I watched the first five episodes of The Witcher season 4 yesterday and the last three today. It might not be perfect, but I can't put into words how much joy this show brings me and how much I adore it.
- First things first, I went in very open-minded about Liam, but I did think it would take me an episode or two to get used to Geralt having a different face. I didn't take me even *a second*. The accent occasionally was a little jarring), but I was still instantly sold. I really love Liam's version of Geralt and enjoyed his performance a lot more than I anticipated. And the fight scenes were so freaking amazing.
- I love Yen. She and Jaskier are my favorite characters on the show. So I was a little disappointed by how little we saw of her in the first few episodes (which I watched yesterday, and then today I watched the other three). I'm so happy we got to see a lot more of her in the second part of the season and she kicked ass in those. But I do wish they'd divided it a bit more equally (I get why they did what they did as far as the story goes, but I missed Yen in the first few episodes).
- I would have loved to see a bit more of more of the other sorceresses (especially Triss).
- I can't believe they made me ship Triss and Istredd last season, only for it to not come up again.
- The Hansa is everything I wanted it to be and more. I love the characters and I love the relationships. I have no words for how much I love Regis (Laurence Fishburne is utter perfection) and Zoltan. I wasn't sure they'd be able to make me love Cahir, but they sure did. Milva is both badass, but I also love how emotionally intelligent she is and how she clocks people (especially loved her and Cahir's relationship). I loved seeing all of them together and how they really felt like a family, but also gave all of these characters moments to shine.
- And then there's Jaskier. I have no words for how much I love this character and how much I love Joey Batey's performance. The way he switches between humor and emotional or serious moments and brings a lightness but also depth to his scenes. I love how, more than ever, he didn't just feel like a silly little sidekick this season, but an integral part of the show. He had his funny one-liners (which I adore), but I love how he bonded everyone and at times seemed like the glue holding things together (as did Milva)—he knew when to calm Geralt down, when to make a joke, when to make everyone talk and share things and when to not push things.
- The Jaskier whump, the epic song number, the way he got loud and angry with Radovid when he tried to make him stay in exchange for Geralt's freedom, the way he will always choose Geralt and his family. I CANNOT.
- "Yes, bitch" is probably the funniest line on the show ever and I need a gif of that moment.
- On a more shallow note, Jaskier with a scarf wrapped around his head and blood on his forehead and in his hair is maybe the most attractive a man has ever looked. I also appreciate Jaskier's (and Joey's) dedication to keeping shirts indecently unbuttoned.
- Jaskier's musical number was epic.
- I don't care how much he talks about getting older. Look at that man. Look at that face. I will keep writing fics about him not being fully human, because clearly he's not aging.
- I love Ciri and Freya is amazing. Unfortunately, I couldn't care less about the Rats and that made her storyline a bit tedious to watch at times, because I didn't care about any of the characters that weren't Ciri in those scenes. (But I'm also not sure if I, as the audience, was *meant* to care about them?)
- Some random things: Lambert's wig in those first few scenes was atrocious. Triss's wig is always atrocious. I love, love, love that the sorceresses and witchers fought together. Philippa is amazing. New Vesemir wasn't for me, sorry. I'm now a Cahir stan.
