# The Witcher (Netflix)



## Bugg (May 17, 2017)

This could be brilliant - fingers crossed!

Netflix to Produce The Witcher TV Series - IGN

Platige Image - THE WITCHER Saga on Netflix

Now who do they get to play Geralt?


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## Caledfwlch (Oct 8, 2017)

That's easy!!

You get the famous Geralt Cosplayer "Maul Cosplay" to play him! 

This is him in a short fan film






He also has this wonderful video - a sick girl who is a huge Witcher fan won a replica sword on his website.
So he made a surprise visit, in full costume to present it to her, and its wonderful


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## Bugg (Mar 8, 2018)

Mark Hammill on suggestions he should play Vesemir in the tv series:


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## Bugg (Sep 4, 2018)

Henry Cavill Will Play Geralt In Netflix’s The Witcher Series

Nope, did not see that coming at all


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## Bugg (Jul 20, 2019)




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## The Crawling Chaos (Jul 21, 2019)

Incidentally I'm just finishing the fifth novel after reading the whole series in a few weeks (how come these books/games/series do not have their own thread here?).

If the teaser is any indication of what the show will be, I think it could be disappointing. Too many digital FX, too large a scale, too grandiose. To me, the books felt like a more intimate look into characters journeying through the dilapidated landscape of a land torn by war. It's also slightly disappointing if the slavic origins and myths behind the original material are not exploited to give this show a distinctive flavour. If it just looks, sounds and feels like Game of Thrones with a little more magic, I don't see the point.

Of course, not much can be said from a trailer - but I was hoping it would dissipate my fears, and it did not.

It looks great in terms of cinematography and production design, but when we're talking about these kinds of budgets, the least they can do is make it look good.

I also don't understand why every male protagonist these days has to look like a freaking bodybuilder. That's really not how I pictured Geralt, but then again I guess it's too much to ask of Mr. Gym-Nut Superman to lose 20 pounds for a role. He looks like a freaking lobster, not like a feline sword master.


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## Caledfwlch (Aug 5, 2019)

The full trailer is now out. The Elves are worrying. They appear to be dressed in leaves in the only shot. Though the voice over is saying something about humanity invading and taking the elves land so maybe it's a flashback shot of elves in the past. Witcher Aen Seidhe elves aren't wishy washy Disneyesque beings frollpcking in the woods, they are real people and certainly squirrels will be in armour and armed to the teeth. 

Dunno about ignoring the slavic roots and mythology as welsh, Irish and general European mythology is as big an influence on the books author - in lady in the lake andreij even uses the Welsh for Snowdonia Y Wyddfa. And of course the elven nickname for Gerallt is Gwyn Blaidd the Welsh for white wolf.


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## The Crawling Chaos (Aug 5, 2019)

Yes, and Sapkowski's Elvish is packed full of Irish words too, to the point where I was trying to make sense of it before I realised he had actually just picked words that he liked without a care for their actual meaning (and that's OK).

It's not so much that the Witcher series ought to acknowledge the author's Slavic heritage but that I think it's a damn shame that the producer didn't use that heritage as an excuse to give the show a distinct identity and make it feel fresh, as opposed to an umpteenth fantasy production following the path already trodden bare by LOTR, D&D, GoT, and all their clones, even if the books themselves were majorly influenced by them (and Arthurian legends, etc.)

Of course, that's all based off a 2 minute trailer so maybe my worries are unfounded, and I hope they are.


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## Caledfwlch (Aug 7, 2019)

Given the current climate some genuinely audience thought provoking and divisive episodes could be done just on the scoia'tel. 

I'm just waiting for the fools to start ranting that nothing looks like in the games, being too daft to realise Netflix haven't licenced the games and thus their look but the books


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## Bugg (Dec 9, 2019)




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## Bugg (Dec 12, 2019)

Don't.  Touch.  Roach.


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## olive (Dec 20, 2019)

It's about to start and I need to work!


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## olive (Dec 20, 2019)

It's pretty good and made me very happy.  Haven't finished it, starting the 4th episode. I'm trying to binge it 'slowly' whatever that means, lol. I mean savour I guess.

But I haven't read the books, just a big fan of the last game. I'd love to hear reviews from the readers.


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## Boneman (Dec 20, 2019)

Watching it tonight!


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## The Crawling Chaos (Dec 20, 2019)

No time to binge watch it, I'll probably watch the first episode tonight. The first two if I'm lucky - and still awake.



			
				olive said:
			
		

> I haven't read the books, just a big fan of the last game. I'd love to hear reviews from the readers.



Big fan of the books. I binge read them recently too. I'll post a review once I've seen it but I'm one of those people who will be disappointed if the series doesn't depart from the original material. I don't need to see what I've already read - I need something more.


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## Bugg (Dec 20, 2019)

Watched the first episode.  Really enjoyed it.  Definitely has more of the feel of the books, which - much as I love the games - is fine by me.  Made me wince a couple of times, too  

If it keeps up or improves on that standard I'll be wishing there were more episodes.


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## The Crawling Chaos (Dec 20, 2019)

Two episodes in. It is extremely promising but also uneven because of a low budget that is clearly limiting the filmmakers. That came as a surprise to me as I thought the huge success of the third game and Cavill's star power would be enough for Netflix to go out on a limb and write a blank check to the producers. A few thoughts:

The good first
- The writing is great. I love what they're doing with the origin stories of all the protagonists.
- Yennefer. At this stage I'm ready to commit to watching dozens of hours of a spin-off dedicated to her origin story. While her origin was mentioned here and there in the books, most of what the TV series shows is brand new content and you can tell the showrunner loves this character and spent a lot of time figuring out how to flesh her out while both staying true to who she was in the books and giving her a different dynamic in this version of the story. Great character development, some powerful scenes, I'm looking forward to discovering more.
- The natural sets are beautiful. It definitely has that European feel to it. The 'matte paintings' (are they even called that anymore?) or digitally-enhanced sets (Posada) are amazing.
- The fight between Geralt and Renfri's men was brutal and well choreographed.
- Those two episodes made me want to read through the entire saga again just to rediscover those scenes and characters in the context of the books and work out how every little detail matches or differs from the TV show. Which to me is a good thing.

The average:
- I was concerned when they gave the part to Cavill. Now I think he's okay. I am not seeing the Geralt from the books at all. Cavill's physicality and cockiness are his own. But I don't mind it as much as I thought I would. I'm ready to see more of him.

The not-so-good now:
- What is up with the cinematography? Whoever is lighting and framing this is really not doing a good job of enhancing the good and ironing out the bad (some of the costumes, make-up, and even mise en scène look cheap). The lighting at times makes it look like you're watching a cosplaying reunion shot by a friend.
- Those contact lenses are horrendous. Distractingly so.
- The Massacre of Cintra really suffered from the lack of a proper budget. I'm not big on huge action scenes and that's also why I love The Witcher so much, as most of the time you just tend to follow a small group of people interacting with each other, with very little big battle scenes involving dozens or hundreds of people. But when you go for scale, you need to really go all out. The wide shots of the city in flames stuck out like a sore thumb as the CGI didn't really work, the extras were too few and had no idea what they were doing... The sense of scale was missing entirely and it felt painfully obvious that the filmmakers tried to suggest more than they were showing not because they wanted to but because they had to.

That's all I can think of at the moment. Looking forward to see the rest of it and I hope season 2 gets the budget it deserves.


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## svalbard (Dec 20, 2019)

I haven't read the books or played the games so I struggled with the story. I found some of the dialogue difficult to hear or even understand. However the fight scene between Geralt and Renfri at the end won me over. I am intrigued.


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## Anthoney (Dec 21, 2019)

The Crawling Chaos said:


> - Those contact lenses are horrendous. Distractingly so.


I enjoyed their use of colored contacts (some looked like cgi).  Specifically, Ciri and Yen's.  I thought Yen's purple eyes were fantastic.  I comment on it in an episode by episode comment section on Track.tv.

I binged the whole thing.


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## olive (Dec 21, 2019)

From the beginning, my problem with Henry Cavill was that he is too neatly and delicately handsome. He is too handsome. Muscle is not enough to create a tank look. I don't know the Witcher in the books, but to me, the one in the game is too neat looking too. No body hair, a delicate, small unbroken nose, clean appearance... When my mind is given this kind of material, my imagination insists on a really shabby, dirty, hairy, rough-tough character. He is an outdoor living warrior.  Anyway, it works. The voice works. Bigger nose. Voice affects me a lot, it is incredibly important and I think he made it. I wouldn't be surprised if they checked first the voice while casting. Overall, It wasn't as bad as I thought, it was good. My fear is that as the series develop, they are going to make him more neat and clean. 

About that particular light and the quality of shiny cosplay feel is that I think it is on purpose. I think they didn't want to give a realistic, darker, historical feel, but a game and fairy tale come true feel. It feels like they are aiming for more Merlin than Game of Thrones. Strategically it is a clever move in my opinion. It is more 'sincere'. Especially, because it is released after GoT. People are still talking about it. For example, if they created the massacre of Cintra in the scale and detailing of the burning of the King's Landing: it wouldn't fit the whole, it would be too epic for a first season first episodes; unbalanced in these two senses. It would remind a very successful, very highly hyped just ended series. And those scenes in Got is in the last season, it is even final there.

About the eye make up, I don't think the problem is that it is just badly done. They are good. This is a general proıblem in movie industry with traditional make up or cgi. Yes they can blend it now much better, but the problem is that there are no human eye colours of the sort in reality and eyes are very highly expressive. Our minds have no reference points for these eye colours and their expressions, we don't know what/how to match yellow or purple eyes with some expression in reality. How does a pair of yellow eyes differ in giving an expression of anger or resentment? Purple is obviously easier than bright yellow, so Yen's eyes look better. They tried to give a sense of natural, changing in light look to her eyes, but you'll see this time people will complain that her eyes are different colours in some scenes.


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## ctg (Dec 21, 2019)

I thought I don't need to write about this because it will sell itself. So I binged it. The whole thing and I have to say I'm slightly disappointed on the producers. The thing is, throughout the series they'll use copious amount of flashback and flashforward features. The Nilfgaard Attack on Ciri is a good example, as the event keeps repeating up until the very last episode. 

I feel they wanted to explain things, and how things are, but they did a poor job on putting it all together. It might be because most of the production crew are polish that they didn't had a skills to produce a piece for the modern day, as some others could have done things very differently. It is also sad that there are only 8 episodes to explain the beginning. 

If Netflix gives them more money something has to change in the direction, as this could be so much better and Witchers world could do with full 13 episodes instead of 8.


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## The Crawling Chaos (Dec 21, 2019)

olive said:


> When my mind is given this kind of material, my imagination insists on a really shabby, dirty, hairy, rough-tough character. He is an outdoor living warrior.



And you're right. In the books, Geralt is described as average-looking and even ugly a couple of times. Although he does have washboard abs (I believe the exact words are 'the flat stomach of a teenager')!



> About that particular light and the quality of shiny cosplay feel is that I think it is on purpose. I think they didn't want to give a realistic, darker, historical feel, but a game and fairy tale come true feel.



I would love it if the show had a fairy tale look, I really don't think it's the case though. I just see bad lighting and framing, with very wide angle lenses that reveal all the shoddy detail of the set dressing and production design.



> About the eye make up, I don't think the problem is that it is just badly done. They are good. This is a general proıblem in movie industry with traditional make up or cgi.



I thought about it for a minute because I agree that Yen's purple eyes look much better than Ciri's and Geralt's lenses, so initially I thought you made a good point. But then I thought back about the Star Wars prequels that came out between 1999 and 2005, and how the 'Sith eyes' in those were made using bright red and yellow lenses. I never had a problem with them, in fact they look good to me. My problem with the lenses in the Witcher has nothing to do with colour and everything to do with the fact that the two actors have that dead-fish look about them when they're filmed in close up. I wonder if it's because they found it difficult to get used to them and rarely ever blink, or if the lenses moved about a little and gave the illusion that the characters were cross-eyed . In the scene between Geralt/Dandelion and the elves of the second episode, Cavill made me think of a chameleon simultaneously tracking flies on both sides of his face.



			
				ctg said:
			
		

> The Nilfgaard Attack on Ciri is a good example, as the event keeps repeating up until the very last episode.



That's a shame, although as far as this particular example is concerned, that was all in the books too. I remember being slightly annoyed at the number of times the author had Ciri resminiscing about the black Nilfgaardian knight. I guess his objective was to insist on how much of a trauma and character-defining moment it was for her. Like a bad nightmare that keeps haunting you.


