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The Witcher - Netflix **Spoilers**

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  • Registered Users Posts: 17,526 ✭✭✭✭fritzelly


    I've played the games and read the first book of short stories and I'm still confused with what is going on

    Just on to episode 6 and only now realised all things Geralt are in the past (I think)


  • Posts: 0 [Deleted User]


    Spoilers after episode 4:
    Would I be right in saying ciri is the child of that urchin knight? Why did they accept his offer?


  • Registered Users Posts: 2,133 ✭✭✭GottaGetGatt


    Found the timeline to be all over the shop. Almost frustrating to watch.


  • Registered Users Posts: 1,782 ✭✭✭I see sheep


    I watched episode one. It's absolutely terrible.


  • Moderators, Music Moderators Posts: 8,490 Mod ✭✭✭✭Fluorescence


    Just finished watching the full season. Have never played the games or read the books (although I do know a bit about them and have been meaning to play the games for years). I loved this show. It was brilliant. It's more fun than GoT, there are some very campy cheesey dialogue choices, and there's a good balance of dark edgy fantasy with fun Monster of the Week romps. Once you click that each main character is in their own timeline it's quite easy to follow. The only thing I thought was poorly explained was Nilfgaard and why they're invading/after yer wan specifically (other than "Dey tuk are laaands" nonsense). Also, why are the bad guys dressed like penises? Genuine question.

    85pvzig9ct031.jpg

    Anyway, loved loved loved it. Wouldn't be for everyone I'm sure but for me it scratched an itch! Really looking forward to season 2. Might finally play those games that have been sitting in my steam library as well.


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  • Registered Users Posts: 3,541 ✭✭✭duridian


    Spoilers after episode 4:
    Would I be right in saying ciri is the child of that urchin knight? Why did they accept his offer?

    Response to your spoilered question which also contains spoilers after Ep 4:
    Yes, you are correct. Ciri is the child of Duny (Urcheon) and Princess Pavetta.

    As his reward from when he saved Pavetta's father King Roegner about 15 years earlier, Urcheon claimed Pavetta's hand in marriage by the ancient tradition of the Law of Surprise.

    Geralt in turn saved Urcheon's life when Queen Calanthe ordered him killed. Geralt then invoked the Law of Surprise on Urcheon, requesting that which Urcheon had but did not know, namely the unborn child in Pavetta's womb, of which Urcheon was not yet aware, but Geralt suspected.


  • Registered Users Posts: 12,540 ✭✭✭✭Varik


    duridian wrote: »
    Response to your spoilered question which also contains spoilers after Ep 4:
    Yes, you are correct. Ciri is the child of Duny (Urcheon) and Princess Pavetta.

    As his reward from when he saved Pavetta's father King Roegner about 15 years earlier, Urcheon claimed Pavetta's hand in marriage by the ancient tradition of the Law of Surprise.

    Geralt in turn saved Urcheon's life when Queen Calanthe ordered him killed. Geralt then invoked the Law of Surprise on Urcheon, requesting that which Urcheon had but did not know, namely the unborn child in Pavetta's womb, of which Urcheon was not yet aware, but Geralt suspected.
    Way he play it in show it looked like he didn't suspected it.


  • Closed Accounts Posts: 134 ✭✭matthewmurdock


    The first episode is utterly abysmal.


  • Registered Users Posts: 4,909 ✭✭✭nix


    I watched episode one. It's absolutely terrible.
    The first episode is utterly abysmal.

    Surely you can give a reason or two why :rolleyes::pac:


  • Registered Users Posts: 17,526 ✭✭✭✭fritzelly


    Finished.
    Great finale but god those first 4/5 episodes were tough. If they weren't gonna do dates on screen (and understand the reasoning for it) at least they could have added a hue or something so you know this isn't the same timeline - they are a global audience who most would have no idea about the lore or anything.
    After the third episode I was ready to give up, only all episodes were available I persevered.


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  • Registered Users Posts: 3,541 ✭✭✭duridian


    Varik wrote: »
    Way he play it in show it looked like he didn't suspected it.
    Actually I think you're right.
    I'm a bit biased by knowing things from other media, but on the show, at the exact moment that Geralt says he will take as reward the Law of Surprise, I don't think he had fully copped it.

