Television The Witcher | Netflix | There are book spoilers here

[giorno]

I literally explained how Fringilla's race and appearance influence story in many ways,

They really, really don't, actually. Fringilla's looks are irrelevant to the plot and only relevant to her character arc, and then that has more to do with the differences between northern and nilfgaardian mages than what she actually looks like.

You'd think people's complaint with Fringilla would be her attending aretuza...

Spoiler

What do you mean about Ciri? They didn't meet until late after fall of Cintra?! And about Fringilla, I don't know, they changed her whole character from the books.

Spoiler

Geralt and Ciri meet for the first time in the forest of the dryads, few years before the invasion. And Ciri has known OF Geralt her whole life. It's part of what makes their reunion after Sodden Hill so poignant and one of the most powerful scenes of the entire saga

 

[Redplane]

Diversity isn't the issue with the Triss' portrayal in the show. It's more than the character /actress being as uninteresting as you'd expect some really side side character to be.

Would agree with this. While it did get a bit better--her portrayal and also her costumes made those scenes feel a bit out of the norm/cheap.

 

[evil_geko]

Spoiler

Geralt and Ciri meet for the first time in the forest of the dryads, few years before the invasion. And Ciri has known OF Geralt her whole life. It's part of what makes their reunion after Sodden Hill so poignant and one of the most powerful scenes of the entire saga

I was answering about Show story, not books, though. He was asking about show. At least I think so, if not, my bad.

 

[amolbhatia50k]

Absolutely love the action in this. Terrific stuff.

 

[Simbo]

Got a few gripes here an there but that was as good as can be expected I think. Got a massive urge to replay the games now.

edit: Oh look, there's 60% off on the expansions too. There's goes my Christmas free time!

 

[Massive Spanner]

SJW this, SJW that, can't we all just agree that Cavill's a sexy bastard?

 

[Redlambs]

Up to episode 2 and so far so good. It is a bit cheap, and the same old conversations Geralt have are already a bit boring, but all in all it's got a lot of promise. I can see the budget exploding for next season.


The pathetic "OMG SJW!" stuff in here is laughably predictable as usual.

 

[R'hllor]

Good shit, thats all.

 

[Organic Potatoes]

Only on episode 5. But my one gripe with the show is Triss....Just why? She has red hair. Fecking diversity

Triss had chestnut or auburn colored hair originally. There are actually mods created for the PC (personal computer, not politically correct) version just to change this.

 

[KirkDuyt]

I kind of like Triss in this show. She's not that important anyway, but her demeanor seems about right. Cavill had me checking if he voice acted The Witcher 3. His voice is perfect, as is his demeanor.

Dandelion, or whatever his name is here, is hilariously anoying, as he should be.

Bit more budget and this will be brilliant.

Ps: why does the Guardian think Stregobor is like an incel? What is it with critics and their need to be different. Just write whether you thought it was good and why, no one cares about your artistic flourishes, if we did, you'd be a real writer. Cnut.

 

[Sphaero]

I´m someone who came into the series without prior knowledge of either the game series or the books and as such being slapped in the face with a lot of unknown terminoligy at the start of the series made digesting the plot lines a bit of a challenge at first. It was a challenge I welcomed gladly, though.

After the first epsiode I came out with three points that made the series really stand out:

1- Henry Cavill breathes the role as Geralt. If this would have not been an adaptation I would have thought that this role was tailored to him directly. The level of commitment he showed practically radiated from the screen which made me instantly root for his character.

2. The fight choreogrophy was really well done especially in the last sword fight scenes.

3. This show does not hold your hand at all.

It was especially the last part that surprised me, especially taking into account on what platform the show airs. Netflix-Series over the last years became synomonous with the word accessible in my mind. This show in stark contrast expects you to pay attention to the dialogue (which flowed pretty nicely IMO, albeit with a clunky line here and there) and I think rewarded that quite often (I had a lot of aha-moments when I connected the dots).

This is of course only worthwile if you can get invested in the world and the characters. I already touched on Geralt and I thought Jaskier built a great dynamic with him that I really enjoyed. Another standout performance was the actress who played Yennefer. I was on board pretty quickly with her story and this only increased when her and Geralts stories connected. I´m someone who puts romance very far on a backburner when it comes to shows or films, but the sheer raw sexual chemistry these two shared was actually quite impressive. I´m kinda rooting for them which is something that rarely ever happens.