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## ctg (Dec 21, 2019)

The Crawling Chaos said:


> I would love it if the show had a fairy tale look,



It has. The problem is with the creatures as we are never going to see Nekker hordes or Drowners or even Ekimera's if they don't devote money into it. I'm certain the CD Project Red can lend them 3D models and even help them to upgrade them to the 4k range, but up North they are never going to get the level of detail you saw in the last game. Especially in regards of the Elven ruins. 

The locations are wonderfully chosen and they'll give a true feeling to the Witcher world. I was scared that they are not going to show Elves or Dwarves or other humanoids, but they are all in, including some of the spirits. They could use GoT like budget to take it further, but I doubt Netflix will shell that sort of amounts even if there is a potential to take this to a GoT level. The whole budget for the Witcher 1 is around 80 million dollars, while an episode of GoT cost around 150 million. 

If Netflix would up the budget to 150 million and ordered 13 episodes to show Ciri's first steps in Kaer Morhan, plus the past of boys who were chosen for the ritual, they could do wonderfully. And they could slow down the pacing to give the audience a full fantasy experience in a brutal Witcher world. 

I think we'll have to find out what the Netflix orders first. The potential is there.


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## The Crawling Chaos (Dec 21, 2019)

My comment was about the cinematography (lighting, camera work and colour correction). It is not lit nor shot like a fairy tale at all. There's nothing whimsical or magical about it. Technically, it's a low point.


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## ctg (Dec 21, 2019)

Fair enough.


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## Boneman (Dec 21, 2019)

svalbard said:


> I haven't read the books or played the games so I struggled with the story. I found some of the dialogue difficult to hear or even understand. However the fight scene between Geralt and Renfri at the end won me over. I am intrigued.



I watched two episodes, and am intrigued to watch more. However, tonight, I'm watching those two episodes again with subtitles switched on!! Talk about mumbling.... Hadn't thought about doing it until my son (whose hearing is ten times better than mine) said that he had to do that to understand what was being said.


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## Vince W (Dec 21, 2019)

I have no experience of The Witcher and decided to watch the first episode and I must say it's rather bland. There are some definite technical problems with it but I just don't care about any of the characters or their problems. I may try the second episode but I'm in no rush.

A lot of this, I'm coming to believe, is the fact that there are no advert breaks. Netflix lets things run on and on with no thought of running time. Most of Netflix offerings are guilty of this. They need a stable of top-notch editors to cut away the fat and help the stories get to the point. That wouldn't matter at all if the characters were more interesting, especially to the uninitiated.


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## ctg (Dec 21, 2019)

Vince W said:


> especially to the uninitiated.



I recommend watching the whole story and take it in as it is. You will learn about King Folstat and Emperor Emyr alongside Geralts and Ciri's story. Most you'll see is about Gerald, in a classical short story fashion, instead of all of it tied together in a neat package. You'll have to finish the series to really understand the beginning, and to get a grasp of its epic sized tale.


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## Vince W (Dec 21, 2019)

ctg said:


> I recommend watching the whole story and take it in as it is. You will learn about King Folstat and Emperor Emyr alongside Geralts and Ciri's story. Most you'll see is about Gerald, in a classical short story fashion, instead of all of it tied together in a neat package. You'll have to finish the series to really understand the beginning, and to get a grasp of its epic sized tale.


That makes sense, but as with so many Netflix productions, this one is poorly miced and you miss some things being said. Especially that Queen. If you spend half the time trying to figure out what was just said you miss other points. Hence, I don't care about any of them. And suicide over fighting to the bitter end makes my inner Cimmerian seeth with rage and disgust.


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## The Crawling Chaos (Dec 21, 2019)

Rarely have I seen a show come so close to greatness only to be let down by frustratingly tiny but oh so distracting details.

I just finished episode 3 and I must reiterate that the writing is, on the whole, a masterful adaptation. The way they chose to weave together all the characters' backstories as well as past and present works on every level. I agree that someone not familiar with the world of The Witcher can only feel a bit lost - even I had to look up a few names to remember who or where X was - but I trust that it will all come together by the end of the season.

This episode finally had some great cinematography (in Tissaia's office and the crypt) but that fight choreography and stunts during the Striga fight were laughable. And Geralt's wig in the following scene... And don't start me on the ball scene that looked just as cosplay-y as a Twilight film as far as the set and costume designs were concerned (again, something should have been done when the scene was lit to conceal its cheap visuals).

Yennefer continues to be the best thing about this series so far. "That" scene was haunting and chilling (Yennefer of... Cronenberg?).

Netflix... I don't care who you have to kill to get the money (or maybe just, you know, stop financing Michael Bay movies and save the cash) but season 2 needs double the budget. Make it happen.


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## Dave (Dec 22, 2019)

ctg said:


> I recommend watching the whole story and take it in as it is. You will learn about King Folstat and Emperor Emyr alongside Geralts and Ciri's story.


Only watched the first episode and I'm glad you say that, because I want to know more about the vast array of characters that all got killed off. I know people online have compared it to _Game of Thrones_, but even in that series they left a few of the characters alive. This had a spaghetti western scale of killing in it.

I also agree about the mumbling. The fight scenes are very loud and I had to turn it down or wake those sleeping in my house, then I found that I couldn't hear any dialogue.

Apart from that, it's good. I'll be watching the rest. (I haven't read the books or played the games.)


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## ctg (Dec 22, 2019)

Dave said:


> Only watched the first episode and I'm glad you say that, because I want to know more about the vast array of characters that all got killed off.





Spoiler: minor spoilers



A couple of important characters were killed off. Most important are Ciri's parents and the sacking of Cintra. It leads to fall of North and Emperyr Emryr taking much of the land to Nilfgaard. You won't see him in the series at this time, but you get to know Folstat from the beginning. You also learn that Nilfgaard has been twisted by the Order of White Flame, which are nuts if you ask me.


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## svalbard (Dec 24, 2019)

Boneman said:


> I watched two episodes, and am intrigued to watch more. However, tonight, I'm watching those two episodes again with subtitles switched on!! Talk about mumbling.... Hadn't thought about doing it until my son (whose hearing is ten times better than mine) said that he had to do that to understand what was being said.



I put the subtitles on and it is much better. However they do need to look at their production values for the next season. 

On episode 3 and I thought it was clever how they mixed the timelines. It is starting to fall into place and I am gaining a better picture of this world. I like Cavill as Geralt, although I have nothing to base his performance on having not read the source material.


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## Dave (Dec 24, 2019)

ctg said:


> The thing is, throughout the series they'll use copious amount of flashback and flashforward features.





svalbard said:


> On episode 3 and I thought it was clever how they mixed the timelines.


You were lucky, it wasn't until episode 4 that I realised what they were doing with timelines. I really enjoyed it overall, but the jumping back and forth between timelines was my biggest problem, and is a personal gripe of mine in all TV dramas. If they must do it, then give the older version a new scar, or a different outfit. At least grey their hair more (admittedly difficult with Geralt) or have them age. 10 years passing is not an inconsiderable amount of time (to be wearing the same clothing) yet everyone looked the same with the exception of Yennefer.

The lack of detail in the battles doesn't bother me as the story is more important to me than the spectacle alone. The clarity of the audio seemed to improve too. For those like me who don't already know this story, it was only a pity that the two people certain to meet by destiny, took the whole series to actually, finally meet, and it left no time to discover why that was important.


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## The Crawling Chaos (Dec 24, 2019)

I finally watched episodes 4 and 5 and they really cooled my enjoyment of the show after the highs of episode 3. Those two were a collection of the worst the show has to offer, chiefly in the technical department. It's always hard to distinguish what was done as a creative decision and what was done as a compromise due to the budget constraints, but rarely have I seen a "triple A" TV show with such uninspired direction and laughable set designs. The Dryads and Brokilon Forest are a disaster. While the location itself is certainly beautiful, the distracting, amateur lighting and cheesy acting of the performers sucked any enjoyment out of the scene. The Dryads are supposed to be at one with the forest, merge with the trees, live within them... In the show they just stand there in the middle of a clearing and talk, while weird unmotivated sources of light keep flaring up in the background.

The writing for these two episodes was pedestrian and the direction relied heavily on tired tropes (Calanthe the Warrior Queen... What a mess). I already held precious little hope in that department but Cavill's acting is really below the standards one should expect of a name of his caliber. His Episode 5 scene with Yennefer, certainly a pivotal scene in both characters' arcs, made me cringe a couple of times and left me indifferent the rest of the time.

The Last Wish and the courting scene of Princess Pavetta were perhaps the two chapters they should have made every effort to get right this season, given their importance in Geralt's development as a character, so I'm disappointed. It seemed every single actor on screen was hamming it up to the max and doing their best not to wink at the camera after each corny line. Even Yennefer, my favourite character so far, seemed only a pale shadow of herself.

I am still enjoying the destructured timeline a lot but I struggled to find anything else there. Although I know the show has potential so I still hope it will redeem itself in the last three chapters.

Edit: the orgy scene. Okay, I get that they want it to be the next GoT but that was embarrassing. Those extras were given no direction except "be naked" and I could almost feel the awkwardness as they just stood there and repeated the exact same motion hundreds of times while the camera kept rolling (their eyes).


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## Daysman (Dec 24, 2019)

Just binge watched it all
Didn't rate the first episode except for the final sword fights
Actually avoided returning for a few days after seeing E1...
When I did, Yennifer portalled in and I just had to see how she faired
I look forward to a second season and a much bigger budget


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## olive (Dec 25, 2019)

The Crawling Chaos said:


> I thought about it for a minute because I agree that Yen's purple eyes look much better than Ciri's and Geralt's lenses, so initially I thought you made a good point. But then I thought back about the Star Wars prequels that came out between 1999 and 2005, and how the 'Sith eyes' in those were made using bright red and yellow lenses. I never had a problem with them, in fact they look good to me. My problem with the lenses in the Witcher has nothing to do with colour and everything to do with the fact that the two actors have that dead-fish look about them when they're filmed in close up. I wonder if it's because they found it difficult to get used to them and rarely ever blink, or if the lenses moved about a little and gave the illusion that the characters were cross-eyed . In the scene between Geralt/Dandelion and the elves of the second episode, Cavill made me think of a chameleon simultaneously tracking flies on both sides of his face.



But the 'Sith eyes' example points to what I was saying earlier. How many contradicting expressions you could expect from a Sith Lord? A Sith Lord cannot show anticipation, compassion, love, annoyance, frustration and lust under a minute in his eyes during a conversation, he is not expected to have those conversations either. Also, all Sith Lords have some sort of a concealing, heavy make up complimenting to their eyes. It's either covering all their faces, around their eyes or something strongly emphasised to make them look distinctively inhumane and evil.

Witchers look like humans. Peoples of the realm are scared of witchers, they believe as the result of the trials, they lack human emotions and so they lack conscience; a kind of human morality. And considering even the trained, armed military is often helpless against a witcher while often everyone needs them, they have a point. It's a cat-canary situation. But besides these obvious reasons, what is the first physical thing creeps them out? His eyes. It's the only nonhuman trait that can be seen from outside. It's like a confirmation of his 'inhumaneness'. So the expressions in the eyes gain more importance.

While Geralt has a human makeup and yellow eyes, he is supposed to be showing all range of emotions when needed; he sees, feels too much. (Siths don't need that. The whole point of being a Sith is that you don't need/have to have an excuse, emotion for anything. That's why it is so 'in' in the 21st century and even used as a synonym for real human conditions. Do you know anyone who wants to be a 'witcher'? No, because it is too blip blip hard and painful being a witcher.) And considering Geralt is a special witcher, he probably feels and shows more than any other, because the world _he_ lives in, _his_ range of experience -with nature and all kinds of races and classes of people- _his_ vision of life in that universe is far greater and richer than other beings; even other witchers, mages, sorcerers, warlocks or barbarians...etc. (Following the typical characteristics, there would be exceptions.)

So the colours and the colour match with emotions, expressions... the characters, the categories they are attached to in the human mind... big problem.

Why does Drizzt have lavender eyes while the red eyes is the characteristic trait of the drow? The colour lavender (or purple) is not even remotely alien in the dark world of Menzoberranzan. (As yellow or red is not in ours or in the Witcher's.) With their dark black skin, red eyes -or anything with a taint of red- the drow are very aesthetic and fitting in that world besides fitting a fundamentally dark race in the story. Lavender eyes with black skin? How alien Drizzt must look to his own kin with his expressions, let alone the surface dwellers. But Salvatore chose to give him different colour of eyes so he wouldn't fit in there and stick out like a sore thumb. Geralt is more 'humane' than any other race -also his own- and he sticks like a sore thumb because he is none of them. And if they make a series of the Dark Elf Trilogy, Drizzt's eyes will look more expressive than any yellow or red eyes. Because it will be an easier job for the makeup effect team and most importantly easier for us, real humans to read/match it that way.


