The Witcher

I didn't really know what to expect from The Witcher having never read the books or played the games but I'm a big Henry Cavill fan and saw all the high ratings so I thought I'd give it a chance and I'm glad I did because I liked it a lot, even more than I thought I would! It seems that most of the negative reviews are from people who are either comparing it to the games or books (which you shouldn't, just take it for what it is) or from bots from competing streaming services that rate everything Netflix does low. They say things like "another Netflix bomb" or something like that even though Netflix has had more Oscar, Golden Globe, Emmy, etc. Nominations than any other company on the planet. Henry Cavill is such a great actor and was absolutely brilliant as the lead, as was the rest of the cast!

Strangely enough, this goof describes the downfall of the series perfectly.

Season 1: 10 Stars, simply amazing, beyond expectations.

Season 2: 8 Stars. Very good with many lovely story telling.

Season 3: ... What the hell was that?

In one of the latest episodes of season 3, Yennefer says "Look at all these Gold, left here to rust".

Yennefer is a powerful sorcerer, that has lived for centuries and has extensive knowledge in alchemy. She would most definitely know that Gold does not rust. That's what makes it so special.

And that summarize the quality of the 3rd season and how once an amazing show with beautiful story, wide characters and extended knowledge has now become a total waste of time.

The one real issue i have with the show is that it doesn't do a great job of distinguishing between current and flashback scenes.

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.

Netflix has once again released a series that has incredible potential, but has been undermined by horrible writing and extremely weak casting choices. Henry Cavill was an inspired choice as Geralt of Rivia, and obviously brings a lot of knowledge and fondness to the role. He gives the series a luster that is unfortunately quickly dimmed by the horribly dimwitted writing. Eels??? What is with the Eels??? Note: that didn't need a spoiler alert. If you've seen the series, you'll know what I am talking about, and if you haven't, you will know when you witness that silly travesty.

The sets are lush and well done, the costumes are good, and the music fits well with the setting. The exception to the music is when Dandelion goes from Medival to something akin to "Pop Harp". Grating doesn't even begin to describe it. I did like the action scenes, as Henry Cavill is very believable as a athletic monster slayer.

So overall, I give a 9 to Cavill and the great atmosphere of the series. The supporting cast are sporadic and generally weak, and rate no more than a 5 or 6. The writing, and in particular the scenes added to the script that were never in the original books, was extremely weak, and garnered no more than a 2 or at the most 3. I gave the show a 6. Mildly entertaining, but falls far short of the original books and the three Witcher games.