The Witcher - Season 1 Review

 

Discussing Eps. 1 - 8 - So with having Netflix and a bit of time on my hands, I decided to check out some shows that seem to be all the rage these days. I like a bit of fantasy, LotR-style, and since I had missed out on Game of Thrones, I figured I'd check out The Witcher starring Henry Cavill. I'll be reviewing based on select character's storylines rather than the entire season as a whole. But for a start, if you're a fan of Lord of the Rings or Game of Thrones or even Dungeons & Dragons, I'd recommend this show. It's only 8 episodes (and a second season is coming) so it's not that much to binge. It is cliché in some respects (and I'll go over that) but there are some good CGI and fight scenes and it keeps you entertained, so what more could you ask for?

*SPOILERS AHEAD* 

Geralt of Rivia. If we're going to start with cliché characters, we might as well start with the lead. I mean, this guy is like the prototypical RPG fantasy lead character. Tall, muscular, brooding, deep and scruffy voice, scary eyes, a skilled warrior, a loner, knows some magic, doesn't age (like other folk), popular with the ladies, slays monsters (for coin), and wears black....he's essentially a cross between Aragorn, Blade and Batman! And his backstory is shrouded in mystery. All you know from the first season was that he was created after his mother (a mage or sorceress or druid...haven't figured it out yet) gave him away when he was a child and he was molded by magic to become a Witcher. He apparently can't feel emotion and he can't fall in love (or so they say). Like I said, he'd be a character that you'd find in a World of Warcraft or Skyrim kind of game. Oddly enough, the book series was developed into a video game so I suppose I shouldn't be surprised. And given the fact the books were developed in Polish in the late 90's, perhaps other franchises took from this character rather than the other way around. 

Putting on his best TVD vampire look! LOL!

Being the cliché lone wolf, he looks out only for himself but he clearly has a sense of morality and mercy, rescuing strangers and helping others out even if he gets no reward for it or gets hurt along the way. For these reasons, I had a bit of an issue with the whole 'no emotion' aspect of his character. I always get a bit nitpicky when a character claims to feel no emotions and yet seem to exhibit them quite often. Geralt felt and exhibited anger, disappointment, amusement, boredom, compassion, sympathy, frustration and relief. Just because he talks in a gruff voice and doesn't smile a lot doesn't make Geralt an non-emotional character.

I felt like they were trying to give his character a stumbling block that would make his emotional attachments to other characters like Yennefer or Cirilla or even Jaskier all that more dramatic, but it doesn't work if that stumbling block is routed time and time again. I think for that reason and because of the limited episodes in the first season, there wasn't much room for character growth for Geralt and whatever growth did occur had to be rather sudden. He was basically all about "money and monsters" at the beginning and that seemed to change over the course of the series as he interacted with more people, so I could see some growth there. What I felt was a bit contrived and rushed was both his devotion to the Law of Surprise (and by extension, Cirilla) and to Yennefer especially.

I didn't get this relationship at all. Look, I know Yennefer is hot (well, pretty much all the women on this show are hot!), but what was it about her that suddenly made him care so much? Was she a good lay? Was it her eyes? That whole episode with the genie that seemed to bond these two still confuses me as I don't get why Geralt went out of his way to save her. Like I said, if he were this professional warrior-for-hire who could feel no emotions, then he shouldn't have cared at all what happened to Yennefer. But he did and she seemed to become a focal point that I felt wasn't justified. At least with Cirilla, he was focused on her because of a vow he made (regardless of how casually he made it). But with Yennefer, his bond with her felt really contrived.

The other aspect that I wish they'd focused a bit more on, and perhaps they'll delve more into in the next season, was his upbringing and what was actually involved in him becoming a Witcher. I liked that scene with his mom, where he asked her to at least admit that she didn't know the low survival rates of children who went on to become Witchers before she made the decision to give him up. As impactful as that was, I think it would have felt more so had we gotten more scenes of the trials he went through, of the other kids perhaps dying and him suffering and wishing to go back to his mom. This really felt like the audience was told about the suffering rather than shown and it would have been better had we been shown. I think scenes like that would have helped to show why Geralt is the way he is and create a degree of animosity towards his mother by the viewer, and perhaps if/when she reveals why she did what she did, will allow the audience (and Geralt) to make a more informed judgement on her.