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## The Crawling Chaos (Dec 26, 2019)

@olive, I like what you're saying and you make a lot of good points, notably about the makeup/prosthetics covering the faces/heads of Sith actors and helping sell the alien look of their eyes (only Anakin Skywalker, briefly, can be seen in full human form, without heavy makeup and with Sith eyes in the third episode and while I don't remember his lenses being as unconvincing as Geralt's, it was more of a fleeting glimpse than a full-on 8-hour performance for Hayden Christensen so it couldn't have been as distracting anyway).

Unless I misunderstood what you were saying, I have to point out that Geralt is not supposed to show emotions while Sith are (rage, fury, anger, it's all in their creed - "Peace is a lie, there is only passion" - Jedi are the ones who avoid displaying emotions - "There is no emotion, there is only peace"). Through the Trial of the Grasses, Geralt's emotions were sucked out of him. While he can arguably feel love or compassion, he is also always even-tempered, cool-headed and in control. So he is more Jedi than Sith in my opinion, and nobody should ask him to show any emotions at all. In fact, Cavill's performance is much more palatable when he doesn't attempt to.

After giving it a second thought and to go back to the lenses looking unconvincing, just like his wig, I believe my initial statement that the lenses were horrendous was a gross generalization. What it is in fact is yet another example of the cinematography letting down the other departments and enhancing their shortcomings via poor thought-out lighting as opposed to concealing them. There are plenty of scenes where his eyes actually look great and natural:








But there are scenes, like the one with the elves in Four Marks, in which he looks googly-eyed and cross-eyed.


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## ctg (Dec 26, 2019)

The problem with the series is that it doesn't feel Witchery. The general audience doesn't really get that Gerald is a cursed man. He is a monster just like the ones he hunts. But in some level people accept him, and what he and his kind does for the living, because humans really doesn't have an ability to fight the monsters in the Witcher world. 

A one bite, a sting, or even a touch from a spectre can kill a normal man or hundreds of them. Especially if we are talking about the ghostly kind. In the Witcher world there are loads of them, but the only thing you really often only see the ghouls type of creatures. The problem with them is that they sprout like mushrooms after rain on the battlefields. 

During the time the Witcher series takes a place, especially as the Nilfgaard's first war (the sacking of the Cintra), they leave a lot of dead behind. So it creates a problem as the nature takes it course and the brutally, or wrongly slain come back to haunt the living. The Witchers job is clearing a lot of these problems, but as they are so hated, their numbers have gone down. 

There aren't that many left in the world, but there are rumours that there are other places, other schools like Kaer Morhen that might have survived the hatred of men. It was us, the humans who destroyed the peace with the other races, and because of our fears, we couldn't live with the other kind, even though they are part of the Witcher world, or should I say the Witcher Universe. 

There are other dimensions, other worlds, parallel to the Witcher universe, and to really understand what is going on, you'll have to get sense about these 'other places.' That is where the Witcher series really fails. 

It doesn't translate how much fantasy and magical things there are in this world. You don't even get the sense that Gerald travels from a job to a job and sometimes people cheat him. They don't want to pay for the job, which usually shells out tens, if lucky hundreds of Orens. So, because of the monster hunter job, Witchers come across mystical and often cursed items, which tend to sell for much higher price than the usual stuff. You don't get that sense that they are often poor and they are forced to live in the fringes of society, because that's where the job often is. Rarely you see them riding in the castles, if they do, it's because they have been invited.  

Often the reason is that there is something haunting the castle or the grounds. If it's not the dead, it's one of the fantasy creatures that would be too dangerous for the humans to try to handle. Usually the reason is the poison factor. The Witchers can take it. If they know what they are facing, they'll consume potions to give them defence or an edge against the monstrous attacks. In other words they'll poison themselves against those effects. 

When they do, you'll see gangrenous veins spreading under their skin. For them, that stage takes them to the edge of death, where they perform extraordinary things. If they can get away from poisoning themselves, they'll use hexes, or signs. Igni is an offensive fire sign that Gerald likes to use, especially against the ghoulish type of opponents. 

If he combines it with other signs, you can imagine how hard Witchers can make themselves to take down. They are, in other words, closest resemble to the battlemages you ever see in the small screen. The real magical stuff Yennifer does is way beyond the street level stuff that any witcher can produce, and usually its effect is magnified to the maximum. 

So you can't really use magic to solve the problem, because it's part of the problem. The only way for the world to survive is peace or an unification with the older races and accepting them as part of the nature. That is not happening because of short sight humans possess. We just have to destroy things that we cannot understand. This effect is magnified by illiteracy. Most people simply don't know how to read or write, even though humanity gained that ability from the Elves. 

Luckily it is changing through the universities and academies, but you can imagine that the poor, they don't have a chance. Yet, it is those people who usually end up being the victims on the monster kind. If they could understand that some of these creatures are very intelligent and they can speak, they would go much further than bringing out torches and pitchforks. That only leads to corpses and consequently add up to the monster problem. 

A lot of that doesn't get translated into the small screen or does it?


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## Boneman (Dec 26, 2019)

Is that all in the books, @ctg? Certainly adds a lot of depth to the character... 

A friend's daughter is doing makeup on the 2nd series, starting beginning of January. I'll see if I can get insider tips, but pretty sure they all sign NDAs....


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## ctg (Dec 26, 2019)

Boneman said:


> Is that all in the books, @ctg?



A lot of it is in the books.


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## ctg (Dec 26, 2019)




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## Vince W (Dec 26, 2019)

If you need a youtube video to help you understand a series then the producers of that series aren't doing their job.


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## ctg (Dec 26, 2019)

Vince W said:


> If you need a youtube video to help you understand a series then the producers of that series aren't doing their job.



True but I just added it to support about what I wrote about the Witcher universe.


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## The Crawling Chaos (Dec 26, 2019)

The TV series is pretty faithful to the books as far as the main series is concerned. In the novels, I would argue Geralt is only one of two protagonists (with other POV characters coming in as one-offs like a courier or a battle surgeon), the other being Ciri. The novels are very much her story. She is the both the McGuffin Geralt chases throughout the entire series and the protagonist of her own coming-of-age story. Most of the time Geralt's chapters take place on the edge of a battlefield as opposed to on it, or after the battle has taken place, and Geralt, either alone or with a group of allies, walks about the place and comments on the brutality of what they see.

There isn't a lot of 'Witchery' things going on in the novels either to be honest. The story is set very late in Geralt's career as a Witcher and in fact he often states over the course of the novels that he is considering quitting the job altogether as he sees nothing more in it, and it has been ages since his last contract. There are some exceptions to that of course, and he will on occasion take part in small or large fights as well as kill a creature or a renegade mage. He will also encounter certain 'creatures' he will end up befriending. The overall feeling once you finish the novel is that Geralt feels he has more in common with the monsters he used to hunt than with humans, who are the real monsters who sow the seeds of conquest, war, destruction and chaos.

The real monster hunting happens in the short stories, which are oftentimes based on popular fairy tales or slavic folklore (Beauty and the Beast comes to mind), but always with a twist (the story of Renfri which was adapted in the TV series and which is a clear call back to Snow White and the Seven Dwarves shows 'Snow White' as a rebellious gang leader rather than an innocent princess). It's in the short stories that you really get a sense of what the daily life of a Witcher is like. Encountering the greed and rejection of humans, struggling to get by financially, traveling from town to town to find food, shelter and money, preparing to fight a creature with potions and herbs, killing the monster...

The novels, well, they're more a commentary on the state of the world and the nature of war, interwoven with a coming-of-age story.

In my opinion the TV series showrunners, whose stated objective is to adapt the main storyline, went in the right direction when they decided to adapt the short stories somewhat linked to the novels first, to give us an inkling into Geralt's early years and his relationships with other secondary characters. I don't see how they could have done it better unless they had completely rejected the books and had gone back to the drawing board to give us a new collection of short episodic stories set in the Witcher universe before the novels took place, maybe even an origin story for Geralt. This would arguably have made for a better show for those of us craving a brand new Witcher-fix, but it also would have been a bigger risk on the producers' part.


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## elvet (Dec 27, 2019)

I knew nothing about The Witcher, having not read the books, nor played the games. But, I’m always up for a TV fantasy series, so here’s my thoughts.
I have just finished Episode 4. After the first two episodes, I was intrigued enough to need a little backstory (thanks to  this Gizmodo guide ).
It was just enough to get a better sense of the characters and their motivation, and showed the complexity of what was yet to come. Of course, I could have waited for the 4th episode, where the timelines where revealed, but I would have got there confused and frustrated because so much happened, including parsing out the Law of Surprise. I am looking forward to see when the characters paths eventually cross. 
Oh, and using subtitles made a world of difference.


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## olive (Dec 29, 2019)

The Crawling Chaos said:


> Unless I misunderstood what you were saying, I have to point out that Geralt is not supposed to show emotions while Sith are (rage, fury, anger, it's all in their creed - "Peace is a lie, there is only passion" - Jedi are the ones who avoid displaying emotions - "There is no emotion, there is only peace"). Through the Trial of the Grasses, Geralt's emotions were sucked out of him. While he can arguably feel love or compassion, he is also always even-tempered, cool-headed and in control. So he is more Jedi than Sith in my opinion, and nobody should ask him to show any emotions at all. In fact, Cavill's performance is much more palatable when he doesn't attempt to.



I think we have different imaginations; different interpretations of these characters and stories, and their should be natural representations. (He is better than Jedi.) Anyway, what I meant before is that Sith can show only one set of emotions. (That's why I said 'they can't show conflicted expressions'.) On the other hand, Jedi can show every kind of emotion, they can feel conflicted between them and/or make a choice too and express them. They are pretty passionate too, probably more than Sith considering their will and discipline to not give in to the dark side which is way easier. They can be angry and compassionate at the same time. Sith cannot feel that, let alone showing that expression in eyes or face. Maybe as disgust? (By this, I don't mean Sith can't have any empathy, because to be 'evil' and do 'evil' you should have some sort of empathy. Although we tend to take empathy as positive. )

Emotions are mixed things. We -sentient, intelligent beings- don't just feel one, rigid emotion at a time.  When we are angry, we feel angry because of other various emotions; we feel them all, but name the dominant one resulting in an action. This is also why Sith or ultimate evil characters in general, are not very convincing deep characters and they often come as robotic. (Also why Joker is more convincing and scarier than all other villains; so suitable for the background story he was given.)

If Geralt's emotions were sucked out of him, he wouldn't intervene anything out of his way/job small or big. But he does, doesn't he? It seems he does it often. That's why he is the protagonist of the story. He is the exception, not the rule. He is not like other witchers. It's not that he doesn't kill without reason, more than that he has a vision and morality of his own and goes that way. Maybe he mutated differently and became like this, maybe if he had stayed human he would have been an ordinary character feeling less conflicted, less wary of that world, or maybe Geralt was so strong in a way that trials didn't remove what was in there but just amplified. (I've always imagined the last possibility. That he was different to begin with and the trials amplified him in other unpredictable ways.) In the end, this is something bad (and conflicting considering his way of life) for him because obviously it makes his life very difficult beyond witchering. He deals with it. Life is easier for other witchers.

In any case, he shows a lot of emotions, conflicts of emotions, act on them, and he is not reluctant or embarrassed to show them either when he needs, but yes he doesn't like it. Why would he? It's always more trouble and on top of that when he chooses a side or intervenes, as a result of his emotions, morality, it makes a difference in that world. It changes it. That's a kind of power someone as conscious and as conscientious as our witcher wouldn't want. Because otherwise, he wouldn't have cared which monster is sentient or not or if it was hungry or provoked by humans but just kill them, maybe even exploit his powers.

The scene with Yennefer during the dragon pursue is not just about to show that he cares for her, but also that he is a wholesome, relatable good character. It's an introduction. Because otherwise, it would be impossible to relate to him and love him, enjoy him as a hero.

