TV: Witcher TV Series

[beowulf]

I knew Geralt is about 100 at t his point in the story but it didn't hit me until she said it, so is Yennefer.

 

[Raekwon]

Love this show. Thought the second season was fantastic. Really loving Freya as Ciri

 

[glovesave_35]

Loved the second season. After the first season and all the jumping around in chronology, it was nice to have a straight forward story line and it really moves forward. I finished the season and wished that there were at least a couple more episodes.

 

[glovesave_35]

Binged the back half of the season. I'd agree that they kind of did Yen and Vesemir dirty, though honestly my only frame of reference is the Witcher 3 and online lore I've read. In any case, I think they needed more time to flesh out Yen's redemption and as for Vesemir's casting. I don't know, I'm not going to compare to the game but still I felt like such an important character really lacked the presence needed. I bought well enough the father figure who loves his Witcher sons but past that, I don't know. He felt forgettable.

Past that though I was pretty pleased with the season overall. The monster of the week format in the first season was nice but it was thematically appropriate for the pre-Ciri meeting Geralt timeline. You get a chance to see Geralt at work, but after he finally meets Ciri, all that is supposed to be pretty secondary to what Ciri means to the Continent. And beyond that, the show really needed a more coherent and developing plot to elevate the quality of the show. The monster battles are still there but are tied into the context of an unfolding, and arguably stronger narrative. Said narrative felt a lot more focused and coherent and not just because the timeline remained consistent.

I still don't think this show can ever rival the peak of Game of Thrones as it really doesn't allow its world to breathe and there's too few episodes for the narrative to unfold in a more satisfying and fleshed out way. But, at least for me personally, as someone who loved The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt, I like seeing this world and the characters on the screen. It's a fun escapist fantasy series that can't reach the heights of a GOAT series barring some major changes, but it's still an enjoyable franchise and they honestly could have done worse.

Cavill said he'd do 7 seasons of the show if Netflix lets him, and I'd honestly be here for all 7 if they did.

Brief spoiler stuff

Spoiler

I dont have a comprehensive knowledge of the events of the books so I don't actually know how strongly the Wild Hunt will figure in or how soon we may see them, but I feel they're rushing the reveal a bit. If the Wild Hunt is the biggest bad, then I hope they save them for the last season.

I do find it a bit amusing that they save Emhyr is Ciri's father for the last big twist but anyone who has played The Witcher 3 for longer than a couple hours already knows that and...thats a lot of people watching this show. Also the camera cue of Emhyr/Duny not "The Snap" fading away like Pavetta, Mousessack, and Calanthe was pretty on the nose.

It's one small gripe from the finale but I felt the whole trying to talk a possessed person into overcoming their possessor thing in movies and shows is so played out at this point. I get what they were going for, but still I found it dreary.

Also I find it a bit funny that they're already working on a live action spin off. Don't get me wrong, I'm on board for Netflix investing in this series but it's still a bit funny. Hopefully it's a little more Better Call Saul and less Fear the Walking Dead.

As someone who doesn't bring any baggage or preconceptions of characters based on novels or games, I thought the casting choice for Vesemir was great. I have nothing in that world to compare it to, but for me it worked.

 

[NyQuil]

The only casting I'm a bit iffy on is Triss.

The episode with Fringilla's revenge was fantastic.

 

[HanSolo]

As someone who doesn't bring any baggage or preconceptions of characters based on novels or games, I thought the casting choice for Vesemir was great. I have nothing in that world to compare it to, but for me it worked.

I mean I can only base it on the game and the animated movie now but a younger Vesemir was snarky, sarcastic, but fiercely devoted to doing good. TW3's Vesemir is closer in age to the one in the show and he had limited presence but that time was used effectively. He felt like more of the warm father figure with a sense of humor who is getting up there in age and really gives off the impression that he wants to use his remaining life to make sure Geralt and Ciri are in the best position in their lives as possible. Whether that's offering wisdom and guidance or putting his life on the line to protect them.

Where Show Vesemir had the paternal instincts on display, he was lacking the warmth, personality, and humor. For me it presents as something of a disconnect. I can see how the animated young Vesemir can progress to become the Vesemir in the third Witcher game. The Vesemir in the show felt cold and somewhat selfish. And ultimately just didn't feel like a character I've come to love. He felt like someone else with the same name.