The show is not without its flaws, though. At times the budgetary constraints show pretty clearly and some of the pacing felt a bit unneven at times. I had a really enjoyable time with it, though, and think that it has even greater potential.

 

[DWelbz19]

Dialogue is a bit cheesy, and the pacing is a little all over the place. It’s alright, though.

The actual Witcher short stories should be longer. Too much exposition on Ciri and Yen in the first two episodes.

 

[Bobski]

I have only watched the first episode so far and it was decent, promising start really which was unexpected given how awful the first scene with Geralt fighting the creature in the pond looked.

One trifling issue would be all the comments mentioning how he needs new clothes, as if he is a filthy beast, yet he looks clean and pristine. The whole show looks a little too clean really.

 

[jeff_goldblum]

Haven't read the books but from what I gather the episodes have been relatively faithful to the short story collections - would that be accurate?

I've found it a little 'bitty' (probably because of the above) but it has huge potential. Think it'll hit it's stride next season.

Edit - for context, I've watched 6 episodes so far.

 

[Hoof the ball]

Let's just come here to say what we should...

"Toss a Coin to your Witcher"

 

[Adam-Utd]

Haven't read the books but from what I gather the episodes have been relatively faithful to the short story collections - would that be accurate?

I've found it a little 'bitty' (probably because of the above) but it has huge potential. Think it'll hit it's stride next season.

Edit - for context, I've watched 6 episodes so far.

Yep, the first episode, the episode about the Jin and the episode about Borkh 3 jack daws (golden dragon) was pretty spot on. Obviously misses little details that a 1 hour show can't include but pretty nailed on.

The only major change I've noticed is the Nilgaard general Cahir's storyline, and Vilgefortz seems pretty strange, not sure where they're going with him, considering in the books he plays a MAJOR role, and they make him seem fairly weak and ordinary in the show. I assume they're going to change the story to fit how they like.

The battle scene at Sodden Hill is historically very different too.

If you like the show, you really should read the books. The audio books are free on youtube (somebody uploaded them) so I listened to those after playing the game.

 

[giorno]

Haven't read the books but from what I gather the episodes have been relatively faithful to the short story collections - would that be accurate?

No. 4 episodes in the only short story the show did well is the striga's. The others are pretty bad adaptations. Dol Blathanna was basically pointless, just a way to make Cavill appear in the episode. Blaviken, which is one of the most emotionally and psychologically charged shorts is basically reduced a couple bad lines of dialogue and a really cool fight scene, and the less said about what they did to Calanthe the better.

Main issue is what made those short stories work in the first place was the atmosphere and characterization, and the choices the show made in adapting them completely lost both

Again, except for the Striga. That one actually they did really well. Perhaps better than the original. The changes they made work and while it does lack the atmosphere of the original short story, the characterization is really done well. Only issue i have is the timeline seems out of whack(temeria is at war with nilfgaard????) but i might be wrong

 

[Redplane]

For those who read the books (only player all three games) - how high fantasy are they? The show has a lot more fantastical elements early on than I expected tbh. Four episodes in atm but I thought we d get a bit more GoTsy like political and societal drama and intrigue.

Not complaining too much really - maybe I'm just worried it's going to scare a lot of people off who got into GoT because it was very low fantasy for most of the show.

Even though I don't know the book version - I do remember the Witcher 1 (I think it was) intro with the striga and I loved how the show captured a very similar feel. Not sure how I feel about the Foltest casting but that part definitely felt a bit like I was watching a quest from the game in a TV show (that's a good thing). I feel they can do more with atmospheric settings etc. Maybe use a different camera filter too because sometimes the lighting makes it feel a bit too colorful... As if I'm watching made by Disney.. Imho of course.

 

[Klopper76]

I’ve just finished it and thought it was pretty good, but then the Witcher 3 is my favourite game.

The timeline was a bit confusing initially but I liked the monster designs. The soundtrack feels very Witcher 3 to me.

 

[amolbhatia50k]

Yep, the first episode, the episode about the Jin and the episode about Borkh 3 jack daws (golden dragon) was pretty spot on. Obviously misses little details that a 1 hour show can't include but pretty nailed on.