If you are talking about that he is not easily provoked or show random feelings, of course he doesn't. That is the most realistic trait of him. He is a veteran; a specially trained 'soldier' with tons of combat experience. In the real world, this has been the same among us humans. In an old world sense, trained, armed; strong people -traditionally men, also women- with combat experience; extreme violence first hand are very hard to provoke or piss off. They don't show their emotions or talk about what they feel. They don't talk much at all actually, compared to civilians. I am making a generalisation, because it is safe to make. I am sure you have known people like that. Esp. in the modern world, the difference between civilian life and what veterans face is far more black and white than say from the one 100-200 years ago.



The Crawling Chaos said:


> After giving it a second thought and to go back to the lenses looking unconvincing, just like his wig, I believe my initial statement that the lenses were horrendous was a gross generalization. What it is in fact is yet another example of the cinematography letting down the other departments and enhancing their shortcomings via poor thought-out lighting as opposed to concealing them. There are plenty of scenes where his eyes actually look great and natural:



I understand what you mean. Of course, there are scenes like that, because they are probably aware of it and maybe didn't even try to make it look very natural. If they looked exactly the same and unchanged under any kind of light that would actually be bad. And this sort of points to what I have been trying to explain. His eyes shouldn't look 'natural' and besides the special effect business, colour problem aside, trying to go for that kind of 'literal' natural appearance would make it worse. Because they are not natural eyes in that world. They are disturbing, unnatural. If anyone in that world who didn't know what a witcher saw his eyes, would lean in and stare at it thinking 'Is that real?'. But then that world is supernatural and they know what is a witcher so nobody would get close and lean in.


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## olive (Dec 29, 2019)

Overall, the first season is an introduction. They tried to throw all in. I think the coming seasons could be more like the game. I don't know if that is a good or a bad thing. 



Vince W said:


> If you need a youtube video to help you understand a series then the producers of that series aren't doing their job.



LOL Those videos are about creating hype, creating a new unified fandom -books, games, series- if they can, trying to create a whole subculture for the series that will grow for years to come. (Something tells me this series will go on a decade because unfortunately, the material is very suitable to stretch. ) So they need to feed every group -in a positive or a negative way- in the target audience. They have a written source and that makes their job very easy.


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## ctg (Dec 29, 2019)

olive said:


> He is not like other witchers. It's not that he doesn't kill without reason, more than that he has a vision and morality of his own and goes that way. Maybe he mutated differently and became like this, maybe if he had stayed human he would have been an ordinary character feeling less conflicted, less wary of that world, or maybe Geralt was so strong in a way that trials didn't remove what was in there but just amplified. (I've always imagined the last possibility. That he was different to begin with and the trials amplified him in other unpredictable ways.) In the end, this is something bad (and conflicting considering his way of life) for him because obviously it makes his life very difficult beyond witchering. He deals with it. Life is easier for other witchers.



Well, he is different, but there are lot of other witchers who things and then they even have a family. The family bit is important because the witchers cannot have babies. The mutations take care of it. Gerald could have fixed it by using the wishes and so could many other of their kind. Important thing is that as Geralt travels the continent, he often encounters sings of old, dead witchers who had families, emotions and roles. And often, they had relations to courts and kingships. So, I would say that the Witchers cannot show physical emotions as well as the other races, but they still have them and some of them are evil, because of those feelings, and they do horrible things.

Things like slaughtering whole village after they have been denied bounty or or some other similar kind of circumstance. When Gerald had been dealing with them, he had been given a choice, release or kill, absolution or oblivion. In the Witcher games that choice given to gamers create a moral problem. In the canon material, he might absolve more, while the other witchers might venture down darker paths.

Gerald's venture down that way earned him the nickname "Butcher of Blaviken"


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## olive (Dec 29, 2019)

ctg said:


> Well, he is different, but there are lot of other witchers who things and then they even have a family. The family bit is important because the witchers cannot have babies. The mutations take care of it. Gerald could have fixed it by using the wishes and so could many other of their kind. Important thing is that as Geralt travels the continent, he often encounters sings of old, dead witchers who had families, emotions and roles. And often, they had relations to courts and kingships. So, I would say that the Witchers cannot show physical emotions as well as the other races, but they still have them and some of them are evil, because of those feelings, and they do horrible things.
> 
> Things like slaughtering whole village after they have been denied bounty or or some other similar kind of circumstance. When Gerald had been dealing with them, he had been given a choice, release or kill, absolution or oblivion. In the Witcher games that choice given to gamers create a moral problem. In the canon material, he might absolve more, while the other witchers might venture down darker paths.
> 
> Gerald's venture down that way earned him the nickname "Butcher of Blaviken"



I know. By that I mean I guessed because the material is obvious. (Didn't know some other witchers had families.) Any being with that kind of power, taken as a child; without consent, learning they are just a few surviving in every ten, choices taken from them, forced to have a very dangerous difficult life; emotions removed all or to a degree... it is very likely to happen in the story, it wouldn't be realistic.

[I love the 3rd game very much. (I haven't played the second one yet. Hand-to-hand combat gameplay in that game is not for me, I need a mod.) After figuring him out in my imagination for myself, I tried to save as much as I could every time I play, but now I can't change it. I have 755 hours in it and still every time I play, I somehow fall into the same pattern. As it is a game, there is a need of more action, different bits and, endings. But then I am told that I am a very boring, 'childish' player in that sense. I even play Skyrim in a similar way. I can't play dark brotherhood for example. I tried two times already. I wasn't as bad with the thieves guild but that one is really boring... So I have these 'schedules' with certain quests in Witcher I should update.  ]


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## Caledfwlch (Dec 30, 2019)

How many non book reading game only playing viewers are asking "wtf is Jaskier??" I wonder lol


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## Bugg (Dec 30, 2019)

I'm up to ep 7 and thoroughly enjoying it.  I quite like the way it skips around in time without any warning.  Very much liking the way they've incorporated some of the short stories into the arc from the novels.  It's not the greatest thing ever, some of the acting is dodgy (Triss, I'm looking at you) but overall I'm very happy with what I've seen so far.  To my eternal shame it took me ages to realise it's Jodhi May playing Calanthe


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## svalbard (Dec 30, 2019)

Just finished it. There is enough going on to warrant a second season. I like Geralt, Ciri and Yennefar. They are sympathetic protagonists. I also found myself quite liking some Jaskier's ballads.


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## ctg (Dec 31, 2019)

svalbard said:


> I also found myself quite liking some Jaskier's ballads.



Yeah, I watched the credits because of them. They all add up to the story.


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## the_philmarillion (Jan 4, 2020)

Finished watching it yesterday. It wasn't the worst show I've ever seen, but I didn't think it was great either. It just comes across to me as something akin to Xena Warrior Princess, but trying to be dark and gritty. Didn't think much of the quality of the acting in it either, apart from Henry Cavill who was actually brilliant.

All that said, I'll probably still watch season 2.


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## Mr Orange (Jan 8, 2020)

before I start i will say that I have not read the books or played the games

Finished the season the other night and whilst enjoyable it was all a bit underwhelming. I just couldn't find myself caring for any of the characters. and all the scenes that I knew were meant to be dramatic and emotional just weren't. I think this comes down to just not having enough episodes to make me care. I think the story went way too quick which made the whole thing seem disjointed, characters  weren't developed fully and so became caricaturish (is that a word?), the world and its politics were left under-developed as well and overall it just felt like a superficial fairy tale. a good example that really annoyed me was 



Spoiler



Geralt and Yennefer. After getting busy in the mayor's house the next time we see them is in the dragon chase. I was expecting some awkwardness based on their previous encounter but suddenly Geralt is all "Hey Yenny baby" with a level a familiarity that completely confused me. then  it wasn't until the scene in the tent that Yennefer says "oh yeah I can't get rid of you", cue the flashback to them having sex, again, and it's revealed they have been friends with benefits for the last however many years. this relationship really should have been built up by having those encounters over a few episodes.



another example would be 



Spoiler



Jaskier turning up when Geralt was jin fishing and saying "what's it been, a month, 10 years, who knows." when he said that I thought, _yes.. exactly_.



...not that I had a problem with the flashes forward or backward. in fact it was quite cool to try and figure out just when in the hell things were happening and they did converge the stories nicely in the end. although some of the exposition required to clarify timelines was a bit stilted.

also I liked Cavill as Geralt. I don't think I have actually watched anything with him in it before but he does well here. apart from his arms. is it just me or do they seem a bit... short?



ctg said:


> I thought I don't need to write about this because it will sell itself. So I binged it. The whole thing and I have to say I'm slightly disappointed on the producers. The thing is, throughout the series they'll use copious amount of flashback and flashforward features. The Nilfgaard Attack on Ciri is a good example, as the event keeps repeating up until the very last episode.
> 
> I feel they wanted to explain things, and how things are, but they did a poor job on putting it all together. It might be because most of the production crew are polish that they didn't had a skills to produce a piece for the modern day, as some others could have done things very differently. It is also sad that there are only 8 episodes to explain the beginning.
> 
> If Netflix gives them more money something has to change in the direction, as this could be so much better and Witchers world could do with full 13 episodes instead of 8.



completely agree this would have been a much better show with 13 episodes



the_philmarillion said:


> It just comes across to me as something akin to Xena Warrior Princess, but trying to be dark and gritty



ha ha, yes, this


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## elvet (Jan 12, 2020)

I finished the last two episodes tonight. I quite liked it. It all fell into place, and I got a little emotional when Geralt finally met Ciri.
The production values are not great, but that has never stopped me from buying into a story if I find it compelling. There is enough going on in this world to keep it interesting, and I think Geralt and Yennefer are more complex than your average fantasy protagonists. Ciri, is still a little one dimensional for me. 
I’m definitely in for the next season. In the meantime, I’m tempted to get the books.


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## ctg (Jan 14, 2020)

> The Witcher is Netflix's surprise hit of the year, a series that seemed from the outset an unlikely to succeed adaptation greenlit in the foolish hope of finding the "next _Game of Thrones_." Despite middling reviews from critics, the show has become one of Netflix's 10 "most popular" shows of 2019, an honor it achieved with barely 11 days left in the year.
> 
> Even more surprising is its path to success. Netflix's _The Witcher_ turned out to be a catchy, bingeable series not because of a blind faithfulness to the original work but by showrunner Lauren Schmidt Hissrich disregarding how the original material was structured. By sticking with the spirit of the stories, instead of following them letter-of-the-law style, _The Witcher_ was far more successful than anyone could have imagined.











						The Witcher’s Netflix success: How three timelines somehow became cohesive
					

A great example of how a TV series' expansion beyond books, games can succeed.




					arstechnica.com


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## The Crawling Chaos (Jan 14, 2020)

This is great news. For all its flaws, the show is promising and deserves to continue.

Also, this:








						Witcher Season 2: Will Mark Hamill Play Vesemir? Showrunner Reacts to Fan Campaign - IGN
					

Witcher showrunner Lauren Schmidt Hissrich talks to IGN about the potential casting of Mark Hamill as Vesemir in Season 2 and the fan frenzy over the rumor.




					www.ign.com


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## ctg (Jan 15, 2020)

I think Mark Hamill might be better Vesemir than one in the games. But I don't want to see him doing the same routine as in the Knightfall. Vesemir has a loving heart and he cares a lot about what is happening in the Continent.


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## Narkalui (Jan 19, 2020)

Not read the books or played the games. This tv show is the nuts. Loved it. Now to read the books


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## Caledfwlch (Feb 22, 2020)

One difference I wasn't sure about at first bits it's growing in me is the slight reinvention of Emhyr var Emreis - he is no longer just the Emperor but his followers are reffering to him almost like a prophet or deity 'we serve the White Flame" iirc my Witcher lore, the Emperor is possibly also the head of Nilfgaards state religion, the black sun, much as the Queen of England is head of the Church of England, I wonder ifthey are running with the idea of mixing all thst up. 

I could see Mark Hamill being OK as Vessemir actually. 

I always wonder how old Vessemir is/was. Apparanrly a Witcher is technically near enough immortal after the trials, it's just given their job, they tend not to last all thst long, but Vessy could easily be well over 100.Yen of course is at least in her 50s when she first meets Gerallt, since sorceresses also have very long life spans.


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## The Crawling Chaos (Feb 24, 2020)

Caledfwlch said:


> One difference I wasn't sure about at first bits it's growing in me is the slight reinvention of Emhyr var Emreis - he is no longer just the Emperor but his followers are reffering to him almost like a prophet or deity 'we serve the White Flame" iirc my Witcher lore, the Emperor is possibly also the head of Nilfgaards state religion, the black sun, much as the Queen of England is head of the Church of England, I wonder ifthey are running with the idea of mixing all thst up.



