Leo Bonhart is a major antagonist in The Witcher book series. He is first mentioned in Baptism of Fire, but he has his debut appearance during The Tower of the Swallow.
With the release of season three of Netflix's Witcher series, Leo Bonhart has been namedropped, along with Houvenaghel and a hint of whatever horrible things are happening in Claremont. Due to this, you might be wondering what role Bonhart has to play in the series, even if he's supposed to appear much later in the saga.
Spoiler Warning: We will be discussing spoilers for the latest episode in Netflix's Witcher TV show as well as key plot points from the book series.
Who Is Leo Bonhart?
Leo Bonhart is one of the main antagonists in the Witcher book series, briefly mentioned in the third book, Baptism of Fire. He has his big introduction during the Tower of Swallow, the fourth book in the series. He is ultimately Ciri's main nemesis and source of much torment.
Bonhart is a bounty hunter and a damn terrifying one at that. In the books, he's frequently described as having dead, fish-like eyes, while also being described as one of the strongest and most brutally savage fighters in the realm.
He's a truly horrifying character while his cousin Dominik is almost as bad.
With the release of the latest series of The Witcher on Netflix, some people may have picked up on the name Leo Bonhart being passingly mentioned by Yennefer in the episode Unbound.
In Unbound, a man is seen going to Kiera Metz to buy a portal to Claremont to transport a child he's captured. In the context of the show, this is some serious foreshadowing that firmly lands us in spoiler territory.
Ciri intervenes and frees the child, prompting Yennefer to step in and kill the man. Kiera Metz mentioned that Yennefer just killed one of Houvenaghel's men.
Yennefer later mentions that Dominik Houvenaghel will send his cousin Leo Bonhart to this town, and how Ciri has now disrupted what would have been some sort of transaction for them by freeing the kid. The result being Bonhart will kill everyone in the town.
People who have read the books will recognise three names here: Leo, Houvenaghel, and Claremont. All of which will be recalled with no small amount of disdain.
This scene doesn't happen in the books, so this could be the show's way of introducing Leo Bonhart in a different manner. One explanation for this could be to frame it as Ciri interfered with their business so Bonhart is now going to hunt her down.
Or, this is just a way to name-drop a huge character from the books so that people who have read them will recognise the hefty foreshadowing going on.
It seems unlikely that the show would skip the entire saga of the Rats, but you never know. At the very least, even if the Rats are cut out of the narrative, we can assume that Ciri's turmoil with Leo, and her time spent in Claremont with Houvenaghel will be involved in the show.
What this tiny interaction between Yennefer and Ciri does tell us, however, is that Houvenaghel's disgusting coliseum arena in Claremont is definitely part of the story.
The child Ciri frees from a terrible fate may have been an unwilling entrant to the Claremont Arena, or they could have been an offering to the depraved Matilda de Nementh-Uyvar.
What Does Leo Bonhart Do In The Witcher?
Another quick spoiler reminder here that we will be discussing the events of the books, which may or may not deviate from the tv series eventually. Read on at your own peril.
Seeing as how Leo Bonhart doesn't appear until the third and fourth books in the series, the TV show hasn't quite caught up to that point.
In the books, Leo Bonhart is hired by both Stefan Skellen and the Baron of Casadei. Ciri's time in a gang calling themselves the Rats sees her revel in murder and mayhem, eventually drawing the ire of the baron who hires Bonhart to kill the Rats and capture Ciri.
Skellen hired Bonhart to kill Ciri – who, while travelling with the Rats, goes by the false name of Falka. Bonhart happily, and gruesomely, kills the Rats during book four, The Tower of the Swallow.
He then takes Ciri prisoner and keeps her for himself, much to the dismay of Skellen and the baron.
Bonhart drags her around for a time, goading, abusing, and taunting her at every turn. Despite this, he is impressed by her skills with a sword and recognises it as a Witcher's fighting style.
Eventually, Bonhart gives her an incredibly special sword called Zireael. While captured by Bonhart, he drugs and beats her consistently. He takes her to Houvenaghel in Claremont, to force her to fight in an illicit and deadly arena his cousin has organised for bloodsport and betting.
Ciri eventually escapes Bonhart and, after several key events, it culminates in a fantastic duel to the death in Stygga Castle during the final book in the series.
Overcoming her fear of him, Ciri ultimately wins. She finally bests this monstrous fighter who has tormented, abused, and hunted her doggedly for so long.
Leo Bonhart In The TV Show
When it comes to the TV series, it could be that this namedrop means the next few parts of this season in July will end in his appearance, but this seems like it would be too soon.
It is more likely that this third season of Netflix's Witcher should round out the events of the second book, Time of Contempt. This could, in theory, introduce us to the Rats by the end of this season.
Regardless, it sounds like Bonhart and Houvenaghel's arena business is alive and well in the show, which could be on the horizon for poor Ciri.