TV Review: The Witcher Season 3 (2023)

The Witcher Season 3 (2023) created for television by Lauren Schmidt Hissrich from the novel series by Andrzej Sapkowski

The Witcher Geralt (Henry Cavill) has embraced his role as father-figure to Ciri (Freya Allen), a young woman destined for many things--sorcery, combat, royalty, and history alteration. He is joined by sorceress Yennefer (Anya Chalotra) who acts both as a magic teacher and a mother to Ciri. They are on the run from the world at large, which schemes for Ciri to be queen or empress, depending on which kingdom wants her to marry their ruler. She is not fully trained in combat or sorcery yet (though the combination could make her a Witcher too). The odd family constantly flees recognition. They obviously cannot flee forever. All three characters are drawn back into the political milieu of the larger world, leading to a lot of conflict, bloodshed, and war.

The story of the series has lost a lot of its original charm, with surprise twists and a lot of humor to offset the carnage and the lusty moments. By this point in the story, the political intrigues direct the plot more than the sense of adventure and growth of characters. I found it a lot less interesting. The cast does a great job with their characters, especially Cavill who has a charming grimness that makes his character so enjoyable. With his departure from the series (creative conflicts) and the general tonal shift (less fun, more miserable politics), I think I am done with this series. It was never really great but it started out very entertaining.

Mildly recommended--watch for Cavill and if you care for the characters.

Parental warning: the sex and gore are still very high in this show, it's not for young teens and lower...probably not older teens or sensitive adults either.

TV Review: The Witcher: Blood Origin (2022)

The Witcher: Blood Origin (2022) created by Declan de Barra and Lauren Schmidt Hissrich based on the novels by Andrzej Sapkowski

This tale purports to be the origin of the Witchers, going back a thousand years to the time when only elves lived on the Continent. They were separated into several kingdoms and many clans of warriors and mages. At one point, seven warriors come together to change the land because of oppressive rulers. The lead warrior is The Lark (Sophia Brown), a Raven Clan warrior who has turned away from sword art to be a bard. She meets Fjall (Laurence O'Fuarain), a Dog Clan warrior who was a favorite of Princess Merwyn (Mirren Mack). He is low-born and a clan member, so unfit to be with a princess (though that did not stop them from having an affair). When they are caught, she kicks him out with hopes of advancing her own political position. He wants to return to the capital and slay her. Lark wants to end the oppression of elves. Conveniently, Merwyn uses her kingdom's head mage, Balor (Lenny Henry), to wipe out all the other royalty from all the other kingdoms (and from her own kingdom too!) so that she can become empress, so there's only the one oppressor to slay. Balor uses his magic and an ancient monolith to summon a beast from another dimension, though he has much higher ambitions than being a lackey to the royals. As Fjall and Lark head south, they pick up a bunch of other warriors, including the last Ghost Clan warrior Scian (Michelle Yeoh) and a dwarf named Meldof (Francesca Mills) with a hammer named after her girlfriend. Being a dwarf, she has no clan (and I guess there's more than just elves around). 

The show runs for four episodes following the standard Witcher formula of being very graphic and a bit ridiculous. A lot of minor political plots are introduced that seem intended to create short-term intrigue or to justify a burst of sex and/or violence. The entertainment is in the action scenes, which are plentiful, and the characters interacting, which is less enjoyable than in the main show. The musical numbers with the bard are okay and more for plot resonance than for the comic value, as songs were in the main series. The plot twists are predictable and not terribly exciting. Parts of the writing felt like I was watching an RPG video game, going through pre-fabbed dialogue. The actors do a good job with no outstanding performances. They don't really explain the origin or Witchers but do explain some of the mythology (like where all the weird creatures come from).

Mildly recommend if you are already a Witcher fan. You don't need to see the original series to enjoy this, but I am not sure why you would want to. 

The show has a lot of graphic violence and some graphic sex, along with lots of swearing. So definitely teen and above, based on your family's discretion.

Currently (January 2023) only available streaming on Netflix.

TV Review: The Witcher Season Two (2021)

The Witcher Season Two (2021) created for television by Lauren Schmidt from the novels by Andrzej Sapkowski

For my review of Season One, go here.