One of Emhyr's nicknames / honorific titles is *The White Flame* Dancing on the Barrows of his Enemies, a reference to the fact that he had all his competition to the throne of Nilfgaard murdered and used their gravestones to pave the palace's ballroom. I cannot remember if he is ever addressed directly as The White Flame by anyone in the books, but it doesn't seem too far-fetched that someone could use that title if they so wished. As far as I can tell, this has nothing to do with the state's religion and is not connected to the Order of the Eternal Fire or the Flaming Rose cults from the video games.



> I always wonder how old Vessemir is/was. Apparanrly a Witcher is technically near enough immortal after the trials, it's just given their job, they tend not to last all thst long, but Vessy could easily be well over 100.Yen of course is at least in her 50s when she first meets Gerallt, since sorceresses also have very long life spans.



Don't quote me on that but from memory, Yennefer is roughly 100 years old at the time the main series of novels takes place (late 1260s), Vesemir is at least the same age, as he was already an active Witcher during the previous century. As for Geralt, the novels' author once stated in an interview that he was about 60 by the time the third book takes place.


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## Bugg (Feb 29, 2020)

Netflix announces the actor to play Vesemir.  I'm very happy!

Netflix Announces The Actor Who Will Play Vesemir In Season Two Of The Witcher


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## ctg (Nov 2, 2020)




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## ctg (Dec 2, 2020)




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## Toby Frost (Dec 15, 2020)

I watched the first episode and enjoyed it. It seems to be mixing the short stories with the longer narrative, which is fine. So far, so good.


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## Toby Frost (Dec 18, 2020)

Three episodes in, and it's not bad. Something feels slightly "off", though: it might be that there's not much sense of a wider world, despite the events of the first episode. I wonder if that's a matter of budget. I've got a feeling that Geralt and Yennifer's stories so far are purely backstory, and Ciri's is the present day (which means that Geralt's story is happening at least 20 years before Yennifer's). I think it's at it's best when it's low-key: the bits with Ciri in the woods have been good, but the high-magic bits in wizard school didn't feel as polished.

The fighting is good but please could people stop spinning around in swordfights? Stop showing them your back!

So, is the bard in the second episode Dandelion? I think the name he gave began with R, but I gather that his name is different in the original Polish version.
Silly question, perhaps, but are the short people we've seen dwarves, in the Tolkien sense, or just people who happen to be short? The elves look very human, and don't have the delicate features I'd expect, so I wonder if the magical creatures look more like standard humans in this setting.


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## alexvss (Dec 18, 2020)

Toby Frost said:


> Three episodes in, and it's not bad. Something feels slightly "off", though: it might be that there's not much sense of a wider world, despite the events of the first episode. I wonder if that's a matter of budget. I've got a feeling that Geralt and Yennifer's stories so far are purely backstory, and Ciri's is the present day (which means that Geralt's story is happening at least 20 years before Yennifer's). I think it's at it's best when it's low-key: the bits with Ciri in the woods have been good, but the high-magic bits in wizard school didn't feel as polished.
> 
> The fighting is good but please could people stop spinning around in swordfights? Stop showing them your back!
> 
> ...


It's not a matter of budget. This series has one of the biggest budgets in industry.

Flashy swordsmen wouldn't work in real life, but they are cool to watch, so I don't think we'll be saying goodbye to them anytime soon.

Yeah, the bard is Dandelion with a Polish name (the name in the books). I found an article explaining they changed the name in the games.

The timeline is indeed messed up, and you won't understand it until further in the story. About the dwarves, I don't remember, because I watched this months ago.


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## ctg (Dec 19, 2020)

Toby Frost said:


> So, is the bard in the second episode Dandelion?



Yes, that's him. He is very different and everyone just reading the stories has their own ideas about him. The gamers however have locked ideas about his appearance.


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## Toby Frost (Dec 21, 2020)

I'm liking this more as it goes on. The fourth episode was interesting, solid stuff. The queen of Cintra is a particularly good character. It'll be interesting to see where it goes next.


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## Toby Frost (Jan 9, 2021)

Hmm. I've finished the dragon-hunting episode and while it's entertaining, something about The Witcher just doesn't work for me. It's like a weird cross between _A Game of Thrones_ and _Labyrinth_, and there's an odd feeling that while there will be blood and swearing and "serious" stuff, anything whatsoever from the D&D manual could wander in and start eating people. 

The other problem for me is that few of the characters are all that interesting. Jaskier is amusing and annoying in about equal measure, and Yennifer just seems like a furious person who causes trouble (which is what I thought about the first two books). Geralt is interesting in a Dirty Harry way, but the more I know about him, the less interesting he seems. Ciri doesn't do all that much, but her journey is fairly engrossing. It's entertaining, but it's not classic TV.


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## ctg (Jul 12, 2021)

December 17th


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## ctg (Nov 1, 2021)

Better. Netflix take a notice! I get chillies from hearing the official la la la (from games). To me and probably scores of other gamers it means the witcher time in most epic battles.


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## ctg (Nov 9, 2021)

> If you’ve read more than a couple of Andrzej Sapkowski’s _Witcher_ novels, you know the Polish writer has created a rich and complex fantasy world for his monster-slaying hero Geralt, sorceress Yennefer, and Witcher-in-training Ciri to inhabit. But the masterminds behind Netflix’s _Witcher_ TV series, the recent anime movie prequel _Nightmare of the Wolf_, and the three additional _Witcher_ projects in the works clearly aren’t afraid to go off-book.
> 
> On one hand, this makes sense, because _The Witcher _franchise has grown so quickly—the show was given a second season before the first even aired, and two anime movies, a live-action prequel TV series, and a family-friendy animated show were all announced before that second season has arrived—that it feels like Netflix would need to look beyond the source material. But there are eight books in _The Witcher _series—so why look elsewhere? In an interview with Entertainment Weekly, Netflix Vice President of International Originals Kelly Luegenbiehl explained, “Sapkowski created this very rich world, but in some ways only hinted at the potential of it.”
> 
> Case in point, the Conjunction of the Spheres—the ancient event that brought the worlds of elves, men, and monsters together that defines the series’ world and dictates much of _The Witcher_’s story. According to writer/producer Declan De Barra, “We were trying to understand what the world was like for elves right before the Conjunction of the Spheres. It’s very vague in the books as to what happened.” The result was the story that’s forming the basis of the live-action TV prequel series _Blood Origin_; according to Luegenbiehl, De Barra created it based on “a few lines in the books.”











						The Witcher's New Franchise Universe Is Making It Up as It Goes Along
					

The showrunners are doing more than reading between the lines of Andrzej Sapkowski's fantasy books.




					gizmodo.com


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## Dave (Dec 19, 2021)

I see that the second season of The Witcher is now available. That's great because I was beginning to wonder if my Netflix subscription was worth having at all.


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## svalbard (Dec 19, 2021)

"I have lived through a whole Dark Age and three supposed End of Days. It is all horseshit!" 

The quote of the first episode.


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## Mon0Zer0 (Dec 19, 2021)

Binged the entirety of season 2 over 2 days and very much enjoyed it.


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## Dave (Dec 20, 2021)

The fourth episode of season two has an unsubtle dig at the kind of fan complaints we frequently make here, when the Bard admonishes a dock guard discussing his writing style. Apparently, that was to address the difficult to follow writing style of the first season, according to Digital Spy. The second season is much more linear story-telling - something I myself much prefer. I can't stand timelines that jump back and forward and the only way to tell is an outfit or haircut.


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## atsouthorn (Dec 20, 2021)

There's something about it that hasn't quite hooked me yet. I do wish the writing could be improved but there's something else - something woven in the style.

Perhaps Game of Thrones Seasons 1-5 spoiled me.


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## ctg (Dec 21, 2021)

I have not watched yet, because I was grieving. It's interesting to see that some of you have not liked it, despite it being very popular.


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## ctg (Dec 21, 2021)

The Witcher TV Series Needs A Map
					

Who is where? And where's that? And that's near what?




					kotaku.com


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## ctg (Dec 21, 2021)




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## ctg (Dec 21, 2021)

I hope you guys watched this animation at August, because it has disappeared from the offerings at the moment. It'll explain a lot of Vesemier's and Witchers history. 









						The Witcher: Nightmare of the Wolf (2021) - IMDb
					

The Witcher: Nightmare of the Wolf: Directed by Kwang Il Han. With Theo James, Mary McDonnell, Lara Pulver, Graham McTavish. Escaping from poverty to become a witcher, Vesemir slays monsters for coin and glory, but when a new menace rises, he must face the demons of his past.




					www.imdb.com


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## ctg (Dec 21, 2021)

Spoiler: S02E01 - A Grain of Truth



I feel that some of you already know this information very well, but I'm going to put it down anyway. The story in the first season were a mess but it showed that Gerald of Rivia is a special person, with a destiny. He is an anti-hero, a man that is hated because of his profession, but he has a heart and a soul, and a wonderful mind that is often hidden behind the layer of stoicism. 

Vesemier is the opposite, he is very social and very likeable. Some could call him as a squere daddy-o who has gone through the trials, won the game and at his later days, given the keys to raise the wolves a Kaer Morden. With the wolves I mean the wolf clan of the witchers. Thing is Vesemier is as tied to Gerald's destiny, because of the ashen haired young lady, Ciri or Cirilla.

Yennifer is tied to Gerald because of the Jinn. 

There's more, but let's see how this season develops. 






Death to Nilfgard! Sorry, I'm showing my bias against the black ones, but it is not unusual that the clashes in the Witcher world are epic in scale, and when the magic is involved, the damage is catastrophic. Not all magic is that level, as there are simpler spells, cantrips, even witcher powers that rival the Force. And then there are runes, some which leads to Old World of magic. Stuff that so many has forgotten as the world has gone through a purge, making it a place for humans to live. 

It is strange that Cirilla's and Gerald's event happened during the major magic release, but it's not when you associate it with his destiny. It might even feel that when the marched through that battlefield to hear that Yennifer had gone missing in the aftermath, because it feels like a play and it is, done by the Three Sisters. 

Everything is as it should be. Ciri is with Gerald and they have a path to walk together. Thing that you might be missing is the fact that Cirilla can time travel. She can even bent the reality and jump to a parallel world. So her appearance is a mystery but it is also destined through a prophesy that ties Ciri and Gerald to End of the World kind of events. 

Ciri however doesn't remember much of things. She knows that she's a princess and her life has been secluded. And for a while, she's powerless as we see her now. 






A lot of mages in this world are wealthy and in a power position. So it's not a surprise that Tissaia took the reins in her hands and showed what needs to be done, while Cintra was still burning. 

The attack was a surprise and if it would not have been successful Cintra would have fallen. The black one was claiming that the Order of White Flame "would cleanse them all." It was funny that he thought to be able to stand the magical interrogation, when it is so powerful. 






It surprised me that Gerald mentioned Ciri's clairvoyant dreams, when she had hard time remembering it. But I loved that she brought up that she liked crossdressing so that she could play like a boy. In our eyes, she's a normal teenager, even though she's not. But it intrigued me that despite having a life in Cintra, she was unaware of most of the magic or the presence of the monsters. Many who are vampires. 

I loved that Gerald used his enhanced senses to realise that the village near Nivellan's castle was empty. It is a gift that he received from the trials, just like Vesemier and all the other witchers. I even loved more that he turned grumpier, more homely Ciri were feeling in the strange castle. That is so much like him. 

I however thought from the beginning that Nivellan were cursed as that is also a thing in the Witcher world and some of those curses ... or blessings are epic. And with the comes the magic. Witchers, especially in Gerald's case are curse breakers. 

It is not an easy task. And something's are extremely hard to break, because they are tied to the legacy. The Wild Hunt however was a slight surprise. It could explain why the village is empty, and why there's so much snow around, but my money is on the vampires. 

Thing is, because those curses are epic in nature, some people under the accepts them because there is no cure. Nothing that they do, or have time to do, will work. Nivella had accepted his fate like any person with a chronic disease. 

He said, "Monsters are more than just horrid looks and claws and teeth. Monsters are born with deeds done." And that is the fact. There is no change in their nature, but in the eyes of the humans ... they need to go, Gerald included. 

He is no different, just very, very handsome. Even in the eyes of a man. 

The thing where the boar man is wrong is the Gerald has feelings, emotions and a soul, just like him. And he is a blind monster for not seeing it.






She's alive and in dimithrium chains that cancels the magic, in most cases. Take them off and Yennifer is back in the source. So it wasn't really a surprise that the witch that decimated Nilfgard boys is on her way to insane cult worshipping around the Order of White Flame. 

