character developing moment for King Radovid who we haven't seen before until this point, as well as to Philippa who'd rather lose her eyes than her dignity. The scene exists to serve the story, and as such its content is perfectly justified. You have to be able to endure some horror in a game about a socially realistic feudal society in the middle of a terrible internal conflict; torture is an unfortunate reality under such situations, and pretending otherwise would do a disservice for the Witcher's world.

Quote

I don't mind some gore in order to portray a dark and grim world. But I just thought that scooping someone's eyes out with a spoon was going too far, especially since it happened to a woman. Don't you think there should be some limits on gore no matter how dark the world may be? I'm also not sure how someone would survive that in real life.

The world is dark and grim as you say. If you can't stand these elements, then this game is not for you. There is one single scene of horrible torture in this game, when it could have a dozen, if CDProjekt had decided to take the route of a gory slasher-game. I don't understand what the character being a woman has to do with anything; Philippa Eilhart is in every way King Radovid's equal, if not superior, in intelligence, strength of character and ambition, and Radovid treats her as an equal foe. Giving characters special treatment over their sex is nothing but reverse discrimination, in any case.

And loss of an eye or two is perfectly survivable in the real world. There are no major arteries in the area that could be torn. The only person who'd die of such treatment would be one with a weak heart, who would go to a shock over the pain. Almost everyone would faint from the said pain, but Philippa isn't an ordinary person, and she can withstand a lot more than most people could.

[pomor]

American86 said:

Do sorceresses regularly grow back their eyes in the books? I never heard of that in the game. ›››

Yennefer has been blind, for a time, after the battle of Sodden, but I don't think she had lost her eyeballs.
Anyway, I think that Philippa would be cool as Blind Scoresses, using some other senses to "see".

And during one of the glimpes of the future of the witcher world, she is refered, by history books, as "Sister Philippa, the Holy Martyr".

[Lightice]

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Yennefer has been blind, for a time, ater a battle of Sodden, but I don't think she had lost her eyeballs.
Anyway, I think that Philippa would be cool as Blind Scoresses, using some other senses to "see".

I imagine that she could clone new eyeballs, since sorcerers are masters of genetic manipulation and all that, or she could steal them from somebody else. She might even make artificial, magical ones to replace her old eyes, and have some really freaky-looking ones the next time we see her.

[M4xw0lf]

American86 said:

Do sorceresses regularly grow back their eyes in the books? I never heard of that in the game. ›››

The evil badass of the Witcher Novels (Vilgefortz) grows back a lost eyeball. It takes quite some time, though.

American86 said:

I don't mind some gore in order to portray a dark and grim world. But I just thought that scooping someone's eyes out with a spoon was going too far, especially since it happened to a woman. Don't you think there should be some limits on gore no matter how dark the world may be? I'm also not sure how someone would survive that in real life. ›››

So it would be okay if it would be done to a man?

[American86]

Discrimination? Let's not go down that road.

I can take dark and grim. There were many brutal scenes in the game. But we all have limits I guess. I still like the game but I hope the next game doesn't have anything like that, though it probably will.

[dewayne32]

i lol and i hoping too skin her alive. nobody betray my Garelt like that.

[American86]

No, I don't think it would have been okay if it happened to a man. I was just saying it was more disturbing for me that it was a woman. I think that's pretty reasonable. But I'm not going to get into a debate over discrimination or whatever.

[Babli]

Things like eyes-spooning and impaling were common in middle-ages and in Witcher books too.

And even worse things happened. http://www.medievali...ng-torture.html

Why it shouldnt be in the game? This was cruel reality and Witcher series was never afraid of portraying that.

No offence, but if you cant handle it, its your problem. Not problem of the game.

[M4xw0lf]

American86 said:

No, I don't think it would have been okay if it happened to a man. I was just saying it was more disturbing for me that it was a woman. I think that's pretty reasonable. But I'm not going to get into a debate over discrimination or whatever. ›››

I'm just saying cruelties aren't getting more or less cruel when they are done to a man or a woman.

[spacehamsterZH]

American86 said:

Discrimination? Let's not go down that road. ›››

Especially given that there's a male castration in the game as well.

(if you don't know who I'm talking about, don't read the spoiler)

Although I find it a bit troubling that this castration is mere seconds after it's revealed that Dethmold is gay, which is presented in a way that seems to be meant to shock the player. It's as if we're supposed to be grossed out, and then Roche punishes him by cutting his balls off. I know that's not the real reason Roche attacks Dethmold, but the way the scene's put together is basically the only thing in the whole game that kinda raised my eyebrows. Especially given how differently Philippa and Cynthia are portrayed. It smacks of "I have no problem with homosexuality as long as both chicks are hot."

Anyway, it's been said already, but it bears repeating - this game is pretty much set in the real 13th century plus monsters and magic, so rape, torture and mutilation should be commonplace. I actually hate the romanticized portrayal of the middle ages that's so commonplace in fantasy, and the brutal honesty with which TW treats the time period is a real relief to me. Take that, ren fair. Heh.

[Ward Dragon]

spacehamsterZH said:

Although I find it a bit troubling that this castration is mere seconds after it's revealed that Dethmold is gay, which is presented in a way that seems to be meant to shock the player. It's as if we're supposed to be grossed out, and then Roche punishes him by cutting his balls off. I know that's not the real reason Roche attacks Dethmold, but the way the scene's put together is basically the only thing in the whole game that kinda raised my eyebrows. Especially given how differently Philippa and Cynthia are portrayed. It smacks of "I have no problem with homosexuality as long as both chicks are hot."

›››

My impression was that Roche wanted to do that to Henselt in the first place for raping Ves but that would make it too obvious that he had killed Henselt so he did it to Dethmold instead XD