Geralt of Rivia (Henry Cavill) is back and taking on the greatest quest of his life--being a father figure to Ciri (Freya Allen). The role has been foisted on him by Destiny, so he feels a strong obligation. Though she's a princess from the north, Ciri wants to train as a fighter and maybe become a Witcher like Geralt. Her only problem is the chaos magic in her that she can't really control. They retreat to a secret compound where the other Witchers live. She trains while Geralt glowers. Her magic problem could be solved by Geralt's friend and lover Yennefer (Anya Chalotra) but she's off in a different part of The Continent dealing with her own problems. She's lost her magic powers in a massive battle between powerful factions. She is not sure how to get her powers back. Will their paths eventually cross? And where is the bard Jaskier (Joey Batey), a fun character from the first season?

This second season starts off with a very sombre tone and is full of a lot of political machinations that make the story drag a bit. Some of the plot revelations come off as unconvincing leaps of logic or knowledge by the characters. Ciri's training for combat seems a bit out of place though it does let them show off an American Ninja Warrior-style training course at the compound, lightening up the bleak tone. The sense of humor gets stronger when Jaskier makes a surprise appearance in a middle episode and then thankfully sticks around for the rest of the show. Even so, the show takes itself a bit too seriously this time around. Of course there's a cliffhanger ending to entice viewers into watching another season.

Mildly recommended.

As I write (February 2022), this is only available streaming on Netflix.

TV Review: The Witcher Season One (2019)

The Witcher Season One (2019) created for television by Lauren Schmidt from the book series by Andrzej Sapkowski

Geralt of Rivia (Henry Cavill) is a Witcher, a hunter of beasts (mostly supernatural or mystical) with incredible physical prowess and some magical abilities. He's often hired to take care of weird and annoying monsters, though often enough his wanderings take him into weird and annoying situations where his talents are called foreven without a paying customer. He doesn't talk a lot, making him pithy and brooding. He appears like a hard man with no concern for others. In his actions, he strives to do the right thing in a given situation even if that isn't beneficial for himself. At one point a bard latches on to him, wanting to promote his Witcher reputation, with mostly comic results. Geralt is a man destined for a hard life.

Yennefer of Vengerberg (Anya Chalotra) is a lowly and deformed teen who exhibits magical powers. She's taken in by a mage guild that develops her powers. The mages hire themselves out, with the best serving as court mages who do whatever magical tasks need doing for the royal families. She makes a horrifying deal to be made beautiful and discovers how unfulfilling a mage's life can be when it's all in the service of others. She spends a good deal of time in one kingdom then becomes a wanderer like Geralt. She even runs across Geralt several times. She is a woman destined for a hard life.

Cirilla of Cintra (Freya Allan) is the kingdom's young princess who has to go on the run when they are overrun by forces from the south. She becomes a wanderer and discovers her own magical ability that she can't quite control or understand. Her destiny is entwined with the Witcher's, though they travel many roads separately before they are brought together. She is a child destined for a hard life.

Destiny is a large and deliberate motif in the story. The characters' stories are intertwined though the connections are not immediately obvious. About halfway through watching, I realized that the narrative was jumping back and forth in time, making it a little confusing to piece together. Also, the many kingdoms on the Continent (it's a mythical land without a mythical name) are a little hard to keep track of. But the show is not so much interested in politics as it is in the personal stories of the three main characters. The three try to alter or ignore their destinies and yet the plot keeps pulling them toward what they'd rather not have.

The tone fluctuates a bit. At times, it's dark and graphic like Game of Thrones. At other times, it has the sense of adventure and self-aware humor of Xena: Warrior Princess. The blend works better than I thought it would. I found the show very entertaining, if slight. The story knows where it's going but the ending is abrupt and leaves viewers waiting for Season Two, which I found a little annoying, especially since it will be over a year until the next season.

Mildly recommended.

Parental Warning: The series contains quite a bit of nudity and sexuality; there's a lot of swearing (Geralt drops a lot of f-bombs, though maybe it seemed like a lot because he's so terse); the violence is also graphic though mostly against mythical beasts; one horrible surgery happens on camera with gory organs shown.

The show is currently (February 2020) streaming on Netflix. I'm sure it will come out on disc eventually.