The Septic Tank - TV Show Discussions: The Witcher

Discussing Season 2 - As I did with the last season, I'll give my thoughts on the entirety of the season and on specific characters. Overall, I liked this season. There was some good action and development of the lore, but I do have my gripes with certain character developments (or lack thereof) and the focal point that this series seems to revolve around.

One of the things that I liked was the fact that this was far more linear storytelling than last season was, and I had to laugh at how self aware the show was regarding last season's storytelling style. And yes, I had to turn on the subtitles because I couldn't understand what the hell the characters were saying half the time. Part of the problem were the names of new characters and locations that I hadn't heard before. They would say the name so quickly like "Oh, we're going to Vlaf Hoflruthl" and I'm like "what the fuck did that character just say? I gotta rewind!" Or like "Vol Mtheroulfe is after Ciri in Meiph Flpehhprefnqs!" and I'm like "what was that, sonny?!?" Plus, when you have this little guy singing at the top of his lungs and drowning out the sound while you're trying to watch the show....then having the subtitles is practically a necessity!

That is my canary, Pepper, who reminds me time and time again that you don't need a rooster to wake you up at 7 in the morning when you have him! And believe me, he sounds a lot louder in person!

Anyway, I found that there was less action and nudity this time around as well. I suppose that whole GoT style of medieval romping and stomping kind of had it's moment in the sun. I don't know if I'm upset at that but I suppose I didn't miss it. Well, the action I kind of did and I'll get to why as it pertains to Geralt in particular. But overall, the storyline was good, the backdrops looked amazing (in this time of climate change, I felt almost melancholy looking at the beautiful scenery), and there were some characters from last season who surprised me in more ways than one.

So let's start with the main protagonist. And if you thought I was talking about Geralt, you'd be wrong! I'd understand your thought process though. After all, this show is called The Witcher, of which Geralt is one of them and appears to be the main witcher that the show focuses on. However, I do believe now that this show should be renamed Ciri the Series because it seemed to be all about her! Now, I don't mind that so much if Geralt had developed, as a character, throughout the second season. But he really didn't. So before I get to Geralt, I'll go over Ciri's journey. First of all, how long ago did they film season 1?!? Because both her and Dara, her elf friend, looked like they aged like 5 years! The actress is 20 years old, and yet last season, she looked like she was 13 or 15 at most! I actually had to look up the show on IMDB to make sure it was the same actress!

As far as her journey went, there were moments that I thought they had gone with a more cliché route. In this age of female empowerment, it's easy to have the proto-typical damsel-in-distress suddenly turn a corner and become this bad ass, Wonder Woman-like warrior princess afterwards. I realized that for Ciri, this turn was probably the only way they could go. First off, her grandmother, Queen Calanthe, was that bad ass, warrior queen throughout her reign, so it made sense that Ciri would find inspiration, if not be influenced, by her and wanting to do the same. It also makes sense that she would not want to see others, like Geralt, always coming to her rescue and risking their lives to do so, especially after what happened to everyone in Cintri. Therefore, I understood that she'd want to take matters into her own hands and learn to defend herself.

I also liked how they were able to tie all that all together with what we learned from her last season with her Black Canary powers, developing her into this rare offspring that had the blood of Elder elves (whatever that means) that could do so much, even create new witchers. This was where I felt that The Witcher: Nightmare of the Wolf (NotW) really came in handy as to giving a backstory about how the witchers were in decline because of the attack on Kaer Morhen. I expected the revelation that Ciri's blood being the key to making more witchers to be more of an issue for Vesemir in particular, given what we learned about him in NotW. Her desire to become a witcher herself, though somewhat extreme, made sense in the overall development and desperation of her character. And her training was actually used against the witchers, to a point, when she attacked Geralt, and I liked that it really seemed to tie her entire journey together.