Beyond that, he was an enjoyable character to watch, especially when it got down to the fighting. The fight scenes in this show are excellent and very well done. What kills me though is how you always get these groups of jamokes who are stupid enough to challenge Geralt time and time again. Like...why?!? Why do they challenge this hulking mass of muscle who is known to KILL MONSTERS ALL BY HIMSELF FOR A LIVING?!? And I mean...MONSTERS! Like, multi-tentacled, razor sharp teeth and claws kind of monsters. Why do these guys think they have any kind of a chance? And worst yet, when these guys see Geralt kill like 5 of them with incredible ease, the remaining don't run away or surrender....NO, THEY CONTINUE TO ATTACK HIM! The fuck is the matter with you? That's not bravery, that's stupid! Those jabronis deserve to die because they're stupid! Still, it was enjoyable to watch and definitely the fight scenes are a highlight of this show.

Yennefer of Vengerberg. She was definitely one of the characters that annoyed me the most and was also somewhat cliché. Honestly, I thought this character was at her best when she was hunchbacked. She felt more relatable because she wasn't this super attractive character and she faced such an uphill struggle to the point that she wanted to kill herself. I felt it when she lamented how she was only sold for four marks. I found myself rooting for her in the beginning and cheering on her accomplishments. I was happy when Tissaia stopped calling her "piglet" and finally called her Yennefer. I was thrilled when Istredd fell for her and basically accepted her for who she was, hunchback and all, when she had been rejected so many times based on her appearance alone. In a lot of ways, they made her too much of an underdog that you could just tell that she was going to rise above everyone else and become this powerful mage that would become lost in the power and prestige that would come. 

I suppose for that reason, I was disappointed when she underwent that transformation to remove her deformities. And I was super annoyed when she failed to acknowledge that everything that she couldn't have was because SHE WANTED IT THAT WAY!!! The way she kept saying how her inability to have a child was a choice that was taken from her was such bullshit. Giltine told her straight up what she would have to give up (i.e., having a baby) in order to be transformed into what she wanted. She agreed! That was a choice she made on her own. I mean, I got the message and I thought that it was a good one: be careful what you wish for because you just might get it. Plus, sometimes what you want isn't always what is going to make you happy and isn't always what you need. 

Those lessons were wonderfully displayed in Yennefer but it seems she herself missed the point. She got everything she wanted: prestige, beauty, adoration, sex, power. But she wasn't happy. And she just never seemed to hit that point where she acknowledged that her misery was of her own making. Whenever it was pointed out to her, whether by Tissaia or anyone else, she would always deflect and say "Well, what about you?" And I was like "Fucking hell, girl! Look in the mirror and realize that you are where you are because you wanted it that way!" I applauded when Istredd said how he pursued her but she basically kept rejecting him, only to have her finally come back to him and him realizing that he had moved on from her. I think in those moments I had the most hope that she would finally realize her mistakes but she would always deflect and move onto something else, never really letting the impact of the lesson hit her.

I suppose we'll see what happens in the next season. I like how she finally found a purpose (whether she'll see if it's HER purpose or not) and found a strength in becoming the general and coordinating the defenses of Sodden Hill. It was very impressive how she was able to direct all the mages and counsel them in the use of their powers. She really seemed to come into her own and I found that more impressive than her going Scorched Earth on everyone (though I will admit...that was pretty cool!). I guess what I'm hoping for this character is a sense of self-awareness that she didn't seem to achieve yet. Hopefully, she will.

Queen Calanthe. Speaking of self-awareness and owning up to one's mistakes, we get Queen Calanthe. I loved this character! I think it's because she wasn't a typical character. And I'll say that the time jumps (as jarring as they were) served to show how duplicitous, conniving and prideful Queen Calanthe was. On the one hand, she's this bad ass queen who prefers to dish it out on the battlefield rather than sit on the throne and look pretty. But she looks out for her own, especially Cirilla. But early on in the series they were able to show hints of her pride that was wonderfully shown to be her downfall. 

I mean, it was practically hilarious how this woman's pride kept coming back to bite her in the ass! She says that her kingdom doesn't need a mage and refuses them outright, much to the chagrin of the Brotherhood (although she did have Mousesack, who was a druid who knew magic and was a counsellor to her so I don't get the real difference there). Turns out it was thanks to a mage that Nilfgaard was able to defeat her army so easily. She dismisses Nilfgaard's invasion as a threat because she believes she has sufficient military reserves and her husband's navy to defend her kingdom. Turns out those reserves weren't enough and the navy was wiped out...thanks to a mage! She turns her back on Geralt, refusing to honour the Law of Surprise (again) and locks him up for trying to protect Cirilla, only to seek his help and send Cirilla to him when the shit hits the fan!