If he worked for others then I'm happy, don't get me wrong. But I'd personally like to see a bit more from him in future seasons in terms of writing and performance. Maybe this stage of the Witcher chronology was a dour stage in Vesemir's life but it still didn't really work for me.

 

[Mr Fahrenheit]

As someone who already knew that Emhyr was Ciris father, as a lot of people here did too, and was waiting for the reveal to come; Emhyr will be here in 3 days!, Emhyr will be here in 2 days!, Emhyr will be here tomorrow!, it felt so obvious they were forcing random Duny scenes in Ciri's visions so people who didnt play the Witcher 3 or recently watch season 1 would actually recognize Emhyr as Duny

 

[glovesave_35]

As someone who already knew that Emhyr was Ciris father, as a lot of people here did too, and was waiting for the reveal to come; Emhyr will be here in 3 days!, Emhyr will be here in 2 days!, Emhyr will be here tomorrow!, it felt so obvious they were forcing random Duny scenes in Ciri's visions so people who didnt play the Witcher 3 or recently watch season 1 would actually recognize Emhyr as Duny

As a newb, I had trouble remembering his face and thought the fire guy may be him.

 

[Btlegend082]

As a newb, I had trouble remembering his face and thought the fire guy may be him.

Yeah I was the same way as you where and speaking of them "fire guy" im sure he has a name but for yall that have read the books could somebody please explain who he is or is the mysterie part of his story line.

 

[hoyster]

Yeah I was the same way as you where and speaking of them "fire guy" im sure he has a name but for yall that have read the books could somebody please explain who he is or is the mysterie part of his story line.

Rience is a mage who was hired to find Ciri. I can't remember if they told in the show who hired him so I'll put it in spoilers:

Spoiler: Book spoiler

Vilgefortz

 

[RandV]

Rience is a mage who was hired to find Ciri. I can't remember if they told in the show who hired him so I'll put it in spoilers:

The did not tell you in the show. Rience did meet the person who hired him at the end but they were kept off screen, so they're still playing that secret close.

So a legit spoiler there.

 

[Mr Fahrenheit]

As a newb, I had trouble remembering his face and thought the fire guy may be him.

Yeah. I knew the reveal was coming so seeing them shoehorn Duny in was such an obvious ploy right before the reveal, its like the "previously on" before an epsiode that shows what should be irrelevant/old things that spoil that it will a part of the episode because why else would it be there and apparently it still didnt work for everyone heh

 

[glovesave_35]

Yeah. I knew the reveal was coming so seeing them shoehorn Duny in was such an obvious ploy right before the reveal, its like the "previously on" before an epsiode that shows what should be irrelevant/old things that spoil that it will a part of the episode because why else would it be there and apparently it still didnt work for everyone heh

Haha I know what you mean. It did work for me, btw. It hinted at it quite strongly. I meant that when I first saw Mr. fire finger all cleaned up, the actors looked really similar.

 

[Hockey 4 everyone]

Any thoughts on watching this versus wheel of time? Both seem mildly interesting but probably don’t have enough time to watch both. Is one better than the other?

 

[Knave]

Any thoughts on watching this versus wheel of time? Both seem mildly interesting but probably don’t have enough time to watch both. Is one better than the other?

If you're familiar with The Witcher then maybe you want to go with that. As someone that has never played The Witcher series games, read the books or read Wheel of Time - I'd say you could go with either one, neither one seemed great to me.

that being said the Witcher seems more popular so maybe that's the bet to make as people you know might also be watching it.

 

[The Crypto Guy]

Just finished the 2nd season...FANTASIC. Season 3 can't come soon enough.

 

[TheAngryHank]

Any thoughts on watching this versus wheel of time? Both seem mildly interesting but probably don’t have enough time to watch both. Is one better than the other?

I'd say Witcher with ease.

 

[NyQuil]

Any thoughts on watching this versus wheel of time? Both seem mildly interesting but probably don’t have enough time to watch both. Is one better than the other?

Witcher is much better. It's a tight story and the characterizations are excellent.

Wheel of Time is probably best suited for readers of the books who have always wanted to visualize the story and can fill in all the gaps with the extra knowledge from the literature.

As a standalone show, I'm not sure it works as well.

 

[Raekwon]

Any thoughts on watching this versus wheel of time? Both seem mildly interesting but probably don’t have enough time to watch both. Is one better than the other?

