The Witcher (Netflix series) Review · 7:38pm Dec 21st, 2019
Short review here. First season of the Witcher just came out, all 8 episodes.
In short, very good, even great at times. First few episodes are very strong, especially the first one. Episodes 2 and 3 are probably the weakest parts of the series because it was bogged down by so much backstory, and to make matters worse, it was all presented in non-chronological order. I was confused at first, but quickly caught on. There were also some VERY weird scenes that had no purpose (like that first sex scene with Yennefer. The hell was that?!). However, episodes 5 and onwards are all consistently great.
Basically the first half is okay-to-good. Second half is great-to-amazing, and the last two episodes are definitely the highlight. This is one of those shows where almost each episode is better than the last.
Henry Cavill's performance as Geralt is arguably the best thing about this show, or at least it would be if it weren't for the top-notch action scenes. Special effects and production design were all very competently handled as well. This show might confuse some people if they aren't familiar with the Witcher franchise at all (a lot of names of people and places get thrown around casually) but the main plot is pretty coherent.
Here's how I'd rate the each episode individually.
Episode 1 – 8/10
Episode 2 – 6/10
Episode 3 – 7/10
Episode 4 – 8/10
Episode 5 – 9/10
Episode 6 – 9/10
Episode 7 – 10/10
Episode 8 – 10/10
Overall this show gets an 8/10 from me. Pretty great start, looking forward to season 2. Check it out if you haven't already. And please don't compare it to Game of Thrones. It's almost nothing like that show. Expecting it to be Game of Thrones is like reading the Silmarillion and expecting Lord of the Rings. If you do that you'll be setting yourself up for disappointment.