Thing is some of the gods or deities are not gods. They are either spirits, demons or some cursed things, or then they are absolutely mad in power, doing the most despicable things ... just because they can.  






I was right. A vampire. Very pretty one. Gerald classified her as Bruxa. 


> Bruxa is a very powerful type of vampire that takes on the appearance of a dark-haired, young human, most often woman, but whose natural form is that of a large, black bat with sharp fangs and claws. It is one of few vampire species not affected by sun, the others being alps, mulas[1] and Higher Vampires.[2]
> 
> Bruxae are very agile and only silver swords are effective against them. While they have sharp claws for close up attacks, they can also let out a piercing scream from further away that can send even a grown man flying through the air. Only Quen is able to counter it, although the power of the cry can even break through it in certain situations.
> 
> The bruxae have the habit of singing in their native language, especially after they drank blood, and their songs are described as silent, shrill, and sickening. Thanks to these, bruxae can manipulate and bend to their will any human by altering their dreams and turning them into horrible nightmares.



I also loved that as soon as he had told the info to Ciri he downed a potion of Black Blood. 



> _"In the distant past, mages working with witchers developed this potion specifically for use in fighting cemetery and crypt dwellers that drink the blood or eat the innards of their still living victims. Witchers use Black Blood unwillingly because the potion only works when a monster begins to feast on their body. Their transmuted blood proves to be a deadly drink."_
> 
> Black Blood turns imbiber's blood into poison; blood becomes lethal to monsters which drink it.











						Black Blood
					

"In the distant past, mages working with witchers developed this potion specifically for use in fighting cemetery and crypt dwellers that drink the blood or eat the innards of their still living victims. Witchers use Black Blood unwillingly because the potion only works when a monster begins to...




					witcher.fandom.com
				




It also turns witchers eyes black, while their veins looks gangrenous. The fight was truly epic, and it showed how freaking fast those vampire ladies truly are. In the games they were not easy by any measure, because of their speed. 

The biggest twist is that by killing the bruxa it lifted the curse on the boar man.



Loved the episode. 9/10.


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## Dave (Dec 21, 2021)

ctg said:


> it has disappeared from the offerings at the moment. It'll explain a lot of Vesemier's and Witchers history.


Actually, it appeared as something Netflix thinks I would like, just now. 

While I like this series, there are definitely far too many "destinies" and "prophecies" going on. Also, there obviously is a very long-arc story (or two) being told, in addition to the 'monster of the week' stories, but it is very difficult to see the wood for the trees, and I can understand why some people can't be bothered with it. I'll watch that animation sometime and see if it makes it clearer.


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## elvet (Dec 21, 2021)

ctg said:


> I hope you guys watched this animation at August, because it has disappeared from the offerings at the moment. It'll explain a lot of Vesemier's and Witchers history.
> 
> 
> 
> ...


I tried to watch it, but I couldn't get into the style of the animation.


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## ctg (Dec 21, 2021)

Dave said:


> in addition to the 'monster of the week' stories,


Well, it's not monster of the week, even if they're showing them, because there's monsters and men and Gerald isn't a man. He's a monster. Big difference. And he doesn't always get paid for his profession. Sometimes people denied, claiming that "The witcher did hogus pokus..." and we get to see rare side of the darkness with the monster man doing his worst. In Gerald case it doesn't happen but you get stories, where some other witcher solved the problem and then people did the funny business ... except it wasn't so funny at the end. 

But I get that for a casual viewer all of that information is fleeting.


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## Dave (Dec 21, 2021)

By 'monster of the week' I'm referring to the way these episodes are written*, not that every enemy met, or even any hero met, is an actual monster, or the way in which "monster" is specifically used within the mythology of this franchise. Sorry, for the confusion there. 

Yes, the main characters all appear to be 'monsters' of some kind, but the "conjunction" needs some further explanation yet.

*monster of the week -








						Monster of the Week - TV Tropes
					

Episodes where the characters fight a villain and the whole story is wrapped up at the end, never to be dealt with again. Essentially, the Monster of the Week serves as the Big Bad of a single episode. Can be seen as the complete antithesis of a …




					tvtropes.org
				





> Episodes where the characters fight a villain and the whole story is wrapped up at the end, never to be dealt with again. Essentially, the Monster of the Week serves as the Big Bad of a single episode. Can be seen as the complete antithesis of a Story Arc, or a Story Arc compressed into one episode.


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## Dave (Dec 21, 2021)

The season 2; episode 7 scene with Fringilla and the four generals was good!


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## ctg (Dec 22, 2021)

Dave said:


> but the "conjunction" needs some further explanation yet.





> The Conjunction of the Spheres was a cataclysm which affected the whole Multiverse and occurred 1,500 years before the events in the novels, trapping many "unnatural" creatures in this dimension, including ghouls, graveirs, and vampires. Rifts were created by the collision of many different realms, filling the world of the gnomes and dwarves with hundreds of creatures of all shapes and sizes, as well as a mystical force that came to be known as "chaos" or "magic".
> 
> Unable to manipulate the forces of magic and with little preparation to fight the monsters that came through the conjunction of the different realms, the gnomes, dwarves, and elves, as well as many other displaced races such as the vran, werebbubbs, halflings, and the first humans, were plunged into a strange, dangerous, and uncertain time period, that would last for many generations.
> 
> It was during this time that the elves say humans, or more specifically, the Dauk and Wozgor people, first appeared, their own world having been destroyed. Nordling humans settled on the Continent many hundreds of years after that, this event being called the First Landing. It can be debated whether or not the two original human civilizations were extinct by the time the Nordlings arrived on the Continent.











						Conjunction of the Spheres
					

The Conjunction of the Spheres was a cataclysm which affected the whole Multiverse and occurred 1,500 years before the events in the novels, trapping many "unnatural" creatures in this dimension, including ghouls, graveirs, and vampires. Rifts were created by the collision of many different...




					witcher.fandom.com


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## ctg (Dec 23, 2021)

Spoiler: S02E02 - Kaer Morgan



Well, it looks good it is missing a few things. Namely trees, that come up to the castle, and the watch tower ruins at front of the gate. The fort is a fort, but is has a lot of derelict builds, and plenty of ruins around it. Many of them dedicated to the School of Wolf. In the woods they have and actually refer in the episode, "Rock Trolls and Wyverns." 

I also like that they are talking the season 1 dragon now as a wyvern, because the dragon are bigger and meaner. Amongst the woods there are a spring that leads to a lake, which is all part of the fortification, but for the filming reason couldn't be included in the shots. They are populated with Drowners, Hags and Spirits or Ghosts, some of them being the boys that didn't last the Trial o Grasses.

It is a chemical/magical/alchemical process that every Witchery school goes through in their process on producing the monster hunters. And not everyone survives it, because it mutates the body, enhancing the sense, their agility and their strength. 

To my surprise we get to see a fort full of them and get to know that at the moment, their strength stands at twenty. On their own, a witcher is a fighting force capable of taking down multiple opponents. So those twenty, plus Vesemier are equivalent of about two hundred strong force, because of their elite status. But their biggest flaw is in the ranged combat.

It ain't happening, and in most of the cases they are just marauders, leaving the ranged stuff to mages and normal troops. But because they are inviduals, roaming all around the Northern Kingdoms, they can be taken down, if needed. United, they are strong. United with mages and ordinary forcers, a tough nut to crack. And if they're sitting in their fortress with all of it, you're going to need something super serious to take them on. So, in the essence, Kaer Morgan is the home for the Clan Wolf, but it is in a derelict state and Vesemier is an old man. 

There are no stable hands, no guards, no farmers, no carpenters or engineers. It is just the master and his castle, which he used to teach the young ones, until he put a stop on all of it, with Gerald being part of the last patch. 






The elves. A noble people that the humans have mostly shunted off to live in ghettoes and in their forests, overlooking elven ruins that depict all landscapes around the world. They are the natives and the humans new invaders that has been successful on the purges. But unlike humans the elves breath and live through magic, because it has been their ways since the ancient times.

It is also interesting that they also kept Fringilla with Yennefer and didn't separate them, even though Fringilla were going on and on about the White Flame propaganda. Filifandrel also seemed stubborn for having captives in same location as their current location.

The problem with humans is the every increasing technology and ruination of the forests as the humans need timber for their expansion. In that process they stir up monsters, unlike elves who live with them. For example for them the wood spirits (Leshen) that Eskel found aren't a problem. They live with them and many other things as if it's the norm.

It was intriguing that all of the mages dreamt of the same thing, all in different colours. And the elf identified him as Ithilinne, the scared prophet.  

See prophet, prophecies, curses, magic and the multi-verse all in the same packet, with the sexiest monster hunter at the centre. That's what the Witcher is all about. 

Fringilla however identified him as Emyr, the Emperor of Nilgard. But for Yennifer, the white man, has to be the White Wolf, our witcher.






Grumpy Gerald getting grumpier at the mention of the man with black winged helmet. I was laughing my bottom off. The important bit is that Gerald accepts Ciri as a student for the School of Wolf. There are no girls in the schools, but she is the one. 

I loved that he is so, so very protective. Almost like a father, even though the witchers cannot have children because of the mutation.






Oh my days, they did the Baba Yaga hut and did a wonderful reveal with the witches and the destinies. I don't want to say more in the subject at the moment.






I loved the Leshen fight, but I wished for the bats and wolves to appear. I also loved Geralt using Igni to superheat the silver blade. I just don't believe that Eskel is dead! He is a main character!


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## ctg (Dec 26, 2021)

Spoiler: S02E03 - What is Lost?



Oh man, what a delight to see Ciri's training and more so, her getting affected by the magical powers and her destiny. It is something she cannot ever avoid. But I also like to see the other witchers, even though I have my own memories imprinted on my brain. 

I just cannot comprehend why they'd remove Eskel so early from the picture, when he's somewhat essential for the Wild Hunt fight. The curse of Leshen's demands blood sacrifices, but at the same time the curse offers blessings. Not just that it happened, because what happened to Eskel didn't offer anything but misery. 

Leshen also don't attack unless they're threatened. They do not invade space, other that places in the forests. They are singular entities and they do not for armies. In other words they are nature spirits that can turn bad things to good or visa versa. 

So why is that Geralt is so ignorant and Vesemier driven by it?

Lambart and other witchers were correctly mocking Cirilla's training, because she's not one of them. She has not gone through the trials, trotted all over Northern Kingdoms and its swamps, solving problems and living every day in mortal danger. 

Their device for combat training were intriguing, but I knew Ciri wouldn't give up on the challenge. Even if it brakes her nails. She is a princess, but she ain't a veteran. She has skills, but not the experience. No muscle memory. 

Geralt also referred to the fact that Ciri isn't a witcher and she cannot take the punishment as they do, no matter how much she wants. He is that concerned father who is willing to go that extra mile for allowing his protegee to survive. It's what Ciri needs, muscle memory and experience, before she can even vaguely start calling herself as a witcher. 

Ciri just couldn't take the wisdom from the White Wolf. What does the Elders know anyway?   Typical teenager.   The only mistake that the great White Wolf made was that he told her that Ciri needed the experience and that she needed to learn from him, when the fact is that he needs to learn from Ciri and why she's at the centre of all of things.  






"She's is drawn to most powerful things." Man I loved seeing the proper Leshen, standing at the forest floor, silently observing the Witcher and the Princess. Majestic is all I can say, but I would have loved to hear that slavik combat music, when the action kicked in. But I don't approve that a Kikimore warrior (insectoid) entered into the combat and seemingly rendered the spirit to immobile stance, when you need fire and magic to kill the beast. 

What the hell happened to the Leshen?






The lodge, powerful and at the same time, so useless. It's like a magical parliament, made of mages that some are so corrupted that they only serve their own self interest. And on top of that they also serve the needs of their kingdoms. Nothing is what is seems at the top of the Lodge. 

I think Geralt has sometimes referred it as a pot of worms. But it was delightful to see Yennifer and Triss, plus other girls that White Wolf has bonked, occasionally. I know it is something that hasn't come across in the series, but he is a stud. 

Stregebor, the old man with illusionary hands, is the cancer as he's serving his own purpose, not the ideals for the Lodge. All the others has been blinded by the politicis and it seems that Yennifer has become a pawn for the highest in order.

It was intriguing that King Foltest got the attend with other kings to the execution ceremony and he had already set eyes on the powerful. The humans in the Witcher world are the baddies. The biggest problem with this also is that with Yennifer's betrayal, she's giving ammunition for Foltest to do really, really bad things.






