i’ve wanted to watch the witcher pretty much since it came out and i just haven’t gotten around to it.

until now!

i have decide to do like,,, a review every episode so here we go

The Witcher- Episode One

rating- 8/10

i thoroughly enjoyed it! i love geralt already and i respect him a lot.

i do take off points thou bc i honestly was a bit confused about the whole renfri thing. i feel like i should/can be explained more. i get that she was accused of being this monster, but i don’t know for sure? geralt at one point tries to use magic on her but she’s says something along the lines of “magic doesn’t work on me, you have to use silver” and geralt responds with “silver is only for monsters” so was she actually some kind of monster or not? was she cursed? is it a metaphor? i don’t know but i hope they explore that a bit more bc i am little bit confused lol (or i might be just dumb who know)

the princess and her kingdom!!! i’m sorry i forgot her name :,) i loveddddd that. the entire story of this young girl so far is very entertaining to me. i want to know more! where r her parents? what is her and her family’s relationship with geralt? why does she have to find him specifically? ugh i’m so excited about it :))

geralt and renfris sword fight was so hot ngl

ok back to the fact that i love geralt sm already :,)) so i know that the sorcerer says something along the lines of “witcher’s can’t feel,” but i beg to differ!!!!! geralt feels things. like, for instance, how protective of renfri he became after he killed her. or the hurt on him face when marlika tells geralt to leave and never come back after saving her life. he can feel and he’s so alone and i want to give him a hug

i love that geralt talks to his horse roach

i hated that sorcerer soooo much i hate him i hate him i hate-

i want to see the bard :,)

On mixed or negative reviews:

I see a positive review video:

"I'm so relieved that the show is actually really fun and pretty good..."

"...and critics don't like it because it doesn't have constant sjw bullshit wokeness! Thank GOD, I hat--"

I was with you, talking Witcher nerd stuff, we were appreciating a great new show, and now you bring up THIS?

For once I'm gonna be the caller, you pissant gamergate lemmings, and say WHY DID YOU HAVE TO BRING YOUR DUMB POLITICS INTO IT?

Now I have to give your stupid video a thumbs down because even if we like the same show, you instantly tainted me from being able to take your opinion seriously, and I don't want my YT algorithm to get clogged with alt-right drivel. 👎

Summary:

The first season of Netflix’ The Witcher can be described as intriguing, entertaining, but also flaws. It laid a solid foundation for the series overall but it did so while going through some growing paints. Here are my first impressions of the season.

The source material doesn’t make it easy to have a ranged linear story. Not only because Geralt is almost the sole focus of the first two books but also because things progress in different timeline. The creator of the show made the choice, a very good one in my opinion, to follow all three characters, Geralt, Yennefer, Cirila from the start, adding back story where it needed it. While this isn’t a faithful adaptation of the first two books it is of the series, in the sense that all three characters play an important role.

I live tweeted my reactions to each episode and looking at the scores I gave each episode the scores were overall very positive. I think the biggest stumbles were right at the beginning and in the middle. However, the last two episodes were the strongest, aside from episode 3. I believe that the coming together of the disparate storylines helped move the pace of the show forward and tighten the storylines.

The elements that worked best for me where those where we engage with the characters one on one. I loved Yennefer’d backstory and her struggle to become a sorceress. I liked seeing Geralt outside his Witcher role. It was great getting to know Ciri early, seeing what kind of person she is. There’s a ruthlessness about her, which she will need in later seasons.

As far as the acting, it was overall very good and consistent. Freya Allen who plays Ciri did an excellent job. My top three favorite performers were Anya Chalotra as Yennefer, Joey Batey as Jaskier/Dandelion, and Jodhi May as Calanthe. The character of Calanthe was exceptional, just a terrific job by Jodhi. I would watch a show about her.

Also, I appreciated that the season spent time showing us the Nighaardians. In the early books they are very mysterious, we know very little about them. Seeing things from their perspective doesn’t make us root for them but we get to see their thought process, they are zealots.

Some of the elements that didn’t work for me and I hate to say it was the first encounter between Yennefer and Geralt. I didn’t feel the chemistry or sexual tension, so then getting it on at the end of episode 5 did nothing for me. Their connection gets better in later episodes but it’s not anywhere near as explosive as it is in the books.

Another thing that I think can improve was Henry Cavill portrayal of Geralt. At times he was very good but at others there was an “emptiness” about him. I don’t think this is all Henry’s fault. Geralt is an aloof character and that’s really hard to portray because you have to be aloof while still engaging the audience. That I think was what was missing at times, the connection between the character and the audience.

There were other elements that didn’t work, scenes and such and maybe I’ll go into them more if I do an episode by episode review. But I think overall, it worked well. I mean, it worked well enough that I watch all eight episodes in a row.

I’m sure I have many other thoughts but this is my debrief for now. Below are the scores I gave each episode.

Episode 1: 3/5

Episode 2: 4/5

Episode 3: 4.5/5

Episode 4: 4/5

Episode 5: 2.5/5

Episode 6: 3.5/5

Episode 7: 4.5/5

There's more troubled monarchies in need of rescuing than you can toss a coin at. There's people in complex face prosthetics, and there's CGI landscapes mixed with beautiful locations. There's costumes, swords, and magic magic magic. But that's only the start--there's also an internal, metatexual history being written in the story as decades pass and Geralt affects world events. And how is this expressed?

IN SONG!

That other big fantasy show did this too with "Rains", but as powerful as that dramatic song was, it didn't truly live on in-universe after season 3, only in the minds of fans. But on The Witcher, it's spoken canon that Jaskier's songs are making both him and Geralt famous. Whole taverns will sing "Toss A Coin" after Geralt defeats a monster, and other people get mad when he doesn't live up to his flashy reputation. BUT THERE'S MORE SONGS! "The Last Rose of Cintra", "Her Sweet Kiss", and "Song of the White Wolf", my personal favorite. Lore and songs about the main characters have always een a staple of heroic fantasy worlds, but rarely have they been so on-the-nose. Like tv was afraid to be not taken seriously. Not The Witcher songs, though! This isn't a metaphor--one song is lyrically about Geralt's tragic angst and another is about Ciri's ominous destiny. Take them completely literally. Pay your witcher. (he's a friend of humanity)