The only major change I've noticed is the Nilgaard general Cahir's storyline, and Vilgefortz seems pretty strange, not sure where they're going with him, considering in the books he plays a MAJOR role, and they make him seem fairly weak and ordinary in the show. I assume they're going to change the story to fit how they like.

The battle scene at Sodden Hill is historically very different too.

If you like the show, you really should read the books. The audio books are free on youtube (somebody uploaded them) so I listened to those after playing the game.

I'm absolutely loving it. I was just wondering - without spoiling anything, do they have enough story from the books (and games) to turn this into a 5-6 season show? Or has too much transpired already?

 

[Organic Potatoes]

I'm absolutely loving it. I was just wondering - without spoiling anything, do they have enough story from the books (and games) to turn this into a 5-6 season show? Or has too much transpired already?

They already have it mapped out for seven seasons. Now that the main characters’ timelines are converging (probably the most difficult aspect of casting and writing this first season), I think they can slow things down and flesh out the rest of the story.

 

[amolbhatia50k]

They already have it mapped out for seven seasons. Now that the main characters’ timelines are converging (probably the most difficult aspect of casting and writing this first season), I think they can slow things down and flesh out the rest of the story.

Sounds great. Really looking forward to next season. I've powered through this as I normally do not do with TV shows. Didn't expect Cavill to get Geralt this right.

 

[Shane88]

They already have it mapped out for seven seasons. Now that the main characters’ timelines are converging (probably the most difficult aspect of casting and writing this first season), I think they can slow things down and flesh out the rest of the story.

No chance they'll lock down Cavill for 7 seasons and Netflix series seem to be three seasons and out for 95% of their shows nowadays.

 

[TrustInJanuzaj]

Agree with others Cavill is just the perfect Geralt especially for those like me who have only played the games. I think Yennefer is also amazing too and the on screen chemistry between the two works perfectly. Aside from that, I think the action is great, I’m glad they incorporated some gore as it wouldn’t be the same without that. I have two episodes left so I hope it finishes with a bang but either way I’ve just really enjoyed it, tbh the whole genre is bang up by street so perhaps I’m biased.

 

[Organic Potatoes]

No chance they'll lock down Cavill for 7 seasons and Netflix series seem to be three seasons and out for 95% of their shows nowadays.

No, it’s not likely. But I was just responding to the availability of source material.

I wouldn’t rule out Cavill staying for multiple seasons though. He might see it as something of a legacy builder. And Netflix might want to splash more cash in the battle of the streaming services.

 

[Adam-Utd]

If the money is there and he enjoys it, why wouldn't Cavill stay? It's not like he can't do other movies in between filming.

If the Witcher series ends up being a huge success then I'm sure he'd be happy to carry it out.

 

[Ødegaard]

Let's just come here to say what we should...

"Toss a Coin to your Witcher"

 

[Paxi]

If the money is there and he enjoys it, why wouldn't Cavill stay? It's not like he can't do other movies in between filming.

If the Witcher series ends up being a huge success then I'm sure he'd be happy to carry it out.

He's probably going to make a clean fortune off it, besides he's an avid gamer and played through Witcher 3 twice, so he's definitely invested in this.

 

[Solius]

"And who could forget dear Rat Boy."

 

[Donut]

The show is decent. Cavill is perfect.

But it has a cheap feel, like I'm watching medieval fantasy Star Gate or something. The pacing is also all over the place, some of the stuff drags and then some stuff happens in a moment. It's ok and it has potential, maybe I'm being unfair since I can't help but compare it to GoT.

 

[Adam-Utd]

He's probably going to make a clean fortune off it, besides he's an avid gamer and played through Witcher 3 twice, so he's definitely invested in this.

Yep, this for me seems more like a project out of love anyway. I'm sure there's more lucrative stuff but if you're a fan of the game, how cool would it be to bring Geralt to life, and get to romance Yen

 

[Solius]

The show is decent. Cavill is perfect.

But it has a cheap feel, like I'm watching medieval fantasy Star Gate or something. The pacing is also all over the place, some of the stuff drags and then some stuff happens in a moment. It's ok and it has potential, maybe I'm being unfair since I can't help but compare it to GoT.

