The Witcher (Netflix)... a Review

Personally, I love The Witcher and how it has evolved over the years. It started out as a series of novels in the 1980's by Polish author Andrzej Sapkowsi.

What was then turned into a well-known video game following Geralt of Rivia and the world of Witchers, Witches and other supernatural folk. I've played the game myself, Wild Hunt is personally my favorite. Now, let's talk about the recent Netflix adaptation.

I'm going to start out by saying, this first season was confusing as hell. It was the little details and quiet whispers that characters said that transcended the thin line between the audience going, "what the fuck is going on" and "oh shit, now I get it." I'm really hoping the second season won't be as much of a mind-fuck but one can only hope.

Now, let's go onto characters and I'm going to start by looking at Geralt himself. Might I add that Henry Cavill aka Superman is an AMAZING Geralt, he looks the part (mostly), plays him very well and the fight scenes were probably the best part of that whole first season. Henry, you did us Witcher fans proud. HOWEVER, it really bothered me that about 90% of the time, Geralt's dialogue was grunting. I understand that Geralt is the king of brooding characters but holy crap, he couldn't have said one word in between those, "hmm" and "hm's?" Geralt in Wild Hunt had way more dialogue than this Geralt has.

Now for Jaskier. I absolutely loved his character, the comedic relief in between Geralt's brooding manor and Yennefer's pretty gruesome, painful transition into mage-hood; he provided the audience with something no other character did, he made us laugh and even ended up with the hit song that we all have stuck in our heads, "Toss a Coin to your Witcher." Nice going Jaskier, we love and hate you at the same time.

I think Yennefer's character was the most fulfilling and interesting out of all of them. She was sold off to the Mages Guild, turned against them, got turned into a gorgeous beauty and fulfilled her dream of becoming an official mage but with the cost of betrayal. Her and Geralt have n0 trust in anyone, which caused them to not trust each other. In my opinion, it was satisfying to see them come together near the end and be able to trust each other.

Now onto Ciri, a character I don't know how to feel about; while I do understand her place in all of this. She kind of turned out to be a whiny bitch most of the time. She left and betrayed Dara, the savior of Ciri numerous times before he basically got tired of her shit, and honestly, who wouldn't? And while I can understand her naivety towards the people of her home as she was sheltered by the queen, her answer to everything is to simply run away until she SOMEHOW finds Geralt.

A couple things I loved about this series was the form of relationships, even if it was obscure at some points. Geralt and Yennefer/Jaskier's growth together as people who have been betrayed was beautiful to watch. Geralt, although didn't show it too much, really did care of Jaskier as a friend. He saved his friend and ultimately sacrificed himself for our singing friend on multiple occasions which I will raise a glass to. Now onto our favorite couple, Geralt and Yennefer. We can clearly see the chemistry there but the lack of trust is what caused conflict between the two, which is understandable. But when it was solved... for around the third time in bed, it turned into a beautiful moment between these two.

Overall, I found The Witcher to be enjoyable and fun to watch if you understand the lore behind it. Personally, I am looking forward to the second season. But some of the characters and their decisions, actions or even dialgoue within the first season just really bring down the show at times.