    In the earlier revelatons they spoke of Urcheon and Pavetta's nightly liaisons. At Urcheon's insistence of rewarding him Geralt also invokes Surprise. He reassures Calanthe of his intentions, that he is not planning on coming back to claim "a crop or a new pup", and proceeds to berate Destiny. No sooner does he say this than Pavetta vomits. I think this gives Geralt the last clue, he puts two and two together and realises that she is expecting a child. His reaction shows this as he goes "F###!!" when he turns away.


  • Registered Users Posts: 3,579 ✭✭✭BopNiblets


    I took his claim as being ironic and sassy while trying to leave, but then realising what he'd just done.
    Could be destiny, could be just Geralt being Geralt.

    I liked most of the episodes, I felt the last one was a bit all over the place, the battle was a bit disjointed

    Cavill nailed Gerlado :)


  • Closed Accounts Posts: 134 ✭✭matthewmurdock


    nix wrote: »
    Surely you can give a reason or two why :rolleyes::pac:


    I can only talk about the first episode because that is all that I have watched. Feels like most of the people who will appreciate this are people who have extensive knowledge of the source material.
    • We have two separate stories and no real idea of how they relate to each other. The transitions between them are incredibly jarring.
    • The pacing is hilariously bad. For example - we have a scene at a banquet where some characters, a king and queen of somewhere (it isn't made clear where they are ruling and where this place is in relation to Geralt). They are sitting around and they talk about how there isn't going to be a war. The next thing some guy comes to the table and there is an invasion. A couple of minutes later we have a battle (the bit with the arrow through the eye is bloody hilarious, unintentionally I'm sure) and by the end of the episode the city is in flames. Feels like 4 episodes of plot in 1 episode. Everything falls flat as a result because there is literally 0 tension as we don't know any of the characters.
    • The interactions between the characters don't feel real. Everything is completely melodramatic and at the same time robotic.
    • Names of (strangely pronounced) places and people are dropped at a laughable place. No idea of the politics or geography of anything.
    • The camera work is horrific - this blurry look that they do should see somebody fired, it breaks my immersion every time. I spent half of the first episode wondering if there was something wrong with my tv, because surely nobody would do that intentionally.


  • Registered Users Posts: 5,216 ✭✭✭Padre_Pio


    • We have two separate stories and no real idea of how they relate to each other. The transitions between them are incredibly jarring.
    • The pacing is hilariously bad.
    • The interactions between the characters don't feel real. Everything is completely melodramatic and at the same time robotic.
    • Names of (strangely pronounced) places and people are dropped at a laughable place. No idea of the politics or geography of anything.

    Just finished it tonight.

    I loved it but I agree with all the above. Totally uninitiated to the Witcher series, I was fairly lost on ep1, I had to turn on subtitles just to get a better idea of what people were saying and to learn the names and locations.
    GoT at least has the intro cinematic which gives you an idea of the geography of the continent, feel like I should have had a map to understand who's invading what and from where.
    Regarding pacing, it feels like you've just walked into a room when someone is halfway through telling a story, you've no context to what's going on, or who the main characters are, but it's still compelling enough to keep listening.

    It all pulls together from ep3 though, and once you're aware the timelines are skewed you should be able to piece everything together.

    Going to get the book this week.


  • Registered Users Posts: 4,909 ✭✭✭nix


    I can only talk about the first episode because that is all that I have watched. Feels like most of the people who will appreciate this are people who have extensive knowledge of the source material.
    • We have two separate stories and no real idea of how they relate to each other. The transitions between them are incredibly jarring.
    • The pacing is hilariously bad. For example - we have a scene at a banquet where some characters, a king and queen of somewhere (it isn't made clear where they are ruling and where this place is in relation to Geralt). They are sitting around and they talk about how there isn't going to be a war. The next thing some guy comes to the table and there is an invasion. A couple of minutes later we have a battle (the bit with the arrow through the eye is bloody hilarious, unintentionally I'm sure) and by the end of the episode the city is in flames. Feels like 4 episodes of plot in 1 episode. Everything falls flat as a result because there is literally 0 tension as we don't know any of the characters.
    • The interactions between the characters don't feel real. Everything is completely melodramatic and at the same time robotic.
    • Names of (strangely pronounced) places and people are dropped at a laughable place. No idea of the politics or geography of anything.
    • The camera work is horrific - this blurry look that they do should see somebody fired, it breaks my immersion every time. I spent half of the first episode wondering if there was something wrong with my tv, because surely nobody would do that intentionally.