Novigrad? It has the temple of White Flame at the centre on the highest point and it's on coast. But also again, it doesn't match my memories. So I scrolled up and got that reference was wrong and the Kotaku's writer was right, that is Cintra, the capitol of Cintra. 

It took me a while, until I saw smooth sand stone interiors, with Nilfgard brass bransing around in their black kit. So it is a curious thing that Francesca would want to stay in there, when Baba Yaga is considered as evil. The same thing applies to the Order of White Flame. They are fanatics after all and nothing good can come out from it.


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## ctg (Dec 26, 2021)

Spoiler: S02E04 - Redenian Intelligence



Triss went to Kaer Morgen and Ciri to the Path? What is going on? I loved that Ciri got the why part quite literally a Geralt walked out from the forest with a boar on his shoulders. 

Dinner and sex, life simple pleasures. In the witcher's case contraception comes naturally. In my personal case, Triss was my romantic choice, not Yennifer. Simple because she's a better woman than the raven haired one. 

I loved that Triss was truly concerned and wanted to know all about the Princess in White Wolf's life. In her, I see a good witch. One that doesn't lust for power or for wealth, but rather she wants to have a family that she can't have with Geralt, because of the Trial and his mutation. But it was intriguing that she didn't recognise the Kikimore warrior, and neither did Geralt. 

In a way she's always speaking the truth in this murky soup of lies and she said that the Witcher's do have emotions. They all do and it's a lie to claim it otherwise. She wants all to be good, to be part of the utopia even though the Witcher world can never be such a place.






Okay, this is Novigrad. It took me a while to realise it. It looks very different, but it is a port city, as is Cintra. It felt bad to see the elves treated like scum, but that's life for those who lost the war. They are very often at the bottom of ladder and nobody likes them. Not that any other species gets treated any better, because humans are humans, and they don't like others. 

It is also not a nice place for mages, because they are Folstat enemies. Everyone are his enemies. So eventually if him wins that world is very, very dark and therefore Emyr is the better choice, even if he's an imperialist.






Tinker, tailor, soldier, spy, Dikstra. Yes, he fullfills all those slots and more. Watch him because he's a major character in the series. Not that he really likes to kill. He is a spymaster with a tingling on going into the dark side quite so often. So he does what he needs to do and if the price is right. 

Yeah, you read it right. He's corrupted or rather opportunistic.






Speaking of which, the other side of the coin, the Dandelion. Coin and woman, two of his favourite things. Corruption comes in many forms. For the bard, it is also a guilty pleasure to help those who need, and he never learns to be better, because you can always find in there at the heart of the darkness and he is the light. He is the rockstar in the Northern Kingdoms. There' are many like him, but not with his status. He is the one.

So I loved seeing the "Sandpiper" in action and getting in trouble with his mouth.






Monolith. Intriguing thing and also its association with the mysterious monsters. If it's a curse that took Eskel, it's an epic one. But that monolith isn't in the Witcher world. It's in some other place. But because Ciri can see it, she can visit it. Not just in her mind, but actually. Just nobody, including her knows about it. But you can clearly see that she's there, even if she's also in present at Kaer Morgen laboratory.  

What is intriguing is that Geralt doesn't see her as the vessel, the centre piece for many mysteries. He is clueless and in blind with so many things. Cirilla said, "If these monsters are my fault..."

Geralt touched her shoulder and uttered, "Don't worry. I'll fix it..." How Geralt, how?  You are in so much of blind that we should call as a Wolf with no eyes. But he's definitely going to fix it. Promise, but in reality it's going to take time.  

The old man was much better. Vesemier figured that the Cirilla is blessed with the Elder Blood, while Geralt, stubborn mule, went to Cintra ... through a portal   Vesemier is the wise man, while Geralt, the white wolf, is the blind one and he has to solve thing by using brute force, and the longest, hardest method.  

It is also intriguing that they played trough the Elder Blood renovation of the Trial of the Grasses and therefore, more witchers. God gives, God takes away. Round and round things go, but that twist also goes beyond the books and the games.


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## ctg (Dec 26, 2021)

Spoiler: S02E05 - Turn Your Back



Oh Dandelion, you star. I have a feeling that you're going to get hurt sooner than later, and the only thing that can save his sorry bottom is the White Wolf.

It is certainly not a good sight to see him tied into a chair, begging for mercy, for coin or whoever he charmed with his charisma. Especially not when the kidnapper is an insane mage. Thing is he went to Ban Ard Academy for years and when he came out from there, he was a magical assassin. A someone that a bard cannot charm.

With Yennifer being cursed, the only man who can truly help him is Geralt. What is worrying is that he is after Ciri. But I didn't expect Yennifer to brilliantly solve the problem without her powers. Not that it helped much when she was betrayed by her source, the working girl.






I finally get what they've done. There are no other schools for the simplicity sake, and they've tied Ciri's Elder Blood to the Trial of Grasses and renewing the School of Wolf so that we can have a continuity for the witchers.

It is a nice and clever twist. It is also loving to see that Vesemier is that man that brings that worries of the witchers to one vessel that can make order in the chaos. Another interesting one is that Ciri asked for the Trial.

What Vesemier doesn't understand that women are more capable of taking the pain then men. It is a change in the pattern and I get that Vesemier has traditions, so the choices are a compromise or a demise. Decisions, decisions, Mr Witcher!

I'm glad that he went through it with Triss' aid, even if she did announce loudly her objections.






Time-travel or rather a time projection and we get to see fluffy haired Emyr and all the other intriguing eastern eggs. I've lost the count, but this is Ciri's power. This is what her blood grants her. She is a unique, a traveller or rather the Traveller in the Witcher universe, er multiverse.

I get that they'd tied all of it to a dream sequence, but for me, all the references points to same things that I've already explained.






"It was the Conjuction of the Sphere's!" Yes, yes, we are finally getting there. Ciri is the vessel that possible, or already has started the Conjuction of the Sphere's. "They collided and they separated again!" In other words the Conjunction of the Sphere's is a merge of worlds, or planes as they call it.

Scientifically speaking it a major magical point in the timeline, and it happens when the power is at its highest. The monoliths are the gateways between the realms. In the essence, the plot thickens in this episode so much and all the important characters get their roles.

We get to see the prophesy playing through Ciri's TT projection, while Geralt learns that the fate in the chasm as the prophesy is told, "You could have united the races, but you will destroy them. You cannot help us. Child of Elder blood, child of wrath. The time of contempt is nigh. The world will die amidst frost and be reborn of the new sun. Reborn of Elder blood, of the seed that has been sown. A seed that will not sprout, but will burst into flames."

And we get to see the Wild Hunt riding down from the clouds, tying Ciri to the Elves, expect she doesn't have pointy ears. So she's an anomaly, a vessel of destruction if she ends up in wrong hands. The only way for her to to avoid is by going through it the hard way, by doing it on her own will and choosing the destiny for the Witcher world.

"Nobody can stop it. Not even him!," Triss shouted as the projection ended and Ciri stormed off for the Trials, which Geralt managed to stop by going through portal, again. That's twice in short span of time and Geralt really, really doesn't like them.

"It makes my stomach twist," is his usual explanation and then he goes either horse trotting or walking across the land to the destination. No portals for him.



Very important, twisty episode. Very well done, but it is complicated. That I must admit. There has been so much story telling in the first five episodes that whatever happened in the first season feels like a distant past. Also there has been no time-jumps, unless they've been introduced by an MC.

Netflix "Don't Look Up." Complete garbage. So as a Christmas gift this is perfect. I've seen there's another SF series "The Silent Sea," which I look forward watching next.


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## ctg (Dec 27, 2021)

Spoiler: S02E06 - Dear Friend...



Excuuuuse meee, what is going on? I get that Geralt is hesitant on letting Ciralla to go through the Trial of Grasses, but leaving Kaer Morgen without supplies and telling the girl, big mistake. Please Netflix, if they make a journey, make it look as if they actually cared. 

I liked that the Princess was throwing a hissy fit, "You don't care what I want..." I've heard that complaint way too often to know that it's thrown out just to hurt. There is a painting in the Witcher that you can acquire and it shows Miss Pouty Lips in the full imperial glory. 






The two things I didn't like were Roach getting killed by the mutant Chernobog and Vesemier getting attacked at Kaer Morgen. If Geralt would have acted as soon as he sensed the creature the horse would have survived. Poor Roach  

Our witcher didn't seem so bothered, even though Roach is essentially his partner. Maybe that is part of his emotions removed, because in the heath of the battle you cannot grieve, but the thing is, he does have feelings. Just in this occasion he's not showing them, instead he was more interested on taking the princess to a fertility temple. 

Why do you exactly know that place Geralt? Wink, wink, nudge, nudge, say no more. 

Regardless of what he'd been doing and why'd been using Aard inside the office as soon as they introduced Jarre I did get why they'd arrived at the Temple of Ellender. He is an important side character for Cirilla.
It surprised me that the priestess used the f-word on describing the situation Geralt had put himself into by taking the princess under his wing. I wasn't expecting it. Not from a woman of her statue. The important thing is that she told Geralt that the play is bigger than him, bigger than anything that he has ever encountered, and that he has stand on Ciri's side as a protector.

If it has not been clear before it should be clearer now.






Francesca is getting big as a house. It is kind of freaking to think that the child was given by a witches, or witches as I'm pretty certain that it's not just one but three, meaning that the fate sisters have their fingers in the destiny play and they might be biased. They might want to world to freeze to death as it has been predicted. But there is another possibility, the child is the Sacred One, Ithillenne. 

What she's doing with the Elves is kind of bad, because she's mostly ignoring them as soon as they arrive at Cintra. I get that her focus is the baby, but ignoring her people is bad but not unheard of because we get that today, around at the to world.






I love seeing the places outside the palaces and temples, and what you'll see is straigth how it is in the Northern Kingdoms. It is surprisingly academic with a lot stuff put in the written form, going way back into the history. So literacy is big part of this world, and there are monsters like rock trolls who has also learned a crude way of reading and writing. 

The important thing is again minor characters, the cat Esmeralda and the dwarven lady, Fenn. They might not look much but they are the keepers of the knowledge, and also partly tied to the spies. There are more of them than just Dikstra, but they all work in same way, as a information brokers, crimelords, and assassins. 

They didn't go outside the book shop, but Fenn explained more about the Wild Hunt. That is is an elven weapon, meant to doom the mankind, when the humans turned destructive and somewhat evil. "A generational weapon," as it was said.






"How can this be possible?" Yennefer asked. 

"I don't care." 

Oh, Geralt... I'm not going to comment other than say what a beautiful romance. They can't even be with each other, and yet they are in love. It is like a forbidden fruit. They both want it but they cannot ever achieve it. 

Ciri, however, should have know better. She just walked into breaking the scene and were actually sorry. Child Surprise. The inside joke was the reference on Yennefer's unicorn, that the couple have used to practising hanky panky. 

What I didn't like was that Yennefer didn't tell him that she came to find out  Ciri and to protect her. "It's complicated." But when the fight broke, Geralt versus Michellet brothers were one of the best fight of this year. It wasn't one shot, but it was fast, efficient and brutal. No fluff were given and none was taken. 

Yennefer and Ciri versus Rience, very different. In their defence, they used the best tactic, run. Except in Cirilla's case that means a portal that she can summon naturally, since she's the traveller. The problem is when and where.


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## ctg (Dec 27, 2021)

Spoiler: S02E07 - Voleth Meir



Oh Geralt... He has never been a good boy on hearing truths, because he's so stubborn. It is his way or highway. But he never takes the latter one, because that stubbornness is essentially part of his mission and his mission is the princess. Everything else is mostly fluff. It's just he's one man against the world and the Wild Hunt. 

"Sometimes we assume the worst, because we fear to hope."

Good wisdom going to deaf ears. Oh Geralt, if you'd have a brain. What I didn't like was Geralt's request, "I need you to open a portal." FFS, what happened to his infamous dislike? Yeah Roach was killed, but Geralt, the stubborn mule, would either trod across the landscape or get another horse and name it Roach. No portals. 

"They are for mages and freaks," he would utter. "Not witchers."

But for the story sake, the Netflix cannot have our beloved witcher being absent from the story for pacing sake. 






Dude, you might wish Phillippa was your partner, but Lady Owl ain't your partner. You could see it in the way she handled the man, dispelling everything that he wanted and focusing on the business, which surprisingly turned out to be Djikstra. 

The Lodge men were stupid for opening their mouths at front of him and talking whatever came their mind, while Phillippa handled the business as it should, just as it is. Everything else is paying into Djikstra's pocket and they are deep. Plus there are a number of them. 