And there was such an amazing conniving nature to her. The way she was able to dismiss her daughter, Pavetta's, feelings for Urcheon of Erlenwald, the guy who looked like Sonic the Hedgehog. It was clear that Pavetta loved him and he loved her. And so Calanthe goes along with it all and seemingly makes peace with their union, only to literally try and stab Urcheon when his guard is down! She didn't fucking care! She didn't care that that would have broken Pavetta's heart. She didn't care that Urcheon was under a curse. She just went for it! And then when Geralt comes for Cirilla in order to protect her and fulfill the Law of Surprise, Calanthe tries to pass off ANOTHER woman's child as Cirilla and when that fails, locks up Geralt who probably would have stayed in that prison for who knows how long had Nilfgaard not attacked at that moment. It was just incredible the devious lengths this woman would go to, all because of her pride.

But why I liked her character over Yennefer's, despite clearly being as arrogant and prideful as Yennefer was, was because I felt like Calanthe got her comeuppance and I do believe she came to realize the error of her ways. She was so confident to the point of arrogance that she didn't need to fear Nilfgaard or that she didn't need Geralt's help that when it all came to the point that she was wrong on both counts, her crestfallen demeanour seemed to speak volumes about her realization that she was wrong. The fact that she sent Cirilla to find Geralt seemed to confirm that. My only gripe with her ending was that she killed herself by jumping out a window. That was weak! She was a fighting queen and so she should have gone down fighting. Beyond that, I liked this character if only because she was not conventional. She surprised me at various points and that was refreshing.

Jaskier. Not much to say about this character beyond that he was what I would have expected from a sidekick of Geralt. Where Geralt was always brooding and didn't say much, Jaskier was wisecracking and more light hearted that brought a balance to the pair. Though I never really understood how it was that Jaskier could just up and travel with Geralt without knowing anything about him. I get that he was trying to get inspiration to write a good tune based on Geralt's exploits but given the fact that Geralt was a monster hunter and Jaskier clearly was not made for that life, I found it odd that he would seek Geralt out and accompany him when Geralt clearly didn't want his company. Still, he was good comic relief and I look forward to him and Geralt mending fences and teaming up again.

Tissaia de Vries. I swear, I kept waiting for Harry Potter or Hermione to pop into frame at some point. She just seemed like she'd fit in at Hogwart's more than anywhere else. It was weird because they tried to depict her as this stern, heartless authority figure who didn't care about her students or especially about Yennefer. Even giving her the title of Rectoress gave her a sort of authoritarian aura about her. But I could tell that once Yennefer got the hang of things, we'd find out that Tissaia was actually quite caring and wasn't the hard ass that she was portrayed as being. 

For those who may have watched ER back in the day, her and Yennefer's relationship sort of reminded me of Benton and Carter, with Benton being this hard ass doctor who demanded so much from Carter but wound up being one of Carter's closest friends. Though they were hinting at that kind of friendship between Tissaia and Yennefer, we'll see if the relationship holds up into the second season. Mind you, she was still a bit cold hearted beyond her relationship with Yennefer, seemingly having little problem when some of her students "ascended" and became golden eels that powered the school! That was kind of cold. But beyond that, I don't know....I think I find her sexy in that demure, prim and proper kind of way. So maybe that's why I like her! I'm curious to know her background as she seemed to be rather empathetic to Yennefer, always referring to the two of them as "people like us." So we'll see what the second season brings for her.

Cirilla. Not a whole lot to say about her either other than Fortune seemed to be heavily on her side. Or perhaps it was Destiny, am I right?!? She always seemed to find a helping hand, whether it was Dara, the Elf, who accompanied her on her journey, or the Dryads of Brokilon Forest who gave her shelter and didn't outright kill her like they did so many other people, or it was her own innate Black Canary powers that were able to hurt, if not kill, any threat around her. I will say that it was kind of neat to see just how close she was to Geralt at any given moment on her journey because they really did make it seem like they were continents apart when in fact, they were practically right next to each other. I am curious what her role will be and how she figures into Cahir Mawr Dyffryn aep Ceallach's plan (aka, Nilfgaard's leader. Fuck, that's a long ass name. He's a bad guy just for having that name alone!). What is his plan? What is the Source that he's looking for? And what does Cirilla have to do with it all?

Overall, I liked this series. I think Henry Cavill did a fantastic job with the lead role. I do hope his character is expanded upon as well as the other characters. I was sort of disappointed that some storylines were dropped off like Renfri and that whole child-born-under-an-eclipse storyline....that seemed really ominous and it really amounted to nothing. The time jumps were a bit confusing but you did catch up to what was going on rather quickly and I really liked how they used those time jumps to weave the entire story together and made it cohesive. That was very well done. The CGI monsters are pretty decent (especially when I compare it to what I see on Legacies) and I love the fight scenes. 

So, yeah....I like this series a lot.

And it certainly doesn't hurt that it has some hot babes and nudity in it too. I guess that's a staple nowadays with fantasy shows. 

I ain't complaining! 😎