    I understand where your coming from on mostly everything except the camera work, didnt notice anything wrong there..

    But yeah a lot of the info being thrown at you from the get go is overwhelming, even for me and i played the last game a lot and read the first book. But they dont help with much of whats been shown on the show, except the storyline Geralt is involved in and they did rush through that story.

    You will have trouble with the geography probably forever or until you investigate into it more online yourself, but it does get less jarring as the show goes, and you will get more info on the characters and their actions as the show progresses. The show kind of bounces around the time lines so you will get more back stories on the characters in the fist episode mostly.. Id focus more on just the character interactions..

    I would advise giving a few episodes a watch before hammering the nails in the coffin after the first episode.


  • Registered Users Posts: 4,429 ✭✭✭Wailin


    Cheesy as **** but enjoyable nonetheless. Just finished episode 5 so well into it. Cavill is a ****ing wooden actor but probably suits the role visually.

    The comparison to Game of Thrones won't go away, but there is no comparison. The Witcher doesn't even come close going by this first season.


  • Posts: 0 [Deleted User]


    duridian wrote: »
    Response to your spoilered question which also contains spoilers after Ep 4:
    Yes, you are correct. Ciri is the child of Duny (Urcheon) and Princess Pavetta.

    As his reward from when he saved Pavetta's father King Roegner about 15 years earlier, Urcheon claimed Pavetta's hand in marriage by the ancient tradition of the Law of Surprise.

    Geralt in turn saved Urcheon's life when Queen Calanthe ordered him killed. Geralt then invoked the Law of Surprise on Urcheon, requesting that which Urcheon had but did not know, namely the unborn child in Pavetta's womb, of which Urcheon was not yet aware, but Geralt suspected.

    That whole sequence was so confusing. And I even read that short story a few years back. Did it explain what law of surprise is??


  • Registered Users Posts: 40,004 ✭✭✭✭Itssoeasy


    I'm half way through the first episode but would it be fair to say it's not as good as the last kingdom ?


  • Registered Users Posts: 2,108 ✭✭✭johnnysmack


    nix wrote: »
    I understand where your coming from on mostly everything except the camera work, didnt notice anything wrong there..

    The crappy blurry camera work is one of the first things I noticed and it's really irritating. Like the above poster I agree that it's mind boggling this is what they were going for. Some of the secondary actors in each episode are pretty dire too.

    As stated if you didn't know any of the lore you would be lost. They didn't even explain him taking decoctions. My friend asked why he kept drinking the little bottles of vodka!

    Episode 1 was decent, 2 not great, 3 very good, 4 & 5 back to decent again. It's not bad but it should be a whole lot better. If I wasn't already a huge fan cause of the games I don't think I would bother with it. Geralt and the witcher universe deserves better.


  • Registered Users Posts: 10,934 ✭✭✭✭fin12


    Itssoeasy wrote: »
    I'm half way through the first episode but would it be fair to say it's not as good as the last kingdom ?

    The last kingdom is 100 times better. I’ve watched 4 episodes of this. The monster and screeching stuff was pretty hard to watch.


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  • Registered Users Posts: 7,553 ✭✭✭Ave Sodalis


    Itssoeasy wrote:
    I'm half way through the first episode but would it be fair to say it's not as good as the last kingdom ?

    I couldn't finish The Last Kingdom. The acting was horrendous.


  • Registered Users Posts: 8,051 ✭✭✭BKtje


    I binged watched it hungover on Saturday. Ive played the third game and read the second book. (Dont ask, it was a mix up).

    Overall I highly enjoyed it even though i didnt have a clue what was going on half the time. They really could do with explaining the little things better. I'm going to see if my gf will like it but ill give her a crash course before hand of what i know / have learnt so she can follow it a bit. Without it i doubt she'd persevere.

