The Witcher

As a fan of the books & games, I thought the first season was decent. It's an adaptation of a multi-book short story collection with an overarching narrative. Without prior knowledge of the series, I may have required multiple views to understand the timeline and events. It has a similar feel to the stories, though, and I enjoyed it.

Season 2 had a great first episode and an okay finale, but meandered in the middle episodes. The substance of many adapted stories were altered. Parts that were main story in the book felt like filler and lacked necessary plot & character development. I'll never understand why adaptations leave out parts that are important to understanding the main plot and characters, yet add meaningless fluff & soap opera drama. Some characters that don't say ten words in the books are main POV characters now.

Season 3 was awful. Before even looking at the train wreck of the content, I wonder why NF released half the season, when the second half will be aired three weeks? Why not wait and release the entire series, or release one episode each week? Anyway, regardless of the stupid release schedule, the first half of season 3 is abysmal. The main actors who brought the characters to life in season 1 don't seem to want to be there at all anymore. The script writers are no longer even trying to follow the Witcher stories, they're just off in the weeds doing their own thing. The drop in quality this season is precipitous. I'm sorry to say it, but Netflix's The Witcher is no longer worth watching.

Wow. Season 1 was a breath of fresh air. While not completely aligned with the book, it complemented it enough to be engaging to me. Season 2 a slight drop but still a show that was engaging - albeit straying from the book more. Season 3 - glaring garbage. I see why Henry wants to leave. The writing is terrible. In fact, beyond terrible. And they are striking for more money? LMAO. They need to go back to school and learn to write. Step 1 - Stick to the book. Follow the book. Keep to the storytelling path and style. Don't try and re-invent Netflix. Your writers are not good enough. Hoping season 4 changes things but I doubt it.

Items to note: 1. I do not fault the actors - the writers are terrible at their job.

2. I fault Netflix for destroying a fantasy series similar to LOR on Amazon Prime. If your afraid to follow the books correctly - THEN DON'T MAKE THE SHOW.

3. HBO should have done this show. The only network with the guts to make a show right.

Now in no way is this show as bad as people thought it would nor is it as good as some of the other reviewers here think it is either. First of, Henry Cavill as Geralt is the best part of this show 100%. No doubt about that. The show is worth watching just for his portrayal. He really cares about the character and it shows. Pros: -Henry Cavill as Geralt. Can't say this enough. -The fight Choreography is just insane. GOT could have really used some of the insane fight sequences from the witcher series. -The Really amazing moments between Jaskier(Dandelion) and Geralt. They did Jaskier perfectly in my opinion. -Roach Cons: -Really bad casting choices like Triss,Foltest and the Driads. Also they butchered an entire portion from the books which was one of my favorite parts from the Last Wish actually. -Nilfgaard Armour. Like who in the right mind actually thought that it looked even remotely good. I wanted to skip the parts where they came up in the screens. -Very unfriendly to people not familiar with the books or games. This is a fan-service. Not entirely a con but you get the point. -DESTINY THIS DESTINY THAT. GOD STFU. I know destiny is a main focal point in the books but it was over done even there. I just got so tired of that word after watching for a while.

All in all its worth the watch if you're a fan of the Witcher games/books. I can't praise Henry enough for his performance though. Seriously.

What can I say... Seasons 1 & 2 were excellent.

Solid writing with enough following to the source material.

Really good cast and acting.

Topped with some decent special effects and set design resulted in a very enjoyable dark fantasy adventure.

Then, along came season 3.

Oh dear... oh dear oh dear oh dear.

It feels as if they're trying to achieve the same as the first two seasons but with half the budget and deplorable writing.

Every scene feels cheapened and like a soap opera.

What on earth happened?

No wonder Henry Cavill left. This is nowhere near the caliber if the first two seasons and an epic disappointment.

The forth season will undoubtedly be doomed to failuref this is anything to go by.

Seasons 1 & 2 = 8/10 Season 3 = 5/10.

Pretty much only kept watching for Cavill and Jaskier. They both did an amazing job, especially Cavill as the Witcher, his scenes and acting were perfect. Its too bad he was surprisingly only in about third of the scenes. Found myself bored with scenes without him and just wanting to skip ahead. Many of the other characters lacked charm and interesting sub plots and felt they had too much attention paid to them and that they were overall lacklustre. Would have liked more attention paid to Cavill and monster hunting. Really disappointed that Henry will not continue with the show since he single-handedly made it worthwhile to watch. Here's hoping the new actor can do the role justice.