I also liked that she was brought to a point of being a killer, even though she was possessed by the Deathless Mother. Both she and Yennefer were made to face temptation, to sacrifice lives in order to gain something that they always wanted, and find redemption in the rejection of those temptations. In Ciri's case, she could exist with her family in a fantasy world, like she did before the attack by Nilfgaard (which is a name, with my 12 year old mindset, I always laugh at because it sounds like Milfguard, which is a kingdom I'd happily be invaded by, to be honest!) 😎. In the process, she's killing witchers in their sleep and opening portals to monster realms that are invading their realm. She breaks free with the help from Geralt and comes to accept her new reality and learns to appreciate the friends that she has made in Geralt and Vesemir and the other witchers. So as far as her character arc went, she was definitely a different person at the end than who she was at the beginning.

The same cannot really be said of Geralt. I think I may have made this complaint last season, that he came off as very one dimensional, as little more than a come-to-life Skyrim character, all brooding and brutish and killing monsters and performing side quests. Mind you, he did evolve somewhat from last season, when he didn't seem to give a fuck about the Law of Surprise or about anyone else and was just all about getting coin. This season, he seemed to take on the role of protector, teacher and perhaps even father to Ciri, which was definitely a different tone for him. But when I compare his character arc to that of Ciri or even Yennefer, he doesn't really change from what he was at the beginning to what he was at the end.

What was his journey? What did he learn? I suppose one could argue that he learned to be more patient, to not go in sword swinging at every threat as he opted not to kill Ciri when she got possessed and he even stopped Vesemir from killing Ciri as well. But it was more his relationship to Ciri and the bond they forged that drove that particular motivation. I suppose one could argue that he learned not to take Yennefer at her word and didn't allow his romantic feelings for her to get in the way of putting a sword to her throat the moment she betrayed him and Ciri. But I never bought into their relationship in the first place because I didn't think it was built on much beyond sex and a shared sense of frustration with their lots in life.

Based on what we saw last season, when he had memories of his mother and was talking about his childhood, I thought we were going to delve deeper into his backstory and show the trauma he faced and gained when became a witcher. But NotW covered that and went a step further by focusing on Vesemir and not Geralt. So as far as looking at that aspect of his character and backstory, that was essentially taken care of by ANOTHER character altogether! So what was left to go over in terms of Geralt's history and potential journey? They kind of stripped him of storylines with the animated movie and basically had no room or reason to explore his backstory because they were so focused on Ciri and, to a lesser extent, Yennefer. So Geralt ended up just being....there!

This is why I don't really regard Geralt as the main protagonist because nothing happened to him. He had no character arc, not really any growth. If you take both seasons together, I could see it that there was some growth but when compared to Ciri or even Yennefer, it's clear that they both could be the star of the show and were more the focal points rather than him. Ciri and Yennefer were the ones who faced real temptation. Ciri and Yennefer were the ones who faced real fear. Ciri and Yennefer were the ones who had to face the reality of their world changing. Nothing like that really happened for Geralt. He faced no real temptation...no real fear...and his world hardly changed at all for the entirety of the season.

Sure, he fought a new class of monster and even had to face off against a fellow witcher-turned-monster. But even his action scenes seemed more toned down than before. And yes, he was instrumental in figuring out Ciri's connection to the monoliths...but how did that help his character grow? They kind of tied their hands with this whole witchers-don't-feel-emotions thing, and I could see them opening that up a bit when Geralt expressed grief over losing Yennefer. But overall, he didn't really go through anything that made me become invested in his story, basically because, at this point, he doesn't have one! He's the Alfred to Ciri's Batman. She's the star and not him, and I don't know if and how they intend to fix that.

Speaking of a character who did have growth, especially from last season, I was very impressed with Yennefer this time around. For those who read my last review, I thought she was intolerable last season, with her complaining over and over again about not being able to have kids and how horrible Aretuza and Tissaia was and all this bullshit that she essentially brought on herself. This time around, she seemed to have mellowed out a lot and it was nice. Taking away her magic, having her be tempted by the Deathless Mother to sacrifice Ciri to get it back, taking drastic steps such as betraying Aretuza and freeing Cahir and becoming a fugitive as a result. She definitely went through a series of low points, aligning herself with the likes of Cahir and even Jaskier (which was funny, they need to pair those two up more often) and having to rely on her human talents rather than magic to get by. I was expecting her to be this super powerful mage based on that fire show she put on last season, so her losing it all was a surprising turn.