    Looking forward to season 2


  • Registered Users Posts: 8,952 ✭✭✭duffman13


    Watched the first four episodes and it took 3 before the different timeline piece dawned on me! Haven't read the books or played the game but I'd be intrigued to get the books based on the episode. I do feel episode one could have been fleshed out massively but I'm enjoying it so far


  • Administrators, Computer Games Moderators, Sports Moderators Posts: 32,293 Admin ✭✭✭✭✭Mickeroo


    That whole sequence was so confusing. And I even read that short story a few years back. Did it explain what law of surprise is??

    Duny explained it before the fight broke out more or less.
    It's when you decide to pay someone by giving them that which you possess but don't yet know about. Basically the first unexpected thing you find when you get home. In both the case of Duny and Geralt they get claim on a child but it could have been anything.


  • Posts: 17,378 ✭✭✭✭ [Deleted User]


    How much of the enjoyment is based on action? I've got a free evening and might give it a shot. Hate action, though.


  • Registered Users Posts: 8,249 ✭✭✭Sonics2k


    Wailin wrote: »
    Cheesy as **** but enjoyable nonetheless. Just finished episode 5 so well into it. Cavill is a ****ing wooden actor but probably suits the role visually.

    The comparison to Game of Thrones won't go away, but there is no comparison. The Witcher doesn't even come close going by this first season.

    It's a bit odd to compare it Game of Thrones, which obviously a lot of people will do, but the more direct comparison would really be Lord of the Rings. In GoT the fantasy aspect is far far more subtle, the idea of monsters and dragons are just myths of an older era, whilst in the Witcher (like LotR) there are all manner of races.

    Cavill is playing Geralt very well, who is outwardly is a very reserved and wooden person. He very much holds back his feelings when out and about, but you can see his genuine emotions
    when trying to save Jaskier and when he finally meets Ciri
    How much of the enjoyment is based on action? I've got a free evening and might give it a shot. Hate action, though.

    Eh, I wouldn't say so much. There would be maybe one big enough action scene per episode, but not overly dragged out. Geralt isn't Jon Snow, on more than one occasion he does get his ass kicked.


  • Registered Users Posts: 29,849 ✭✭✭✭Zero-Cool


    The Witcher 3 goty edition on sale in Argos today for 17 euro for anyone getting an itch.


  • Registered Users Posts: 1,093 ✭✭✭Mr.Wemmick


    Yep. I thought LOTRs too. GOT is being compared to it because it's the last decent fantasy type series we have seen on TV. But more LOTRs and Harry Potter mix in there for me. But the naked bodies and boobs are definitely GOT like.

    I quite enjoyed it. Watched it through. The story line is a little jumpy and unfocused at the beginning, but it comes through fairly well after a while. I gave up on Kingdom, found it boring to be honest. Witcher moves along rather well so 'tis very easy to binge it.

    I have also just finished the excellent Sci Fi Expanse, Series 4, on Amazon and it too flows really well and is fast paced. I lose interest if they aren't well written and Witcher is good.


  • Registered Users Posts: 8,249 ✭✭✭Sonics2k


    Mr.Wemmick wrote: »
    Yep. I thought LOTRs too. GOT is being compared to it because it's the last decent fantasy type series we have seen on TV. But more LOTRs and Harry Potter mix in there for me. But the naked bodies and boobs are definitely GOT like.

    I quite enjoyed it. Watched it through. The story line is a little jumpy and unfocused at the beginning, but it comes through fairly well after a while. I gave up on Kingdom, found it boring to be honest. Witcher moves along rather well so 'tis very easy to binge it.

    I have also just finished the excellent Sci Fi Expanse, Series 4, on Amazon and it too flows really well and is fast paced. I lose interest if they aren't well written and Witcher is good.

    I much, much preferred Vikings over The Last Kingdom which I felt to be a very "by the numbers" type show. It's also far far more based in reality compared to GoT or the Witcher.

    It was very confusing for the first few episodes before I realized the 3 characters were on different timelines, it was my early complaint that Yenn and Geralt were doing things at the same time, show could have done more to make it more obvious.


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  • Moderators, Arts Moderators Posts: 10,518 Mod ✭✭✭✭5uspect


    I've read a good few of the books now and played the games, so I'm a fan. I'm really enjoying the series but I can imagine how it would be very confusing for anyone who doesn't know the material.


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