Definitely Witcher but wheel of time is also worth a go once you have time

 

[Tawnos]

Witcher is much better. It's a tight story and the characterizations are excellent.

Wheel of Time is probably best suited for readers of the books who have always wanted to visualize the story and can fill in all the gaps with the extra knowledge from the literature.

As a standalone show, I'm not sure it works as well.

Wheel of Time isn't suited for readers of the books at all, honestly. Most of them hate it. It did top the streaming charts, and there definitely aren't enough readers to make that happen on their own anyway.

The biggest difference between the two shows is that Witcher is character-driven while Wheel of Time is more world-driven. If I was forced to choose one right now, it's probably The Witcher, but I suspect that's going to change after WoT season 2.

 

[NyQuil]

Wheel of Time isn't suited for readers of the books at all, honestly. Most of them hate it. It did top the streaming charts, and there definitely aren't enough readers to make that happen on their own anyway.

Really?

I find I've been filling in a lot of blanks for Mrs_NyQuil whereas with the Witcher I don't really have to.

I have a friend who -HATED- the Lord of the Rings films because he'd point out every single inconsistency with the books and it just ruined the experience for him.

I think it depends on how ardent you are about the source material.

 

[Tawnos]

Really?

I find I've been filling in a lot of blanks for Mrs_NyQuil whereas with the Witcher I don't really have to.

I have a friend who -HATED- the Lord of the Rings films because he'd point out every single inconsistency with the books and it just ruined the experience for him.

I think it depends on how ardent you are about the source material.

They've made an enormous amount of changes in WoT, and a lot of people have low tolerance for that kind of thing. I'm fine with re-tellings to a large degree, so unless they completely repudiate the original concept (see: Foundation) then I can get on board. But the people I know who were fans of the books largely dislike it, and social media (I know, not the best judge always) are filled with book-readers talking about how terrible it is.

These two series really are different kinds of fantasy content though. The Witcher's stories, despite ranging a wide world, are really pretty compact. It's like the difference between most of the invididual character MCU movies and The Avengers movies.

 

[NyQuil]

They've made an enormous amount of changes in WoT, and a lot of people have low tolerance for that kind of thing. I'm fine with re-tellings to a large degree, so unless they completely repudiate the original concept (see: Foundation) then I can get on board. But the people I know who were fans of the books largely dislike it, and social media (I know, not the best judge always) are filled with book-readers talking about how terrible it is.

These two series really are different kinds of fantasy content though. The Witcher's stories, despite ranging a wide world, are really pretty compact. It's like the difference between most of the invididual character MCU movies and The Avengers movies.

I think everyone will agree that porting WoT to the small screen was a much larger challenge than the Witcher.

As you say, it's focused more on characterization, which does better in translation.

 

[The Macho King]

So I finally was able to finish season 2.

Damn I kind of hated it. It was boring. The politics stuff is always pretty dull, but that shit should have been *WAY* more in the background than it was. Geralt did nothing all f***ing season. The season happened and Geralt had very little to do with it. It'd be much more interesting to follow him intersecting with the way the world is changing instead of focusing so much on how it's changing. Feels like the show is trying to be GoT and it's losing what makes it awesome because of it.

First episode of the season? 10/10. Great f***ing story, very cool. Rest? 2/10 maybe. Also why did that slo mo shit come in on like episode six or seven?

 

[RandV]

So I finally was able to finish season 2.

Damn I kind of hated it. It was boring. The politics stuff is always pretty dull, but that shit should have been *WAY* more in the background than it was. Geralt did nothing all f***ing season. The season happened and Geralt had very little to do with it. It'd be much more interesting to follow him intersecting with the way the world is changing instead of focusing so much on how it's changing. Feels like the show is trying to be GoT and it's losing what makes it awesome because of it.

First episode of the season? 10/10. Great f***ing story, very cool. Rest? 2/10 maybe. Also why did that slo mo shit come in on like episode six or seven?

I mean, that's more or less what the books are like. It's not trying to be GoT but if you go in expecting it to be like the video games it's not. The first two books in short story form are all Geralt, and actually the final book is a throwback long form story that's all Geralt, but the main story in between is a lot more focused story than GoT but still a mixed bag of characters and Geralt really doesn't get a lot of Witcher-ing done.

Watching season two the show actually seems to be moving away from the books to have more Geralt and more monster slaying.