Witcher (Netflix)

[BookBarbarian]

The last 2 episodes are where things really pull together.

 

[Gradine]

The last 2 episodes are where things really pull together.

Having just finished them myself, I agree. Ironically, they are also two of the more Yennefer-centric episodes of the show. Also helps that we get to see a more proactive Ciri as well.

I went into the series with low expectations, after the first episode or two started to realize that what we were getting was, intentionally it seemed, more in the vein of early 90's fantasy adventures like Xena/Hercules than prestige fantasy a la GoT, and from that perspective the show ended up meeting and eventually exceeding my expectations.

 

[JeffB]

I ended up watching the whole thing in order to give it a chance- and started to enjoy it after the second or third episode. I wish there was more monsters- for a monster hunter, he doesn't do a whole lot of monster hunting. But I thought the Ghouls (or whatever) were fantastic.

Yeah this is Xena/Hercules with sex *

* I know the youngsters like to see that, but at my age and three wives in, I've had enough great sex- I have NOT had enough great Fantasy TV. Priorities people, priorities.

 

[Ovinomancer]

I'm on episode 5, still deciding whether or not I like it. Trying to follow the timeline is probably the worst part of the show. Nothing seems to be told in any particular order, and it's really hard to figure out passage of time or when events occur. I think I'm actually more confused after looking at that web page.

Yeah, that timeline is... not a good guide to what's happening in the episodes.

The thing in with the timelines in the episodes that may help is that each character's timeline is linear -- every time you see them it's later in their timeline. No hopping around to different times for each character. The timelines do, however, progress at different rates.

 

[Tun Kai Poh]

Yeah, it's like Hercules/Xena with more gore, nudity and sex, and three parallel timelines a la Dunkirk. Cheesy fun, I like it.

 

[Richards]

I know I'm coming late to this party, but I don't subscribe to Netflix (a personal choice - don't try to convince me to join as I don't even fork over any cash for cable TV, making do with a digital antenna) and thus never had an opportunity to give this a shot. However, my granddaughter does get Netflix and she's here for a week and a half visit and wanted to watch this series with us (she saw part of episode 1 and thought it was something we'd all enjoy, as it looked sufficiently "D&Dish"), so we gave it a shot, watching all eight episodes over the course of the last two days.

Bottom line: it was enjoyable. None of us have ever read any of the books or played (or even heard of) the games, so we went into the show "cold" but it was easy enough to follow. (Although we did pause between episodes to discuss among ourselves what was going on with the various plot-lines; it was my son who first clued us in to the different timelines.) Henry Cavill did a great job, I thought, when so many of his lines were merely grunts of irritation. And I enjoyed Yennifer, although I have to admit after she got the "upgrade" I immediately missed "Piglet" - the beautiful wizard pretty much blended in with all of the other beautiful wizards but the hunchbacked version really stood out.

And I thought this looked very much like a homebrewed D&D campaign world, complete with elves, dwarves, color-coded dragons, doppelgangers (well, one in any case), and a bunch of new monsters the DM wanted to try out.

Johnathan

 

[Imaculata]

The first season is a bit of a mixed bag, but the main cast is always enjoyable, especially Cavill (though I wish they gave him a better wig). It feels very D&D'ish, like watching someone's homebrew campaign. But in a good way.

I'm very curious to see if season 2 takes a leap up in quality, as many shows often do.

 

[Zardnaar]

Think il have to do a rewatch soon. Got 5 seasons worth of other shows to binge so that will keep us busy for a few weeks.

It does feel a bit D&Dish. Not as good as the best of GoT better than the final seasons.

Season 2 the great unknown.

 

[CapnZapp]

I'd rewatch the third about the Witcher in an instant if the whole show were that good, but the mere thought of having to slog through the paper-thin excuse for having the princess already in season 1 turns me off the idea.

The sorceress story was a bit confused and illogical (it makes me think of fantasy films of old which also had poor scripts where stuff just happens) but it's passable.

Without the Ciri stuff I could stretch my grade to four out of five stars. After all, fantasy with nudity and gore is my favorite genre! That would likely have meant fewer time jumps which also helps.

With it, a very clunky two stars. If it weren't for the genre, I would have stopped watching.

Let's hope Netflix isn't pulling an Altered Carbon on us for Witcher season 2. By that I mean taking a luxurious show with a great script and uncensored, controversial content... and then absolutely destroying everything that made the first season good, slashing its budget, replacing the author's story with generic drek, and pruding up its characters.

Seldom have I witnessed a greater drop in watchability than with AC Season 2... I absolutely loved season 1, yet I lasted only two episodes of season 2.

For me to keep watching The Witcher, that show needs to step up its qualities, rather than down.

 

[doctorbadwolf]

I'd rewatch the third about the Witcher in an instant if the whole show were that good, but the mere thought of having to slog through the paper-thin excuse for having the princess already in season 1 turns me off the idea.

The sorceress story was a bit confused and illogical (it makes me think of fantasy films of old which also had poor scripts where stuff just happens) but it's passable.

Without the Ciri stuff I could stretch my grade to four out of five stars. After all, fantasy with nudity and gore is my favorite genre! That would likely have meant fewer time jumps which also helps.

With it, a very clunky two stars. If it weren't for the genre, I would have stopped watching.

Let's hope Netflix isn't pulling an Altered Carbon on us for Witcher season 2. By that I mean taking a luxurious show with a great script and uncensored, controversial content... and then absolutely destroying everything that made the first season good, slashing its budget, replacing the author's story with generic drek, and pruding up its characters.

Seldom have I witnessed a greater drop in watchability than with AC Season 2... I absolutely loved season 1, yet I lasted only two episodes of season 2.

For me to keep watching The Witcher, that show needs to step up its qualities, rather than down.

Sounds like the show probably will lose you at some point.

Tbh, if you can only rank the entirety of season 1 at a 2/5, the show just isn’t for you, IMO.