All he was doing was fishing and the expedition was good.

Dude made second mistake on demanding information and going mental on Philippa. I know that the series has named her Tissaia, but for me she's Philippa. The grand witch of the Lodge. And she has never taken kindly people yelling at her face or demanding her to do thing. 






Dandelion, if he's not in some lady's bed, he's either in the bar or rotting in some prison cell.   As soon as I saw him there, I knew that the Witcher couldn't be far out, because Geralt is the usual way of how he gets out from these somewhat sticky situations. Such is a life of medieval rockstar.  

I loved that he forgave Geralt, but not really, because why any rockstar would do such thing? He has a reputation. 

The surprising thing is that Geralt used Dandelion on getting information on Yennifer. What goes one way, goes the other. Clever witcher and why the bard would say no to your request. He loves to talk, about everything. So it didn't take long for the White Wolf to get a hint that the raven haired witch is in league with something power. In the series we get to hear the name Deathless Mother for the first time. 

"Voleth Mier. She is a demon that feeds on pain. The first witchers were hired to imprison her. They entombed her in her hut." So it's a business that was never finished. The contract is still open!






Witcher, bard and the dwarves. No other way, this is the way! I did managed to wonder when they'd introduce them and we got Yarpen from the books. Still a loudmouth, obnoxious, and absolutely lovable. 






Facepalm. Yennefer teaches the Child of Chaos, The Traveller how to portal and then they choose horses, when both of them are infamous for the fact that they use portals. Netflix WTF have you been smoking? 

They could have breath life to portals and what Ciri does through her Elder Blood, but for sake of frilly bits they give them horses. One that Cirilla is having hard time handling as the mare wants to go, and she keeps pulling back reins. 

"The more it takes, the more I have to think what they're doing to him," Ciri shouted. 

If my character does something like that I know that they are trying to tell me something. That they are acting against their nature and the part needs rewriting, not going through the stuff for sake of frilly bits. They could have had the conversation at a hill where Ciri tells Yennefer that she's concerned and the portal is the only way, which Yennefer would gladly agree and off they would go, very discreetly, while horses and ladies draws attention. 

It wasn't until they came across the broken bridge, that Yennifer did teach Ciri to repair the bridge was damaged and thus altering the reality and not portal. That was broken and they, plus horses went through a portal to the other side. Why the horses, when even Yennifer says, "No be sorry when you have a power like this?"

I guess we put this down to writers behaving badly.






Somewhat surprising end to Yennefer's treachery. The fight was brutal, but not my favourite. Geralt didn't even break a sweat. But it's that holding of sword on Yennefer's neck that's the problem. And the thing is the witcher got there in right, on horseback. It however surprised me that he wanted the Deathless Mother and Yennefer delivered.  






Girl, you need to chill. That's propaganda, but then again you've never know anything better. Fringilla is just a tool. A pretty one. The truth is nothing has changed. The elves are as effed as they ever were. War, war never changes. It is ugly business and instead of understanding, all she's doing is playing in the hands of Emhyr and the Order of the White Flame. 

Francesca understands that her people cannot be cannon fodder for the Imperialists. She needs to get them out and repopulate their kingdoms.






I see why Dave liked this scene. The generals were silenced, dog got to eat and Fringilla showed why the mages should be feared.



Big flaws in this episode that I put down on writer mistakes.


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## ctg (Dec 28, 2021)

Spoiler: S02E08 - Family



You look at above map and you'll see there's quite a distance between Cintra and Kaer Morgen. Cintra being on the coast, there's a major river system, a great forest, three to four kingdoms, a mountain line and two more rivers to cross before you get to even striking distance from Cintra. Yet, we are to believe that Yen and Big G rode from outside Cintra all the way to Kaer Morgen without exchanging words or changing clothes?

It is a major trek and you won't do it in five minutes. Even with a car it would take at least day and half to get there. A plane or a dragon airline, possible in a half day. Portal, almost instant, but our Yennifer doesn't do portals, because reasons and Geralt is a stubborn mule. Won't hear anything, won't see anything, having a tunnel vision on. 

Will we rescue the princess or not? 

Stranger thing is that Ciri is in Kaer Morgen slaughtering witchers and lying to Geralt about everything. And she didn't even got blood splatters on her white tunic. Just on her cheek. 

It's hard to see their numbers dwindling down and Geralt being a stubborn on all fronts. So I assume that the twist is in the blood and it pays forward to bringing the school of wolves back to its feet, especially if there is going to be more monsters when the worlds collide again. 

I hated that the witchers went into the armory, opened a bar and started drinking willy nilly all sorts of potions without having an idea about the monster. Against humans there are potions, just cold hard steel. No need for the silver sword. 

It was when the weird basilisks stepped out from the portal that they should have hit the potions, because for them, they can counter the poison with potions and apply proper oils to their blades. It's just we don't see it in the series. 

Instead we get a slaughter of the witchers, in their keep, against somewhat standard but dangerous opponents. But for the sake of the fantasy, fantastic to see rare beasts in their glory. Plus at the end, Yen played to her favours. 

Maybe the biggest twist in this play is that there was a monolith In Kaer Morgen and it lead to release of the Netflix version of the Wild Hunt. The only blessing is that Ciri now portals on will. Geralt needs a horse, Yen got her powers back and Kaer Morgan needs a new generation of witchers.






How did Dandelion got into the keep and what happened to the dwarves? The last time we saw they were outside Cintra, now he's in the keep, clueless about everything as it's his first time in the castle, and he's tasked on being the delivery boy. 

There are far too many inconsistencies that it's not playing in favour for the series.






So the truth came out as the boy told Filandarel what he'd been doing for King Folstat. Francesca took it pretty badly, but where can they go? Really?

According to Fringilla they went to North to avenge the slaughter of their baby. She wanted to support them, even though all of it is playing to Emhyr's hand. Maybe it's hard for her to see that because of her high position in the hierarchy. After all she has to get involved with all things, because she cannot seem to be able to trust the job to her people. 

But in Francesca's case I didn't expect her to slaughter Redanian babies in her path for vengeance. What did they do and why can't she see that she's pawn in much bigger play? Her action is going to cause a reaction and her people are going to pay the price. 






I was wrong about Phillippa. That woman doesn't match my memories and therefore I was wrong. Still a curious thing to see her in hands of Djikstra, playing willingly into Redanian hands.



Season finale. The series is getting together in its own terms, but there are a lot of change. Some that I didn't enjoy, like for example using actors in their role that look like counterparts from the games and concept arts, but carrying different name, different role. 

As it is with TWD, Netflix has made the series their own one, with its own twists. There are a lot more storytelling in this season than there were in the first one, and while it's generally better, a lot of background information is lost. I guess they opted to make the changes, but I might not be the only one who doesn't like them. But then again, maybe I'm purist and I don't want to see the changes, because they alter my memories too much. 

So, I have to admit that I've been biased and extremely critical towards this series. It's my own fault, and maybe in the next season, Netflix can offer full thirteen episodes instead of eight and slow down the pace, instead of rushing it forward. This series need air to breath and for the audience, it needs to see the continent in its all glory and darkness. Not just glimpses of it.


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## Dave (Dec 28, 2021)

ctg said:


> I hope you guys watched this animation. It'll explain a lot of Vesemier's and Witchers history.
> 
> 
> 
> ...


Yes, this does explain much about everything.


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## ctg (Dec 28, 2021)

The Witcher Showrunner Addresses Shocking Character Death In Season 2
					

The decision to kill off a fan favorite caused some internet uproar but The Witcher's showrunner doubled down on it.




					gamerant.com


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## New (Jan 6, 2022)

First of all - it's a good fantasy series, but it's not Witcher. They should switch from "based on book" to "book inspired" - although I doubt the swowrunner had the book in her hand anyway.

Costumes and interiors too sterile and clean. The whole logical inconsistent. Anyway, even Tomasz Bagiński in an interview admitted that this is a series for dummies (because the current generation of TIkTok cannot focus for longer).

While there were nice action scenes and good music in the first season, the second season has no strengths


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## ctg (Jan 11, 2022)




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## Jcu3ed (Jan 11, 2022)

As a fan of fantasy in general, and someone who had never read the books or played the games, I was pleasantly surprised by season 1 of the Witcher about 1 year ago. As such, I was excited for season 2. I enjoyed the format of weekly monster-hunting that Geralt would go on in season 1, and I was a little disappointed with the lack of mystery/problem solving Geralt had to do in regards to monsters in 2nd season. Episode 1 of season 2 is a great example of what I think is done successfully in the show. 

With the broad and large-scale plots, I believe the show is lacking in some ways. While readers or those who have played the video games may understand who is who and what lies and deceptions each of the characters might be engaging in (with the witches/mages and rulers), it is not always clear for someone just watching the show. However, I do think a lot of improvements were made in overall production quality and writing in season 2 of the Witcher and I am a big fan of Henry Cavill in general, so his Geralt, although different from the source content, has me laughing at times at his dry sense of humor and sarcasm.


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## Jcu3ed (Jan 11, 2022)

New said:


> First of all - it's a good fantasy series, but it's not Witcher. They should switch from "based on book" to "book inspired" - although I doubt the swowrunner had the book in her hand anyway.
> 
> Costumes and interiors too sterile and clean. The whole logical inconsistent. Anyway, even Tomasz Bagiński in an interview admitted that this is a series for dummies (because the current generation of TIkTok cannot focus for longer).
> 
> While there were nice action scenes and good music in the first season, the second season has no strengths



It certainly has a lot of watered-down/less sophisticated content. In some ways, I think it suffers from something similar the recent WOT series from Amazon suffers from and that's rushed episodes, not taking time to immerse the audience, and attempting to oversimplify diverse and numerous plot lines. I'm not a reader of the series (have only just started the first book), but I feel as if the seasons could have done much better in focusing on character development of Geralt instead of so many others.


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## ctg (Jan 11, 2022)

Jcu3ed said:


> With the broad and large-scale plots, I believe the show is lacking in some ways. While readers or those who have played the video games may understand who is who and what lies and deceptions each of the characters might be engaging in (with the witches/mages and rulers), it is not always clear for someone just watching the show.


Exactly, they are trying to develop the long arc with Ciri and the mystical Wild Hunt, but at the same time they don't really allow breathing room for the world development. It is too character focused when they could have reeled back and allowed the large audience to understand this world better.


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## elvet (Jan 11, 2022)

I have not read the books, nor played the games. I am enjoying the TV series immensely, and agree that it is all about the characters for me. I'll compare it to the Wheel of Time series. I watched the first episode of that and immediately wanted to know more about the world and mythos, so bought all 14 books to read (currently on the 5th). I knew right away that, like GoT, I'd want to have the book perspective first.
Why is The Witcher different? It is about Geralt and what he does that matters. He is the stable center of the series as I see it, the happenings of the world around him are secondary. I may pick up the books at some point, but I'd be more likely to do so if the series is curtailed.


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## ctg (Jan 19, 2022)

> Over the past few years, original Netflix series have found a way to pierce the pop culture veil and resonate with audiences, with fans eagerly anticipating new episodes. The streaming service's live-action adaptation of_ The Witcher _can be counted safely among them, with the second season debuting to a lot of fan conversation late last year. Apparently, that conversation has also equated to some impressive viewership numbers, according to the most recent statistics published by Nielsen. According to their reporting, the two seasons of _The Witcher_ have been watched for a total of 2,191 million minutes the week of December 13th through December 19th. This was vastly above Disney+'s _Hawkeye_, which had five episodes watched for 580 million minutes, and Amazon's _The Wheel of Time_, which had seven episodes watched for 467 million minutes.
> 
> This lines up with recently-released data from Netflix, which claimed that Season 2 of _The Witcher_ has been viewed a total of 462.5 million hours in the first 28 days of its release. This makes it the seventh-biggest English language debut in the streamer's history.











						Fan-Favorite Netflix Series Topples Hawkeye and Wheel of Time With New Season Debut
					

Over the past few years, original Netflix series have found a way to pierce the pop culture veil [...]




					comicbook.com


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## ctg (Jun 15, 2022)

Watch The Witcher: Blood Origin | Netflix Official Site
					

In an elven world 1,200 years before Geralt of Rivia, the worlds of monsters, men and elves merge to become one — and the very first Witcher arises.




					www.netflix.com
				




Witcher Blood Origin. It comes out later, probably towards the end of the summer, early autumn. The synopsis claims that it'll show the time, when the first witcher arise. A LOT more elves!


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