I am curious as to where they're going to go with her character next season. They seem to be setting it up that both she and Geralt will act as mentors to Ciri, with Geralt taking care of the physical aspects and Yennefer taking care of the magic. Through that, I could see it that Yennefer becomes more adept at controlling her Chaos magic and becomes a real power. Also, she may well become the mother that she always wanted to be, taking on Ciri as a sort of adopted daughter. And how will she deal with being out of the Brotherhood? She's burned some serious bridges, especially with Tissaia. She's already betrayed them once (sort of) and so I don't see how she's going to mend those bridges again. Regardless, I think she has some stuff left to explore next season so I'm eager to see where they go with her character.

Oh, Jaskier! I really do wish that we got more of Jaskier and Yennefer as they really seem to play well off each other. And it was almost heartwarming to see how Jaskier was so impacted by Geralt's rejection of him that he wrote a song about it! He is The Witcher's Taylor Swift! Beyond that, I'm curious to know where his character is going, especially as it was revealed that he was being paid off by Dijkstra and the Redanian kingdom. It's going to be so interesting to see what they paid him to do and how he's going to explain any of that to Geralt and Yennefer! But I also have to question that scene....that scene where he took his shirt off and showed off his buff physique! I had to laugh because...for fuck's sakes....how heavy is that mandolin that he carries? I'm mean, look at him (yes, you ladies, and some men, are looking quite sharply, I'm sure! 😉). It must weigh a ton for him to build that kind of musculature! 😆 I have to believe they included that scene just to show off the actor's physique because it doesn't make a lot of sense otherwise for a bard to have a body like that! For a monster-hunting witcher like Geralt? Absolutely. A bard? Not so much! Either way, I was glad to see Jaskier again and hope his role is expanded in the next season.

Tissaia, my favourite mage, seemed to have mellowed out a lot too. Again, I also probably made this point last season but I never got why Tissaia got so attached to Yennefer. For all the mages that died at Sodden, she didn't seem to give a fuck about any of them but shed a tear over Yennefer! Graned, Yennefer was the hero from last seaosn and for everything that Tissaia put her through in her training, I could see the attachment develop, at least from Tissaia to Yennefer. It certainly doesn't seem to flow the other way around. And the moment that Yennefer betrayed them all by freeing Cahir, I saw Tissaia's resting bitch face come back and I was happy about it! I'm interested to see if she will forgive Yennefer this time around and what she intends to do with Ciri and Geralt. The other thing I wondered about was....where the hell did that relationship with Vilgefortz come from? That really, really felt contrived and just came out of nowhere. It felt more like a device to develop a rift between Tissaia and Triss.

Triss was a character I wasn't expecting to see get a lot of screen time. And to be honest, I don't see her returning to a major role next season...UNLESS...she somehow inserts herself in the trio of Geralt-Yennefer-Ciri. While I understand that she and Geralt are longtime friends, I really don't understand why Geralt doesn't go for her! Like...c'mon now, Gerry! Between her and Yennefer, Triss seems much, much, MUCH more stable and grounded than Yennefer could ever be, so I don't get why Geralt wasn't going for her rather than Yennefer. I guess like attracts like and Geralt, being all damaged and what not, needs a damaged woman like Yennefer in his life rather than a good woman like Triss! And Yennefer seems to be on the mend so perhaps it's a better choice for him. If Triss should go with anyone, it should be Istredd, Yennefer's old flame. I think they'd make a cute couple!