Yeah I felt the same thing. In some places it's really good and in others I feel like I'm watching Kevin Sorbo's Hercules. It didn't help that we have a new TV and the motion smoothing was on so we got the 'soap opera effect' for the first two episodes.

 

[CassiusClaymore]

As someone who has neither read the books or played the game (s?) this is kind of a hot mess.

I did enjoy the swordfight at the end of episode one but I'm four in now and still don't really know what's going on. Probably not helped by me constantly falling asleep mind.

 

[Twins]

Yeah I felt the same thing. In some places it's really good and in others I feel like I'm watching Kevin Sorbo's Hercules.

Nothing wrong with that, it was an excellent show!

 

[Wumminator]

I really thought there’d be pushback against this after it was revealed that the writing team were heavily female and labelled “SJW”s. Maybe the world isn’t so bad.

 

[Adam-Utd]

As someone who has neither read the books or played the game (s?) this is kind of a hot mess.

I did enjoy the swordfight at the end of episode one but I'm four in now and still don't really know what's going on. Probably not helped by me constantly falling asleep mind.

This is the one error the directors made IMO.

The first Witcher book is a series of short stories, and this is what they started with in terms of Geralt.

They've then thrown in the start of Ciri's story and told us the beginning of Yennefer's story along with her transformation.

The timelines are all over the place and it's hard to know what's present or past unless you know the story already.

I think though they've done it this way to lay the groundwork and introduce the characters, which'll make it easier in the future.

Somebody less lazy that me will probably work out a timeline of the episodes which might make it easier to follow.

 

[Massive Spanner]

I really thought there’d be pushback against this after it was revealed that the writing team were heavily female and labelled “SJW”s. Maybe the world isn’t so bad.

Wait, what?

I never knew that.

How do I delete Netflix?

 

[harms]

I've read that the budget was close to $10 mil per episode, which is ridiculous, it looks so much cheaper. Half of that probably was Henry Cavill's salary.

Positives:

• the pace and the story gets better
• some good casting choices — Cavill, the princess, Yennifer (spelling?)
• vintage 90's feeling — looks like it's becoming a trend, with Mandalorian going the same way. But it’s not all good
• multiple timelines — I haven't read or played before, but I thought that it worked nicely and added some intrigue

Negatives:

• CGI and editing; half of the stuff is covered in fog and every big battle happens in the dark. Don't get me started on the monsters
• extras — I get the feeling that there weren't even enough extras on the set, before we even consider their acting capabilities. It literally looked like a computer game where the NPCs are standing passively in the background before you activate them
• dialogs — they're so predictable. I had a little game with myself where I said outloud the next phrase when there was a dramatic pause present (so, every 2 minutes) and got most of them right even without knowing the books/games etc. It's not a good sign
• vintage 90's feeling - you have to somehow adapt that aesthetics and plot structure to reference the past (like Stranger Things did), not create a show that feels like you went back in time to watch Hercules or Zena
• Little to none character development. Even when it happens, it happens at the point when we can’t relate to them. The Lioness gets smacked in the face by Destiny and almost kills her entire court over it, but finally gets its importance... only to forget about it and make the same mistake again. Yenn’s motivations are so weird - we don’t see enough bond between her and her teacher that would explain her change of heart near the end. Personally, her “legacy” quest feels so shallow, so you don’t really feel her sacrifice to earn that “legacy” another way. The Witcher is capable of forming friendships and other relationships from the start, is there anything different about him in the end? Oh, yeah, he believed in destiny... because the love of his life that he spent 15 minutes with mentioned the girl before dying? The only interesting character development that they’ve set up was the dark sorceress that went from a nepotist appointment to being the most powerful wizard in the world (arguably. leaving aside the girl for the time being) and the brains behind the Southern revolt... but the entirety of it happens off the screen.
  

 

[Raees]

After episode 1 was feeling uneasy about the show but stuck with it until the end of the series. Wow.. brilliant debut season, it is all over the place granted, and obscure to follow.. the story is complex and full of gaping holes, but if you ignore all that, it somehow seems to work and is a really good watch. Not sure why people have called it 'cheap'... yes the CGI is iffy but the action is quality and some of the landscapes stunning.

8.5/10.

 

[amolbhatia50k]

"And who could forget dear Rat Boy."