Why Does Yennefer Have Purple Eyes? What is the Color of Anya Chalotras Eyes?

March 2024 · 3 minute read

Netflix’s ‘The Witcher’ is set in a world inhabited by magic and monsters. The story revolves around Geralt of Rivia, Ciri of Cintra, and Yennefer of Vengerberg. Yennefer is one of the most powerful sorceresses in the world and is known for her ruthlessness and self-serving nature. However, as she develops a bond with Geralt and Ciri, she finds the semblance of a family she had been looking for all these years. In the third season, she trains Ciri to hone her magical powers while protecting the girl from many enemies on the Continent.

Yennefer is a force to be reckoned with, and her beauty and charm make her stand out. One of the most striking things about her is her purple eyes. In the show, no one else has this eye color. Does it mean there is something special about Yennefer? Let’s find out.

‘The Witcher’ is based on the book series of the same name by Andrzej Sapkowski. The Netflix series remains faithful to the source material, especially when it comes to the presentation of the characters. Sapkowski described Yennefer with violet/purple eyes in the books, which has become one of the important markers of her character. This is why we see the same eye color in the series.

While there is a reason behind Geralt’s yellow eyes, no specific reason has been attributed to Yennefer’s purple eyes. This could be a way to set her apart from other characters, especially the sorceresses and mages. It could also be a marker of her elven side. However, there is no particular rule that suggests elves have purple eyes. In fact, there is no elf in the show who has purple eyes. This means that Yennefer’s eye color is unique to her. She knows its significance and how it separates her from others in her league. This is why when she goes through the painful transformation, which renders her unable to bear children but makes her beautiful and powerful, she wishes for her eyes to remain the same.

Anya Chalotra Has Brown Eyes

While Yennefer has dazzling purple eyes, actress Anya Chalotra’s eyes are brown. The color change in ‘The Witcher’ is a combination of contacts and CGI. Henry Cavill, whose character has yellow eyes, and Freya Allan, whose character has green eyes, wore lenses throughout the show to stay true to the eye color of the characters depicted in the books on which the series is based. Chalotra, too resorted to using contacts but had to drop them because she had a lot of problems with them.

Calling her experience with the contacts awful, Chalotra revealed that she found it challenging to use them because they hindered her vision. Oft times, she couldn’t see the actor standing in front of her, which made it difficult to get into the scene. Further, in the first season, Yennefer goes through a harrowing journey, requiring Chalotra to express Yennefer’s emotions through her eyes. She didn’t have to cry, but with the lenses, it was difficult to show the pain and suffering that Yennefer goes through.

After a while, it became clear that contacts were not for Chalotra. However, purple eyes were an integral part of Yennefer’s characters, and this couldn’t be compromised. So, the show’s creator decided to use CGI. Chalotra’s brown eyes were turned purple in post-production. It worked out well for the show because the color looks striking, and Chalotra got to act without anything inhibiting her performance.

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