First of all, Vesemir didn't look ANYTHING like I thought he would look. I mean, they could have tried a little harder to get an actor to look like the animated counterpart! In NotW, he looked like this:

And now he looks like a guy who really fell on hard times! And aren't witchers supposed to have a long lifespan? How come he aged so much? Anyway, I will say that NotW really helped to explain a lot of the Witcher lore, especially when it came to the medallions and the elixirs and especially when it came to the way witchers were made. I was surprised that Vesemir had such a change of heart when it came to using Ciri's blood to make new witchers since, in the animated movie, he fought against the idea of using alchemy and mutations to create monsters. Mind you, in the movie, his old mentor made monsters specifically for witchers to fight against, so perhaps it's not the same thing. Either way, I'll be curious to see if Vesemir will push for the agenda of using Ciri's blood to create new witchers. I think it would be fitting considering she killed a bunch, though indirectly, and sort of owes them. They are in serious decline now and perhaps desperation will move Vesemir to take a path that Geralt won't agree with.

Fringilla was a character that I was surprised they focused heavily on. Her appearance last season was intriguing given how she betrayed all of Aretuza and aligned herself with Nilfgaard to take over all of the North. I liked her storyline this season, how she put her trust in the elves, only to be betrayed by them and finding herself in a bit of a pickle when it came to answering to the Emperor Emhyr about the progress she was making. I do wonder if she was able to secure any kind of insurance when she went to visit her uncle, Artorius. I really think that was clever of her and hopefully she will stick around next season, if only because I was hella impressed with this particular scene:

I mean...that's killing people like a fucking boss!!! To freeze them but allow them to move their eyes and see everything and that they feel everything but can't do anything about it? Bravo! I applauded her in this scene, especially after that prick captain hung that elven girl! I was waiting for him to get his comeuppance! I do hope we get to see more of Fringilla next season. She earned my respect!

Francesca was another one that just went off the deep end. I will say that The Witcher's portrayal of elves was a bit refreshing given that I'm so used to the LotR's elves and them being all regal and ethereal and all that jazz, that to see them persecuted and essentially being like refugees was a nice change of pace. And I was indifferent to Francesca during the season....UNTIL....she turned her back on Fringilla the moment she had her baby. That was a sort of a dick move on her part and though I don't necessarily agree that that warranted her baby being killed, it certainly warranted something. And then she went and killed all the human babies in the town in the most brutal way possible! I mean, that was just fucking disgusting! I have a feeling Francesca is going to be major player next season.

And speaking of major players, I'm definitely interested in what this guy is going to bring to the table. I kind of had a suspicion Ciri's dad had something to do with the Deathless Mother, or at least she had a sense of who he was since, in the vision that Ciri got at the end when Mousesack and Queen Calanthe and her mother were all being Thanos-Snapped out of existence, Ciri's dad, Duny, was the only one who wasn't fading away. So I do wonder if there is a connection between him and the Deathless Mother. It was a surprise twist and I'm curious if he does have a gripe with Geralt in particular now and how that is going to play out. Perhaps Duny will be the character who could finally bring about some kind of arc for Geralt. Geralt saved him....Duny's a worthy fighter in his own right....Geralt is the new 'dad' in Ciri's life....there's a lot of potential there for a serious conflict between Geralt and the Emperor!.

So overall, this was a good season. I'm hoping the new series, Blood Origins, will add some great elements to everything established here. I'm looking forward to that, if only because Michelle Yeoh stars in it (always had a thing for that woman)! I'm eager to see the story behind the Conjunction of the Spheres and all the different worlds or spheres that there are. I'm hoping to learn more about the Deathless Mother and the Hunt that they talk about. Very intriguing stuff!

And I'll say this....the death that struck me the most, the character that I am upset that they killed.....

Roach!

How dare they? How fucking dare they? The best character on this show and they just offed her like that!

Fuck off!

One last note though. There was a time when Geralt, Ciri and Yennefer were unique among the characters for having strange eyes. This season, it seemed like everyone decided to jump on the coloured contact lens bandwagon!

Now you have Geralt: